RECLAIMER (ARS-42)


Default Generic Ship Image
Year Built
1945
Official Number
--
Shipyard
Basalt Rock Company
General Type
Naval Combatant
Specific Type
Naval Combatant Other
MARAD Type
--
Ship Length
214.00 feet
Beam
44.00 feet
Mast Height
--
Net Tons
--
Gross Tons
--
Cargo Capacity
--
Draft, Summer
14.00 tons
Draft, Lightweight
11.00 tons
Displacement, Summer
2043.00 tons
Displacement, Lightweight
--
Immersion, Summer
1492.00 tons
Immersion, Lightweight
--
Fate
Sold - Scrap

Historical Narrative



The Maritime Administration completed a National Register of Historic Places eligibility assessment for Reclaimer which includes a narrative history of the vessel.  It can be viewed in the Documents section.


Vessel Name History

RECLAIMER (ARS-42)

Mission

No Mission for this vessel

Historical Documents
Name Download

Milestones


Event Date Content
Acquisition
(No Date)
Launch
6/23/1945 "Reclaimer was launched June 23, 1945"
Commissioned
12/20/1945 "commissioned December 20, 1945"
Arrival
6/1/1946 "Joined the task force preparing for the Atomic Bomb Tests at Bikini Atoll and arrived at Bikini of June 1, 1946"
Decommissioned
6/23/1946 "Reclaimer was decommissioned on June 23, 1946 and placed in the Pacific Reserve Fleet in San Diego."
Arrival
9/1/1946 It returned to Pearl Harbor in September of 1946
Arrival
10/1/1946 It returned to the U.S. West Coast October 1946
Clearance
1/13/1947 "It received final radiological clearance on January 13, 1947."
Recommissioned
12/1/1950 "Reclaimer was recommissioned on December 1, 1950 for service in the Korean War"
Service
2/12/1951 "Enroute to the Far East it towed a Navy vessel to Pearl Harbor, arriving on February 12, 1951."
Arrival
4/29/1951 "It arrived at Sasebo, Japan via Guam on April 29, 1951"
Salvage Effort
5/8/1951 "On May 8, 1951 it joined the USS Grasp (ARS]24) in a successful effort to salvage the cargo ship Muhlenberg Victory, which had gone ashore on an island near Sasebo."
Escort
6/1/1951 "In June of 1951 Reclaimer escorted the USS Wiley (DD597), to Sasebo after the Wiley was damaged by mines."
Service
8/1/1951 "August 1951 it took part in minesweeping operations and installed buoys in the harbor of Wonsan, Korea."
Service
9/7/1951 "On September 7,1951 it refloated the Japanese LST Q081, which had beached at Kangnung, Korea."
Service
10/1/1951 In October 1951 it assisted the seagoing tug USS Yuma (ATF94) in towing the disabled British hospital ship Maine through Japans Shimonoseki Straits.
Departure
1/22/1952 "On January 22, 1952 Reclaimer left Yokosuka, Japan bound for Pearl Harbor."
Departure
10/21/1952 "The Reclaimer left Pearl Harbor on October 21, 1952 enroute to Sasebo towing the USS YC104."
Service
12/1/1952 "In early December 1952 it was at Sokeho Hang, Korea refloating two LSTs that had run aground in a storm"
Tow
12/18/1952 "It then towed one of the vessels to Sasebo, arriving on December 18, 1952"
Arrival
7/25/1953 "Returned to San Diego on July 25, 1953"
Departure
3/1/1954 "March 1954, it proceeded to the Marshall Islands to join the salvage operations related to the hydrogen bomb tests."
Service
5/1/1954 "In May 1954, the Reclaimer spent four months operating in Korean and Japanese waters and then went to French Indochina to participate in Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of refugees from what would later become North Vietnam."
Arrival
12/31/1954 The ship returned to the West Coast in late 1954.
Service
1/1/1956 "In 1956 it relieved the oiler USS Ponchatoula, which was towing the merchant vessel Venus out of the path of Typhoon Ivy"
Service
1/1/1957 "In 1957 it refloated the LST USS Chittenden County (LST561), which grounded at Kauai, Hawaii."
Service
