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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
Contributed by Mike Smolinski

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USNS Aeolus (T-ARC-3)
ex
 USS Aeolus (ARC-3) (1955 - 1973)
 USS Turandot (AKA-47) (1945 - 1955)

Aeolus International Radio Call Sign:
November - Oscar - Victor - Whiskey
 NOVW
Turandot International Radio Call Sign:
November - Tango - Uniform - Romeo
 NTUR
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation (3) - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal - Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
Artemis Class Attack Cargo Ship:
  • Laid down, 29 March 1945, as a Maritime Commission type (S4-SE2-BE1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1908), at Welsh-Kaiser Co. Providence, R.I.
  • Launched, 20 May 1945
  • Commissioned USS Turandot (AKA-47), 18 June 1945, LCDR. Francklyn W. C. Zwicker USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS Turandot was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater
  • Decommissioned, 21 March 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 17 April 1947
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission, 25 June 1946, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet
  • Reacquired by the Navy, 4 November 1954, for conversion to a Cable Repair/Laying Ship
  • Converted, renamed and recommissioned USS Aeolus (ARC-3), 14 March 1955, CDR. Merrill M. Sanford in command
  • Decommissioned, 1 October 1973 and placed in service by the Military Sealift Command (MSC) as USNS Aeolus (T-ARC-3)
  • Placed out of service, May 1985
  • Returned to the Maritime Administration, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Fort Eustis, VA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 28 February 1985
  • Transferred by the Maritime Administration to the state of North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries in August 1986
  • Sunk as part of artificial reef (AR-305) 29 July 1988 in 110 feet of water, approximately 22 miles from the Beaufort inlet
    AKA Specifications:
    Displacement 4,087 t.(lt) 7,080 t(fl)
    Length 426'
    Beam 58'
    Draft 16' (lim)
    Speed 16.9 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 27
    Enlisted 276
    Armament
    one single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mount
    four twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    ten single 20mm AA gun mounts
    Cargo capacity 980 DWT
    non-refrigerated 110,000 Cu. ft.
    Boats
    one LCP(L)
    twelve LCVPs
    two LCMs
    Troop Capacity 264
    Fuel Capacities
    NSFO 9,540 Bbls
    Diesel 365 Bbls
    Propulsion
    two Westinghouse turbo-electric engines
    two Wickes boilers, 450psi 750°
    Ship's Service Generators
    two turbo-drive 100Kw 120V/240V D.C.
    one turbo-drive 150Kw 450V A.C.
    two turbo-drive 250Kw 450V A.C.
    twin propellers, 6,000shp.
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS Aeolus (ARC-3)
    Aeolus 805k USS Aeolus (ARC-3) commissioning crew (plankowners) 14 March 1955 Michael Jarvis, Secretary/Treasurer
    USS Aeolus Association
    Aeolus 122k USS Aeolus (ARC-3) under way, date and location unknown. William Zarkas, Retired MSC Boatswain
    President, MSC Retiree Association
    Aeolus 118k USS Aeolus (ARC-3) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine December 1962    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Aeolus 51k USS Aeolus (ARC-3) under way, date and location unknown. Michael Jarvis, Secretary/Treasurer
    USS Aeolus Association
    Aeolus 61k USS Aeolus (ARC-3) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Robert Hurst
    Aeolus 59k USS Aeolus (ARC-3) under way, date and location unknown. Michael Jarvis, Secretary/Treasurer
    USS Aeolus Association
    Aeolus 30k USS Aeolus (ARC-3) under way, date and place unknown. Michael Jarvis, Secretary/Treasurer
    USS Aeolus Association
    Aeolus 583k Broadside view of USS Aeolus (ARC-3) in the Mare Island channel, 12 February 1957.
    File name: ARC 3 33052-2-57, Navy Photo, 2/12/57.    		 Darryl Baker
    Aeolus 176k Port quarter aft view of USS Aeolus (ARC-3) off Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 12 February 1957.
    File name: ARC 3 33053-2-57, Navy Photo, 2/12/57.    		 Darryl Baker
    Aeolus 107k Photo of one of the USS Aeolus (ARC-3) Engineering Department Divisions, date and location unknown. Michael Jarvis, Secretary/Treasurer
    USS Aeolus Association
    Aeolus 60k USS Aeolus (ARC-3) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, January 1960.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Aeolus 318k USS Aeolus (ARC-3) under way in Boston Harbor, 31 May 1961. Homeported in Portsmouth, N.H. Aeolus's assigned shipyard was Boston Naval Shipyard.
    Boston Naval Shipyard photo, Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-16201    		 Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard, Boston, MA.
    Aeolus 1824k USS Aeolus (ARC-3) berthed at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, 10 April 1970.
    File name: File name: ARC 3 97625-4-70, Navy Photo, 4/10/70.    		 Darryl Baker
    Aeolus 59k USS Aeolus (ARC-3) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    Aeolus 99k USS Aeolus (ARC-3) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    USNS Aeolus (T-ARC-3)
    Aeolus 13k USNS Aeolus (T-ARC-3) under way, date and location unknown. Ramon Jackson
    Aeolus 102k USNS Aeolus (T-ARC-3) operating off Norfolk, VA., 4 April 1974. Note the additional structure above the cable sheaves and the large buoys on either side forward. The foremast has been replaced by a mast over the bridge.
    Defense Imagery Collection photo # DN-SN-89-00612, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the Defense Imagery Collection, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Robert Hurst
    Aeolus
    100204720    		 403k USNS Aeolus (T-ARC-3) underway, off Norfolk, VA. in 1974.
    U.S. Navy photos    		 Nicholas Tiberio
    Aeolus
    100204721    		 426k
    Aeolus 221k USNS Aeolus (T-ARC-3) moored pierside, Barry Docks, Wales, Great Britain. , August 1977. Photos from the Chris Howell collection with copyright
    Aeolus 190k
    USS Turandot (AKA-47) / USS Aeolus (ARC-3) / USNS Aeolus (T-ARC-3)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Zwicker, Francklyn William C. USNR18 June 1945 - 21 December 1945 AKA-47
    02CDR. Greer Jr., Harry Holt, USN (USNA 1934)12 December 1945 - 21 March 1946 AKA-47
     Decommissioned21 March 1946 - 13 March 1955  
    03CDR. Sanford, Merrill Merritt, USN (USNA 1936)14 March 1955 - 19 September 1956 ARC-3
    04CDR. Wier Jr., John Paul, USN (USNA 1940)19 September 1956 - 8 August 1958ARC-3
    05CDR. Whiteaker, James Glenn, USN8 August 1958 - 9 September 1959ARC-3
    06CDR. Fielden, Robert William, USN9 September 1959 - 15 March 1961ARC-3
    07CDR. Johnson, Waldo Porter, USN15 March 1961 - 24 August 1962ARC-3
    08CDR. Hoskins, Leonard Preston, USN24 August 1962 - 14 April 1964ARC-3
    09CDR. Ruebsaman, Darrel Dean, USN14 April 1964 - 30 October 1965ARC-3
    10CDR. Wellsman, Howard Clyde, USN30 October 1965 - 1 September 1967ARC-3
    11CDR. Dixson, William John, USN1 September 1967 - 17 May 1969ARC-3
    12CDR. Thomas, David Hanley, USN17 May 1969 - 4 December 1970ARC-3
    13CDR. Manduca, Theodore William, USN4 December 1970 - 28 July 1972ARC-3
    14CDR. Maston III, Joseph Harold (Jay), USN (USNA 1956)28 July 1972 - 1 October 1973ARC-3
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 17 February 2023