USS Sylvania (AFS-2)
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
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| Name: | USS Sylvania |
| Namesake: | Sylvania, Ohio |
| Builder: | National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego, California |
| Laid down: | 18 August 1962 |
| Launched: | 15 August 1963 |
| Commissioned: | 11 July 1964 |
| Decommissioned: | 26 May 1994 |
| Struck: | 26 May 1994 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrapping, 28 July 2001 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Mars-class combat stores ship |
| Displacement: | 17,500 long tons (17,781 t) full load |
| Length: | 581 ft (177.1 m) |
| Beam: | 79 ft (24.1 m) |
| Draft: | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Complement: | 486 |
| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 2 × MH-60S Knighthawk helicopters |
USS Sylvania (AFS-2), a Mars-class combat stores ship, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named Sylvania.
Sylvania was laid down on 18 August 1962 at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego, California; launched on 10 August 1963; sponsored by Mrs. Cyrus R. Vance; and commissioned on 11 July 1964, with Captain Bernard A. Lienhard in command.
At the time of commissioning, Sylvania was the second of a new class of combat store ship designed to combine the functions of the AF (store ship), AKS (stores issue ship), and AVS (aviation issue ship). She completed fitting out and, after sea trials, departed California for duty with the Atlantic Fleet. The Panama Canal was transited on 11 August, and the ship arrived at Norfolk on 16 October 1964 for post-shakedown availability. Upon completion of this, the ship operated in the Norfolk area until the spring of 1965.
Sylvania stood out of Norfolk on 14 April 1965, en route to the Mediterranean and her first tour of duty with the 6th Fleet. She called at Rota, Spain, and arrived at her new home port, Naples, Italy, on 29 April. Two days later, she began her first underway replenishment operation with the 6th Fleet. On 31 July, Sylvania completed the first vertical replenishment of an aircraft carrier using UH-46A helicopters. In early October the store ship logged her 1,000th accident-free helicopter landing. She served as flagship for the Service Force, 6th Fleet, from 5 December 1966 to 17 April 1967. During the night of 8 January 1968, the cargo ship suffered her only material loss of the year. She experienced a roll of 38 degrees and took water over the flight deck. The roll, wind, and water parted the tie-downs on cargo staged on the flight deck for the next day's replenishment. Consequently, 52 pallets of provisions were lost. On 1 July 1968, Sylvania was awarded the Battle Efficiency "E" for her class and the Supply "E" for Supply Efficiency. She also won the Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Fund Award for the Atlantic Fleet.
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