1/1/1960 In 1960 it installed underwater cables near Midway Island.
Service
8/1/1961 "In August 1961, Reclaimer and the seagoing tug USS Lipan (ATF]85) were sent to Phu Quoc Island off Vietnam to refloat the South Vietnamese landing craft Long Dau, which had broached on the beach while landing supplies."
Service
5/1/1962 In May 1962 Reclaimer went to Christmas Island to assist in the Operation Dominic atomic tests.
Service
11/15/1962 "The Reclaimer arrived at the island on November 15th, 1962 to assist the USS Bolster (ARS]38), USS Deliver (ARS]23), and the seagoing tug USS Wandank (ATA]204) in salvage operations."
Service
3/1/1963 "In March 1963 Reclaimer salvaged the motorship Shokufu at Pago Pago, Samoa."
Service
5/2/1964 "On May 2, 1964 The Reclaimer, aided by the seagoing tug USS Tawakoni (ATF]114), succeeded in refloating USS Card at Saigon and towing it to the Philippines."
Service
1/1/1965 "In 1965 the ship carried out further salvage operations in the Vietnam War zone, including refloating LST559 in the harbor at Da Nang."
Service
2/1/1966 "In February of 1966, Bolster and Reclaimer pumped the damaged civilian tanker Sea Raven and refloated it in Chu Lai, Vietnam."
Service
4/24/1966 "On April 24, 1966 the civilian cargo ship Excellency went ashore on Triton Island in the China Sea and was refloated by Bolster, Reclaimer, USS Coucal (ARS]8) and the seagoing tug USS Ute (ATF76)."
Service
3/1/1967 In March 1967 Reclaimer aided the merchant vessel Norbega that was adrift west of Midway Island.
Service
8/29/1968 "It returned to Da Nang, Vietnam for further salvage duty on August 29, 1968"
Service
9/1/1968 In September 1968 it salvaged the LCV1615 in Da Nang Vietnam
Service
10/1/1968 In October 1968 it salvaged the LCU1576 in DaNang Vietnam
Service
7/22/1972 "on July 22, 1972, Reclaimer took the damaged destroyer USS Warrington in North Vietnam in tow and delivered it at Subic Bay."
Service
4/1/1980 "In April 1980, the Greek cargo ship Anangel Liberty went ashore on French Frigate Shoals in the western Hawaiian Islands. The Reclaimer, assisted by the tug Mana, refloated the ship, which resumed its voyage to Japan."
Service
6/1/1982 In June of 1982 it picked up a target hulk in Singapore.
Service
1/1/1984 "During the early 1980s the ships crew also recovered two bodies from the crash of an FA14, and participated in joint military exercises with the South Korean navy."
Service
1/1/1994 "In 1994, it completed the ocean tow of a defueled nuclear submarine."
Decommission
9/16/1994 "The Reclaimer was decommissioned on September 16, 1994, and placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet."
Entry
10/6/2000
Acquisition
10/6/2000 Title f/disposal. LS 1492
Transfer
7/28/2001 "It was transferred to the U.S. Maritime Administration on July 28, 2001"
Interim Movement
7/28/2001
Disposition
7/28/2001 MARAD accepted title 07-28-01

11/28/2006 Undergoing Navy sinkex preps at Concord Navy Weapons Station.
Interim Movement
11/28/2006 Undergoing Navy sinkex preps at Concord Navy Weapons Station.
Interim Movement
12/1/2006 Undergoing Navy sinkex preps at Concord Navy Weapons Station.
Cleared Historic Review
6/17/2009 Vessel cleared NHPA processing.
Ship name change
5/4/2011

6/10/2011
Interim Movement
6/10/2011
Withdrawal
10/14/2011 Dismantlement complete under disposal contract with Marine Metal Inc. in Brownsville, TX.

Ship Imagery


No images for this vessel



Status Cards


No status cards for this vessel


Documents


Date Type Name Download
4/12/2009 National Register Eligibility Assessment Reclaimer.pdf Default Generic Download Image

Plans


No documents for this vessel


Shipwreck Information


No ship wreck information for this vessel