Cadmus (AR-14)
1946-1974
A character in Greek mythology.
(AR-14: displacement 6,266; length 492'; beam 69'6"; draft 27'6"; speed 16 knots; complement 921; armament 2 5-inch; class Amphion)
Cadmus (AR-14) was laid down on 30 October 1944 at Tampa, Fla., by the Tampa Shipbuilding Co., Inc.; launched on 5 August 1945; sponsored by Mrs. B. P. Ward; and commissioned on 23 April 1946, Capt. J. M. Connally in command.
Assigned to the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Cadmus operated from her home port at Norfolk, Va., as repair ship. Calls to east coast ports, and cruises in the Caribbean, are part of a schedule which calls for service to the Fleet during major exercises. On 3 September 1957, the repair ship cleared Norfolk on her first Atlantic crossing. After taking part in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercises with TF 88 out of Rothesay, Scotland, she visited ports in Scotland, France, and Spain. Through the first half of 1958 she sailed with TF 63 in replenishment missions during fleet exercises in the Mediterranean. From her return to Norfolk on 7 May 1958 through 1960, Cadmus has continued her program of east coast and Caribbean operations.
Ultimately, Cadmus was decommissioned on 14 September 1971. Delivered to the Maritime Administration, custody being transferred at 11:3- a.m. on 26 January 1972,, Cadmus entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet berthing area in the James River that same day [26 January 1972]. Stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 15 January 1974, the veteran of a quarter-century of fleet support was disposed-of, through the Security Assistance Program, via cash sale, on 22 April 1974, to the Taiwanese government.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
2 June 2016
