The Hudson River Reserve Fleet, formally the Hudson River National Defense Reserve Fleet and popularly the Mothball Fleet, was established by act of Congress in 1946 as a component of the National Defense Reserve Fleet. It was first located off Tarrytown, New York, on the Hudson River, one of eight anchorages in the United States to provide a sizable reserve of merchant ships to support any military need arising. [1]
The Hudson River Reserve Fleet was established in the wake of World War II to provide an anchorage and place of maintenance for a part of the enormous numbers of combat vessels and transports surplussed by the return of peace. On April 30, 1946, it was moved further north to Jones Point at the foot of Dunderberg Mountain.
The fleet was anchored in ten rows, extending from the fleet office at the Jones Point dock several miles to the south to the Boulderberg House at Tomkins Cove. Several viewing points were established along U.S. Route 9W for the hundreds of motorists who stopped daily to look at the ships.
During the Korean War, a total of 130 ships were taken from the Hudson River fleet leaving only 39 ships. During the Suez Crisis in 1956, 35 ships were put back into service when British and French ships were diverted from trade routes to supply their nations' armed forces. The Vietnam War required more than 40 ships.
When the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1953 needed storage space for large volumes of government-owned wheat, it turned to the Hudson River Reserve fleet. During the following ten years more than 53,563,948 bushels of wheat were loaded into 231 ships. A ventilation system had been installed in the ships, making it possible to maintain the quality of the wheat for long periods of storage. This saved the U.S. government some five million dollars on commercial storage estimates.
The ships were kept in condition on a year-round basis by a crew of 86 men under the supervision of Charles R. Gindroz of Pearl River, fleet superintendent and one-time chief engineer on the SS George Washington. The reserve fleet ships, valued at over $255 million, had their machinery turned over periodically and their internal surfaces sprayed with a coat of preservative oil on a regular basis.
Other reserve fleets were anchored at Astoria, Oregon; Olympia, Washington; Suisun Bay, California; Mobile, Alabama; Beaumont, Texas; Wilmington, North Carolina; and James River, Virginia. The last two ships from the Hudson River fleet were towed away on July 8, 1971, to be sold for scrap to Spain. Ships not sold for scrap from it were transferred to the James River Reserve Fleet. [3] [4]
SS Jeremiah O'Brien is a Liberty ship built during World War II and named after the American Revolutionary War ship captain Jeremiah O'Brien (1744–1818).
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 sufficiently working as to be reactivated quickly in an emergency.
USS Des Moines (CA-134) was the lead ship of the class of United States Navy (USN) heavy cruisers. She was the first USN ship to mount the auto-loading 8-inch (203 mm) Mark 16 guns, the first large-caliber auto-loading guns in the world. She was the second ship of the USN to be commissioned with the name of the city of Des Moines, capital of Iowa. Launched 1946, she was commissioned in 1948. She saw duty around the world until her decommissioning in 1961 when she was permanently mothballed. A 1981 survey was done to determine if she was worthy of reactivation for the 600-ship Navy, but the cost was too great so she remained in the reserve. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1993, which was followed by a campaign to turn her into a museum ship. The campaign failed, and in 2005 she was sold for scrapping, and she was broken up by July 7. Parts of the ship have been donated to various places for display, including at the USS Salem museum, which is the only Des Moines-class ship to avoid the scrapyard.
Suisun Bay is a shallow tidal estuary in Northern California. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, forming the entrance to the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, an inverted river delta. To the west, Suisun Bay is drained by the Carquinez Strait, which connects to San Pablo Bay, a northern extension of San Francisco Bay. Grizzly Bay forms a northern extension of Suisun Bay. Suisun Bay is between Contra Costa County to the south and Solano County to the north.
The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States, mostly merchant vessels, that have been mothballed but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies, or non-military emergencies such as commercial shipping crises.
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 decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed". In earlier times, especially in British usage, the ships were said to be "laid up in ordinary".
SS American Victory is a Victory ship which saw service during the final months of World War II in the Pacific Theater of Operations, the Korean War from 1951–1954, and the Vietnam War from 1966–1969. Built in June 1945, she carried ammunition and other cargo from Los Angeles to Southeast Asia, then ferried cargo, equipment and troops back to the U.S. after the war ended. She survived two typhoons and one hurricane.
