Nahant III AN-83

Nahant III
(AN-83: dp. 855; 1. 169', b. 34', dr. 15'; B. 12 k.; cpl. 54 a. 1 3"; cl. Cohoes)

The third Nahant, authorized as YN-102, was reclassified AN-83 on 20 January 1944; laid down 31 March 1945 by the Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Ore., Iaunched 30 June 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Hazel H. Childs, and commissioned 24 August 1945, Ens. R. F. Cella in command.

Commissioned too late for action in World War II, Nahant removed net moorings in the San Francisco Bay area and tested experimental nets until 31 October 1945. She then departed the west coast and steamed to Orange, Tex. Arriving 21 November, she planted moorings, removed pilings and performed tug services for the growing Reserve Fleet until decommissioning and joining the moth ball fleet herself, 31 July 1946.

Recommissioned 14 February 1952 and assigned to the 5th
Naval District, Nahant installed and tended harbor defense nets within that district until 1 March 1954, when she temporarily assumed duties as a salvage vessel. By 28 May, however, diving equipment and a recompression chamber had been permanently installed and Nahant was converted into a ship of dual mission: salvage ship and net tender. From that time until 1968, Nahant participated in Mine Hunting Unit operations, harbor clearance projects, NATO and Atlantie Fleet training operations, mining operations, torpedo net laying and recovery operations, fleet service mine tests, harbor defense operations and training exercises, and experimental mine and net test and evaluation exercises. Such operations took Nahant, homeported first at Little Creek, Va. and later at Charleston, S.C., as far north as Argentia and as far south as Cuba. Nahant decommissioned 30 September 1968 and was struck from the Naval Register 1 Oetober. On 15 October 1968 she was sold to Uruguay, where she now serves as Rou-Huracan (BT-30).