USS Mars (AFS-1)
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Name | USS Mars |
| Namesake | The borough of Mars in Butler County, Pennsylvania |
| Builder | National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, San Diego, California |
| Laid down | 5 May 1962 |
| Launched | 15 June 1963 |
| Commissioned | 1 December 1963 |
| Decommissioned | 19 February 1998 |
| Stricken | 24 May 2004 |
| Honors & awards | Navy Unit Commendation and 11 campaign stars (Vietnam) |
| Fate | Sunk as a target, 15 July 2006 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Mars-class combat stores ship |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 581 ft (177 m) |
| Beam | 79 ft (24 m) |
| Draft | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 20 kn (23 mph; 37 km/h) |
| Complement | 486 |
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 2 × CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters |
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USS Mars (AFS‑1), the third United States Navy ship to bear the name, was laid down by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego, California, on 5 May 1962; launched on 15 June 1963, sponsored by Mrs. Clyde Doyle, widow of Representative Clyde Doyle of California; and commissioned at Long Beach Naval Shipyard on 21 December 1963.
Mars was the first of a new class that was intended to replace three types of supply ships: the AF (Store Ship), AKS (Stores Issue Ship), and AVS (Aviation Supply Ship). Two innovations were the ability to support CH-46/HH-46/UH‑46 helicopters and an automatic highline shuttle transfer system to make a rapid transfer of supplies possible. To speed replenishment processing, Mars became the first ship in the Pacific Fleet to be equipped with a UNIVAC 1104 computer system.