Tomkins Cove is a hamlet in the Town of Stony Point, Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of Stony Point; east of Harriman State Park; south of Doodletown and west of the Hudson River. It is located north-northwest of New York City. The population is approximately 1,739 and the ZIP Code is 10986. The community is served by the 786 exchange in area code 845.
Jones Point is a former hamlet located in the town of Stony Point in Rockland County in the state of New York, United States, located north of Tomkins Cove; east of Bear Mountain State Park; south of Iona Island; and west of the Hudson River. It is directly across the Hudson River from the city of Peekskill and lies at the foot of Dunderberg Mountain.
The Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet colloquially known as the mothball fleet, is located on the northwest side of Suisun Bay in Benicia, California. The fleet is within a regulated navigation area that is about 4+1⁄2 miles long and 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) wide. It begins just north of the Union Pacific Railroad Bridge and runs northeast, parallel to the shoreline. Water depths range from about 46 feet at Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW) at the foot of the anchorage, to about 26 feet (8 m) MLLW at the shallowest berths towards the northern end of the anchorage. As of February 2024, seven ships remain in the fleet.
SS Ira Nelson Morris was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Ira Nelson Morris, the US Minister to Sweden (1914–1923), he also saved 19 year old Ellen Neilson aboard the Scandinavian America Line liner United States in 1921, from being washed overboard.
SS William J. Bryan was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after William J. Bryan, a member of the US House of Representatives from Nebraska, a three time Democratic Party presidential nominee, and United States Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson.
SS Howard Gray was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Howard Gray, an official with the Public Works Administration that was also active in the Alabama 4-H Club.
SS Raymond V. Ingersoll was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Raymond V. Ingersoll, borough president of Brooklyn from 1934 to 1940.
SS Benjamin F. Coston was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Benjamin F. Coston, a US Navy officer and scientist. Coston was the chief scientist at the Washington Navy Yard, and is credited with inventing the Coston Signal Flare.
SS Thomas Sully was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Thomas Sully, an American portrait painter.
USS Sumner County (LST-1148) was a LST-542-class tank landing ship in the United States Coast Guard during World War II.
United States Naval Station Orange, later Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet and US Naval Reserve Orange was a major United States Navy shipyard in Orange, Texas on the Sabine River. The shipyard opened on August 24, 1940, to manage the construction of 24 landing craft. To support the shipyards the navy built new naval offices, barracks and civilian housing. The Navy built twelve piers in the Sabine River at the Base. U.S. Naval Station Orange also worked with the civilian shipyards in Texas during World War II. Major civilian shipyards were: Consolidated Steel Corporation, Levingston Shipbuilding Company, and Weaver Shipyards. At the end of the war in November 1945 the shipyard was closed and the base was turned into the Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet with 250 ships.
Pacific Reserve Fleet, Olympia was part of the United States Navy reserve fleets in Budd Inlet in Puget Sound off North Olympia, Washington at 47.099178°N 122.894769°W. The Reserve Fleet was opened in 1946 to store the many surplus ships after World War II. The mothball fleet was mostly cargo ships used in the merchant marine navy. When opened is had 95 ships, mostly cargo ships, but also troop ships and oil tankers. Shore power was wired to the ships to keep them operational. Some ships there were reactivated for Korean War and Vietnam War. After the Korean War 185 ships were mothballed at the fleet. The fleet was also used to store the United States' surplus wheat in 47 ships starting in 1954. Pacific Reserve Fleet, Olympia closed in 1972, the last 29 ships in the fleet were removed, all but 4 were scrapped.
The James River Reserve Fleet (JRRF) is located on the James River in the U.S. state of Virginia at near Fort Eustis. James River Reserve Fleet, a "ghost fleet", is part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet. The Reserve Fleet ships in storage, called "mothballed", that can be ready for use if needed. Many are awaiting scrapping due to the age or condition of the ship. Some ships are used for target practice or as artificial reefs. A few ships became museum ships and other sold to private companies. Ships can be readied for use in 20 to 120 days during national emergencies or natural disaster. The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) provides oversight of the James River Reserve Fleet. For the United States Navy ships the United States Navy reserve fleets stored these ships and submarines.
