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. [2] [3]
Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass-produced on an unprecedented scale, the Liberty ship came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output.
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.
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. Suisun Marsh, the tidal marsh land to the north, is the largest marsh in California. Grizzly Bay forms a northern extension of Suisun Bay. Suisun Bay is directly north of Contra Costa County.
The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, 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"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern US naval usage is "ghost fleet". 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 brief service in the Pacific Theater of Operations during the final months of World War II, Korean War from 1951–1954, and Vietnam War from 1967–1969. Built in June 1945, she carried ammunition and other cargo from U.S. West Coast ports 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. She sailed around the world twice.
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.
USS Sphinx (ARL-24) was laid down as a United States Navy LST-542-class tank landing ship but converted to one of 39 Achelous-class repair ships that were used for repairing landing craft during World War II. Named for the Sphinx, she was the only US Naval vessel to bear the name.
USS Grimes (APA-172) was a Haskell-class attack transport in service with the United States Navy from 1944 to 1947. She was scrapped in 1974.
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.
USS Yolo (APB-43) was a Benewah-class self-propelled barracks ship of the United States Navy that served in the later years of World War II, and briefly post-war. She was struck in 1959, and scrapped in 1960.
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.
United States Naval Station Orange, later Texas Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet and US Naval Reserve Orange was 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 opend 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.
