This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(January 2013) |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | USS Eltanin |
Namesake | A star in the constellation Draco |
Builder | Avondale Marine Ways, Inc., Avondale, Louisiana |
Laid down | date unknown as type (C1-ME2-13a) hull |
Launched | 16 January 1957 |
Acquired | by the U.S. Navy, October 1957 |
In service | October 1957 by MSTS as USNS Eltanin (T-AK-270) |
Out of service | date unknown |
Reclassified | Oceanographic Research Vessel (T-AGOR-8), 23 August 1962 |
Stricken | not known |
Fate | transferred to Argentina in 1974 |
History | |
Argentina | |
Name | ARA Islas Orcadas |
Acquired | 1974 |
Fate | Scrapped, 1979 |
General characteristics | |
Type | cargo ship (icebreaker) |
Tonnage | 1,850 tons |
Displacement | 3,886 tons |
Length | 266 ft (81 m) |
Beam | 52 ft (16 m) |
Draft | 18 ft (5.5 m) |
Propulsion | diesel electric, two shafts, 3,200hp |
Speed | 13 knots |
Complement | 18 civilians, 15 scientific party, 6 Navy |
Armament | none indicated |
USNS Eltanin (T-AK-270/T-AGOR-8) was an Eltanin-class cargo ship with an ice-breaking hull acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1957 and then operated by the Navy in a non-commissioned status, named after Eltanin, a star in the constellation Draco. Her designation was changed to that of an oceanographic research ship in 1962 when she operated in Antarctic waters.
Eltanin (T-AK-270) was launched on 16 January 1957 by Avondale Marine Ways, Inc., Avondale, Louisiana. She was turned over to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) in October 1957 for operation in a noncommissioned status.
During 1961 and 1962, Eltanin was modified throughout at a New York shipyard to fill a new role as a floating laboratory. Former cargo spaces were replaced with labs, workshops, and staterooms for scientists, and further labs were added above decks. Anti-roll tanks were also added, along with protective bulwarks. On 23 August 1962 her classification was changed to Oceanographic Research Vessel and designated T-AGOR-8.
Eltanin was assigned to the National Science Foundation to support the Foundation's Antarctic Research Program with the ship operated by the Military Sea Transportation Service. [1] The ship worked in the Antarctic Ocean becoming the first Antarctic research ship to do so. After two shakedown cruises in the Atlantic Ocean and a positioning cruise with further testing en route, Eltanin operated a total of 52 Antarctic research cruises from July 5, 1962 thru December 29, 1972. Over this time, some 80% of the southern ocean was surveyed, and a total of 400,000 miles traveled.
Some of Eltanin's research cruises collected magnetic profiles of the sea floor that proved to be pivotal evidence in the acceptance of the continental drift theory, by proving the existence of sea floor spreading. These key profiles, which show symmetric bands of alternating magnetic orientation (corresponding to magnetic pole reversals) around various undersea ridges, are known by the ship's name and cruise number (ex. Eltanin-19).
As of mid-1973, Eltanin was laid up in San Francisco Bay, her research career at an end.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2015) |
In 1974 she was transferred to the Argentine Navy in a 5-year lease and renamed ARA Islas Orcadas. [2]
In 1978 she participated in an expedition in the Weddell Sea during which its crew discovered an igneous underwater formation, baptized Virginia Range. [2]
At the end of the lease period it was returned to the US Navy in Norfolk, Virginia, on 1 August 1979. [2]
Eltanin was placed out of service at an unknown date and struck from the Naval Vessel Register, also at an unknown date, and transferred to the U.S. Maritime Administration for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet.
Eltanin was returned by Argentina in early 1990.[ clarification needed ] USS Eltanin was laid up, pending title transfer for disposal, in the James River anchorage of the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF), on February 21, 1990. The U.S. Navy officially passed title of the vessel to the Maritime Administration on July 2 of that year. MARAD sold Eltanin for scrap on November 22, 1991, and it departed the reserve fleet on March 18, 1992.
USS Cahuilla (ATF-152) was an Abnaki class fleet tug in the service of the United States Navy during World War II. In 1961 she was sold to the Argentine Navy as ARA Irigoyen (A-1) where she served until 2009 when she became a Museum ship.
HMS Caicos was a Colony-class frigate of the United Kingdom that served during World War II. She was originally ordered by the United States Navy as the Tacoma-class patrol frigate USS Hannam and was transferred to the Royal Navy prior to completion. It was named after the Caicos Islands.
The Instituto Antártico Argentino is the Argentine federal agency in charge of orientating, controlling, addressing and performing scientific and technical research and studies in the Antarctic. It is under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship.
