ASR-7 Chanticleer
ASR-7 Chanticleer class vessels served as surface support ships for submarine rescue operations. They conduct these operations using the McCann rescue chamber and support deep sea diving operations down to 300 feet. These ships can support divers indefinitely, lowering them to the ocean floor in pressurized transfer chambers for open-sea work periods. These vessels also serve as operational control ships to conduct deep-sea salvage operations.
The first of many Auxiliary Submarine Rescue class ships was commissioned in 1929. In addition to the primary mission of submarine rescue, ASR ships also could be used for deep ocean search, location, and recovery, salvage operations, development of rescue techniques, as well as escort, fueling and tender services for submarines. Due to the various duties of ASR vessels, their commanding officers were required to have both submarine and diving backgrounds.
On 13 February 1944 Submarine rescue vessel MACAW (ASR-11) was lost by grounding at the entrance to Midway Channel in about 25-50 feet of water. ARS-33 Clamp conducted salvage operations on Macaw (ASR-11) from 24 January to 17 February 1945, then returned to Pearl Harbor.
In December 1989 the salvage ship USS GRASP (ARS-51) and the submarine rescue ship USS KITTIWAKE (ASR-13) maintained position near the vessel GREENPEACE to prevent the vessel, which was operated by the environmental organization of the same name, from attempting to disrupt the U.S. Navy`s test launch of a Trident II D-5 submarine-launched ballistic missile. Greenpeace was shouldered away after entering the hazardous area to prevent a submerged test launch of a Trident II missile from the nuclear-powered strategic missile submarine USS TENNESSEE (SSBN-734) off the coast of Florida.
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