Norton Sound was
laid down 7 September 1942 and
launched 28 November 1943. The ship was
sponsored by Mrs. Ernest L. Gunther, wife of
Rear Admiral Ernest L. Gunther, and
commissioned 8 January 1945.
World War II on the deck of USS Norton Sound in April 1945 off Saipan After its
shakedown in the
Pacific, the new seaplane tender stood out from
San Diego 26 February 1945 and steamed for
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. She reported to Commander,
Marshall-
Gilbert area for training in mid-March, and she arrived
Saipan 1 April 1945 to provide seaplane tending services. at
Long Beach Naval Shipyard in February 1949, she steamed to equatorial waters off the
South American coast and launched two Aerobees. These launchings provided information on the earth's radiation belt. The ship returned to
San Diego in June 1959 and resumed Terrier and Tartar test launchings. These operations continued until June 1962, when she steamed for
Norfolk, Virginia, where she was decommissioned 10 August 1962. In the spring of 1981, the pre-production model of the
Vertical Launching System (VLS) was installed at
Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi. During the next two years the VLS underwent extensive testing. The
Norton Sound was the only AT-SEA Testing Platform for the AEGIS Weapon System, later installed on s and s. The summer of 1983 saw the installation of an advanced VLS which underwent testing until the end of
Norton Sound's active service.
Norton Sound was decommissioned 11 December 1986, and struck from the
Naval Register 26 January 1987. Title was transferred to the
Maritime Administration 20 October 1988, and she was laid up in the
National Defense Reserve Fleet. Later the USS
Norton Sound was sold to an overseas firm where she was scrapped. One of her anchors is on display in WestSound Viewpoint at the end of McCall Blvd in Bremerton, WA, overlooking
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Dyes Inlet. The other anchor and ship's bell is on display at the
Port Hueneme Historical Society Museum in California. == See also ==