ARA Suboficial Castillo (A-6) was an Abnaki-class tug/patrol boat of the Argentine Navy. She previously served in the United States Navy as USS Takelma (ATF-113) from 1944 to 1992. The ship was acquired by Argentina in 1993 and was in service until the 2020s. In 2022, the ship was put up for sale. Suboficial Castillo was used as support ship for both the Argentine Submarine Force and during the summer campaigns in Antarctica in the Patrulla Antártica Naval Combinada with the Chilean Navy to guarantee safety to all touristic and scientific ships that are in transit within the Antarctic Peninsula.
ARA King is a World War II-era Argentine Navy warship, originally classified as minelayer and later as patrol ship. The vessel is named after Juan King, an Argentine naval officer that served in the Cisplatine War. It is the third Argentine naval ship with this name.
ARA La Argentina was a steam corvette that served as a training ship with the Argentine Navy between 1884 and 1895, and in other roles until decommissioned in 1899.
ARA Azopardo is a World War II era Argentine Navy warship, originally classified as patrol boat and later as antisubmarine frigate. The vessel is named after Juan Bautista Azopardo, an Argentine naval officer that served in both the Argentine War of Independence and in the Cisplatine War. It is the third Argentine naval ship with this name.
ARA Piedra Buena is a World War II era Argentine Navy warship, originally classified as patrol boat and later as antisubmarine frigate. The vessel is named after Luis Piedrabuena, an Argentine mariner that explored and guarded Argentine sovereignty in Patagonia. It is the third Argentine naval ship with this name.
ARA Cormorán (Q-15) is a hydrographic survey boat of the Argentine Navy, built in the Río Santiago Shipyard and based in Buenos Aires. The vessel is named after the cormorant, a seabird that inhabits Argentina’s littoral, and is the fourth Argentine naval ship with this name.
ARA Petrel was a hydrographic survey boat of the Argentine Navy, built in the Cadenazzi Shipyard and based in Buenos Aires. The vessel is named after the petrel, a seabird that inhabits Argentina's littoral, and is the third Argentine naval ship with this name.
ARA Azopardo was a tugboat of the Argentine Navy, built in the Bethlehem Shipyard in 1919 and transferred to Argentina in 1922. It was based at the port of Buenos Aires and later at Puerto Belgrano, and it was decommissioned in 1941. The vessel was named after the Juan Bautista Azopardo, a Maltese privateer and officer of the Argentine Navy during the Independence and Cisplatine wars, and was the second Argentine naval ship with this name.
ARA Azopardo was a steam transport of the Argentine Navy, built in the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino and sold to Argentina in 1884. It was based, among others, in the port of Buenos Aires and later Ushuaia, and was decommissioned in 1922 after being sunk in an accident; it was refloated and sunk in 1924 as a target. The vessel was named after the Juan Bautista Azopardo, a Maltese privateer and officer of the Argentine Navy during the Independence and Cisplatine wars, and was the first Argentine naval ship with this name.
PNA Azopardo (GC-25) is a Mantilla-class patrol boat of the Argentine Naval Prefecture, built at the Empresa Nacional Bazán shipyards and commissioned in 1983. The vessel is named after Juan Bautista Azopardo, a Maltese privateer and officer of the Argentine Navy during the Independence and Cisplatine wars, and Harbourmaster of Buenos Aires; she is the second PNA ship with this name.
The Azopardo-class frigates were a class of two post-World War II warships, designed and built in Argentina in 1940-1959, originally as part of a class of four large minelayers. They were in service with the Argentine Navy from the mid-1950s to 1972. The class was named after Juan Bautista Azopardo, an Argentine naval officer in the Independence and Cisplatine wars.
ARA Cabo de Hornos (B-5) was a cargo ship in service with the Argentine Navy since 1979, capable of transporting bulk cargo, live cattle, and containers. She was the second ship in the Argentine Navy to bear the name of the Cape Horn (Chile) located to the south of Tierra del Fuego.
ARA Canal Beagle (B-3) is a cargo ship in service with the Argentine Navy since 1978, capable of transporting bulk cargo, live cattle, and containers. She is the second ship in the Argentine Navy to bear the name of the Beagle Channel in the south of Tierra del Fuego.
The Costa Sur-class cargo ship is a class of three cargo ships designed and built in Argentina in 1975–1979 for servicing the Patagonic coast routes; capable of transporting bulk cargo, live cattle, and containers. The ships have been in service with the Argentine Navy since 1978. The class is named after the southern coastal area of Argentina which was designed to service.
ARA Luisito (Q-51) is a training ship of the Argentine Navy, in service since 1985 and based in Mar del Plata; where she is used to train students from Argentina’s National Fishing School. The vessel is the first Argentine naval ship with this name.