USS ''Albany'' (CG-10) laid up at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in 1983 Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Norfolk was a part of the

United States Navy reserve fleets The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

, also called a ''mothball fleet'', and was used to store the many surplus ships after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The Atlantic Reserve Fleet was just south of the

Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility ...

, called the South Gate Annex in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River from Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

, south of

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

. The

reserve fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully Ship decommissioning, decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothba ...

was stored in the freshwater of the Elizabeth River,

Southern Branch Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

near the Jordan Bridge. The freshwater was good for long-term storage for ships. Some ships in the fleet were reactivated for the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard's

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...

Facilities at Portsmouth includes: the South Gate Annex, Scott Center Annex, St. Helena Annex and St. Julien's Creek Annex.

Reserve ship examples

*The USS ''Massachusetts'' (BB-59) was stored for 18 years at the Atlantic Reserve Fleet. ''Massachusetts'' was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet in 1947. On June 8, 1965, she departed, and the Navy transferred ownership of the battleship to the

State of Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. She became a

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

Battleship Cove Battleship Cove is a nonprofit maritime museum and war memorial in Fall River, Massachusetts, United States. Featuring the world's largest collection of World War II-era naval vessels, it is home to the highly-decorated battleship . It is locate ...

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, tenth-largest city in the state, and the second- ...

. * USS ''Casa Grande'' (LSD-13), a ''Casa Grande''-class dock landing ship was stored at Atlantic Reserve Fleet from 1946 to 1950. In 1950, she was recommissioned and put back in service. * USS ''Briareus'' (AR-12), a

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

, was stored at the Atlantic Reserve Fleet from 1946 to 1951. In 1951, she was recommissioned and put back in service. * USS ''Albemarle'' (AV-5), a ''Curtiss''-class

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

was placed in the fleet in 1960, in 1965 she was converted to the USNS ''Corpus Christi Bay'' (T-ARVH-1), a floating aeronautical maintenance facility for helicopters. * USS ''Deuel'' (APA-160), a ''Haskell''-class attack transport, was placed in the fleet May 1946, and recommissioned in October 1950.

South Gate Annex Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility

South Gate Annex Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) is at the former Atlantic Reserve Fleet site. The South Gate Annex

Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility A Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility (NISMF) is a facility owned by the United States Navy as a holding facility for decommissioned naval vessels, pending determination of their final fate. All ships in these facilities are inactive, but s ...

is used as temporary storage of inactivated

nuclear-powered ships Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...

, with the fuel removed.globalsecurity.org Norfolk Naval Shipyard
/ref>

References

{{Authority control Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Norfolk 1946 establishments in Virginia Military in Norfolk, Virginia Portsmouth, Virginia

Reserve ship examples

South Gate Annex Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility

See also

References