USS San Jose (AFS-7)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

USS ''San Jose'' (AFS-7) was a ''Mars''-class combat stores ship acquired by the U.S. Navy (USN) in 1970. She served as a Navy ship until November 1993, and was involved in the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War. The ship was transferred to the
Military Sealift Command Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...
(MSC), and was redesignated USNS ''San Jose'' (T-AFS-7). As an MSC vessel, ''San Jose'' was involved in the INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce, the response to the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, as well as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The ship was deactivated in 2010, and was sold for scrap in 2013.


Design and construction

''San Jose'' was laid down on 8 March 1969 by the
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, commonly referred to as NASSCO, is an American shipbuilding company with three shipyards located in San Diego, Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk and Mayport (Jacksonville), Mayport. It is a division of General Dy ...
, San Diego; launched on 13 December 1969; christened by Mrs. Robert Ellis, III, for the sponsor, her mother, Mrs. George L. Murphy; and commissioned on 23 October 1970.


Operational history


United States Navy

Following commissioning and fitting out, ''San Jose'', the first combat stores ship of the
Pacific Fleet Service Force Service Force, United States Pacific Fleet, usually known as COMSERVPAC, was a service support command of the United States Pacific Fleet from 1942 until 1973. It was the reincarnation of the former Base Force. The Service Force comprised the suppl ...
to receive the U-1500 computer system, conducted training drills; made a short cruise to Acapulco, Mexico, out of San Diego, California; and carried out ship's qualification trials out of Long Beach, California, before steaming to her home port, Oakland Supply Depot, California, in February 1971. Arriving on 10 February, she took on her first PACFILL (Pacific Fleet Issue Load List) stock, and, in March, completed final contract trials.
Shakedown Shakedown may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational * Extortion, ...
and availability followed. In July, she moved north to
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
to participate in the observance of that province's Centennial. August took her to
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, Washington. On 10 September, she received two UH-46 helicopters from detachment HC-3; and departed Alameda the next day for her first WestPac deployment. The stores ship arrived at Subic Bay, Philippines, on 27 September; topped off her load; and, on 4 October, departed for the
Tonkin Gulf The Gulf of Tonkin is a gulf at the northwestern portion of the South China Sea, located off the coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China. It has a total surface area of . It is defined in the west and northwest by the northern c ...
and her first line swing. On 6 October, she conducted her first simultaneous vertical replenishment, with her first underway replenishment of a carrier task group occurring the next day. From the Tonkin Gulf, ''San Jose'' delivered freight at Danang, Cam Ranh Bay, and
Vũng Tàu Vũng Tàu (''Hanoi accent:'' , ''Saigon accent:'' ) is the largest city of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province in southern Vietnam. The city area is , consists of 13 urban wards and one commune of Long Sơn Islet. Vũng Tàu was the capital of the pr ...
; then conducted underway replenishments off the southern coast of South Vietnam before moving on to a port visit at Singapore, whence she headed back to the Philippines to take on more cargo. ''San Jose'' returned to Subic Bay on 23 October and, by the end of November, had completed three more line swings. On 10 December, she completed her fifth line swing, and, at mid-month, commenced her sixth. The deployment to the western Pacific Ocean ended on 16 March 1972, when she departed Subic Bay to return to the United States. Proceeding via
Apra Harbor Apra Harbor, also called Port Apra, is a deep-water port on the western side of the United States territory of Guam. It is considered one of the best natural ports in the Pacific Ocean. The harbor is bounded by Cabras Island and the Glass Breakwa ...
,
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, and
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
, Hawaii, she arrived in Oakland at the end of the month. ''San Jose'' resumed local operations out of Oakland and NAS Alameda, California, until redeploying to the
U.S. 7th Fleet The Seventh Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It is headquartered at U.S. Fleet Activities Yokosuka, in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is part of the United States Pacific Fleet. At present, it is the largest of th ...
on 26 August 1972. She arrived in Subic Bay on 12 September and, after nine months supporting the 7th Fleet in the Far East, departed
Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...
, Japan, on 11 June 1973 to return to the United States. She arrived at San Francisco, California, on the 22d and resumed local operations. Through June 1974, ''San Jose'' continued to cruise the western coastline of the United States, based at San Francisco. Following the conclusion of US involvement in the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, ''San Jose'' was awarded three battle stars for service during the conflict: Consolidation I, Consolidation II, and Vietnam Ceasefire. The ship was stationed at Naval Station Guam from late 1981 to the early 1990s to support the United States Seventh Fleet, along with sister ships and . During 1990 and 1991, she served during Operations
Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
and
Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
, later known as the Persian Gulf War.


Military Sealift Command

''San Jose'' was decommissioned and transferred to
Military Sealift Command Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...
on 2 November 1993. She was deployed to
East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
as part of the Australian-led INTERFET peacekeeping taskforce from 25 to 31 October 1999. In 2005, ''San Jose'' provided logistics support to hospital ship in efforts to provide assistance to victims of the December 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia. ''San Jose'' most recently provided logistics support to Navy ships in the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
supporting both Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom.


Deactivation and fate

On 20 July 2009, the US Navy announced that the ship would be inactivated on 27 January 2010.Scutro, Andrew,
Subs, frigate on list of ships being retired
", ''
Military Times Sightline Media Group, formerly Gannett Government Media and Army Times Publishing Company, is a United States company that publishes newspapers, magazines, websites, and other publications about the U.S. and other militaries. The company's '' ...
'', 21 July 2009.
''San Jose'' was sold for scrapping for $995,928 on 1 October 2013 to All Star Metals,
Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...
.


References

*
NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive – USNS San Jose (T-AFS-7) – ex – USS San Jose (AFS-7) (1970–1993)
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:San Jose Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Vietnam War auxiliary ships of the United States Ships built in San Diego 1969 ships Mars-class combat stores ships