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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Patch Contributed by Jerry Search

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USNS Neptune (T-ARC-2)
ex
 USS Neptune (ARC-2) (1953 - 1973)
 USACS William H. G. Bullard (1946 - 1953)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Golf - Uniform - Bravo
 NGUB
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Navy Battle "E" Ribbon - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal - Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
Neptune Class Cable Laying and Repair Ship:
  • Laid down, date unknown, as SS William H. G. Bullard, a Maritime Commission type (S3-S2-BP1) hull, for the US Army Signal Corps, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 2557) at Pusey and Jones Corp., Wilmington, DE.
  • Delivered to the US Army in February 1946, commissioned US Army Cable Laying Ship USACS William H. G. Bullard
  • Acquired by the Navy in 1953
  • Converted for Naval Service at Bethlehem Steel Co. Shipyard, Key Highway Plant, Baltimore, MD.
  • Commissioned USS Neptune (ARC-2), 1 June 1953, CDR. Robert A. Bogardus in command
  • Decommissioned in 1973 and assigned to the Military Sealift Command (MSC) and placed in service as USNS Neptune (T-ARC-2)
  • Placed out of service, 1 January 1991
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 20 August 1992
  • Title transferred to the Maritime Administration, 1 April 1998
  • Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Fort Eustis, VA.
  • Final Disposition, transferred, 3 November 2005, to International Shipbreaking Limited, Brownsville, TX. for scrapping
    Specifications:
    Displacement 4,410 t.
    Length 362'
    Beam 47'
    Draft 25'
    Speed 13kts
    Complement 155
    Armament none
    Propulsion two Skinner Uniflow Reciprocating Steam Engines replaced with Diesel engines, twin shafts
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USACS William H. G. Bullard
    Neptune 151k
    Namesake
    William Hannum Grubb Bullard (6 December 1866 – 24 November 1927) United States Navy admiral, who serviced during the Spanish–American War and World War I. After World War I, he established the Navy's patrol on China's Yangtze River. A noted electrical engineer, he wrote a popular handbook on naval electrical systems, and contributed to the use of radio in the Navy. (Wikipedia)    		 Tommy Trampp
    USS Neptune (ARC-2)
    Neptune
    09270226    		 19k
    Namesake
    Neptune is the god of freshwater and the sea in Roman religion. He is the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon. In the Greek-influenced tradition, Neptune is the brother of Jupiter and Pluto; the brothers preside over the realms of Heaven, the earthly world, and the Underworld. Salacia is his wife. (Wikipedia)    		 Tommy Trampp
    Neptune 81k Neptune (ARC-2) in drydock during conversion to a Cable Laying and Repair Ship at Bethlehem Steel Co. Shipyard, Key Highway Plant, Baltimore, MD., early 1953. Photo by Gene Ruark, pre-commissioning crew
    Neptune 84k Neptune (ARC-2) in drydock during conversion to a Cable Laying and Repair Ship at Bethlehem Steel Co. Shipyard, Key Highway Plant, Baltimore, MD., early 1953. Photo by Gene Ruark, pre-commissioning crew
    Neptune 217k USS Neptune (ARC-2) crew photo during commissioning ceremony, Bethlehem Steel Co. Shipyard, Key Highway Plant, Baltimore, MD, 1 June 1953
    Bethlehem Steel photo.    		 Gene Ruark, pre-commissioning crew
    Neptune 205k USS Neptune (ARC-2) off Bethlehem Steel Co. Shipyard, Key Highway Plant, Baltimore, MD, during sea trials, circa June 1953
    Bethlehem Steel photo.    		 Gene Ruark, pre-commissioning crew
    Neptune 142k USS Neptune (ARC-2) at Bethlehem Steel Co. Shipyard, Key Highway Plant, Baltimore, MD, close up of bow (cable) sheaves , circa June 1953
    Bethlehem Steel photo.    		 Gene Ruark, pre-commissioning crew
    Neptune 297k USS Neptune (ARC-2) at anchor, circa 1954, location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    Neptune 86k USS Neptune (ARC-2) underway in San Francisco Bay in 1957.
    Photo ©Allied Photographers of San Francisco.    		 Robert M. Cieri
    Neptune 256k USS Neptune (ARC-2) underway off Hampton Roads, VA. 28 November 1960.
    Photo courtesy of Atlantic Fleet Sales, Norfolk, VA., ©Nobe Smith.    		 Bill Gonyo
    Neptune 43k USS Neptune (ARC-2) underway in April 1972, location unknown. Robert Hurst
    Neptune 50k USS Neptune (ARC-2) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, April 1973    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Neptune 43k USS Neptune (ARC-2) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Robert Hurst
    Neptune 120k USS Neptune (ARC-2) underway, date and location unknown. ©Ramon Jackson
    Neptune 277k USS Neptune (ARC-2) underway off Hawaii, date unknown.
    DVIC photo # DNST9011493 by PH3 D.R. Hyder USN.    		 Defense Visual Information Center web site
    Neptune 93k USS Neptune (ARC-2) getting underway at NOB Norfolk, VA. with the assistance of harbor tugs Oratamin (YTM-347) and Chiquito (YTB-499), August 1964. ©Richard Leonhardt
    Neptune 57k USS Neptune (ARC-2) getting underway at NOB Norfolk, VA. with the assistance of harbor tugs Oratamin (YTM-347) and Chiquito (YTB-499), August 1964. ©Richard Leonhardt
    Neptune 45k USS Neptune (ARC-2) Change of Command, 8 September 1970 at San Francisco, CA. Russ Padden, courtesy Don Scott YNCS USN Ret
    Neptune 236k USS Neptune (ARC-2) (28 Berth) and USNS Kingsport (T-AG-164) (8 Berth) moored at Barry Docks, Wales, Great Britain in August 1973. Terry Spierling
    Neptune
    09270227    		 221k USS Neptune (ARC-2) underway, date and location unknown.
    U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD. Identifier 7575628.    		 Robert Hurst
    Neptune 403k USS Neptune (ARC-2) ship's plaques. Photo by Terry Spierling
    Neptune 379k
    USNS Neptune (T-ARC-2)
    Neptune 203k USNS Neptune (T-ARC-2) underway, date and location unknown/ Carl R. Friberg Jr
    Additional Ships Patches
    Neptune
    Contributed by Carl R Friberg    		 Neptune
    Contributed by Mike Smolinski
    USS Neptune (ARC-2)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Bogardus, Robert Anthony, USN (USNA 1940)1 June 1953 - ?
    02LCDR. Roark, Lonnie Holland, USN (USNA 1940)no dates
    03CDR. Griggs III, John Bradford, USN (USNA 1943)1960 - 27 April 1962
    04CDR. Sullivan, Joseph Edward, USN27 April 1962 - ?
    05CDR. Stroux, Peter Max, USN1965
    06CDR. Miguel Jr., Theodore, USN? - 8 September 1970
    07CDR. Griffith, Webster, USN8 September 1970 - ?
    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 23 June 2023