USS Marietta (AN-82)

History
United States
Name	USS Marietta
Namesake	Cities in Ohio and Georgia
Builder	Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oregon
Laid down	17 February 1945
Launched	27 April 1945
Sponsored by	Mrs. Theodore C. Lyster, Jr.
Commissioned	22 June 1945
Recommissioned	14 February 1952
Decommissioned	21 December 1959
Identification	YN-101; AN-82;
Fate	transferred to Venezuela February 1962
Venezuela
Name	Puerto Santo
Acquired	February 1962
Identification	H-03
General characteristics
Class and type	Cohoes-class net laying ship
Displacement	775 tons
Length	168 ft 6 in (51.36 m)
Beam	33 ft 10 in (10.31 m)
Draft	10 ft 10 in (3.30 m)
Propulsion	Diesel electric, 2,500 hp (1,900 kW)
Speed	12.3 knots (22.8 km/h; 14.2 mph)
Complement	46
Armament	1 x 3 in (76 mm)/50 gun; 4 x single 20 mm cannons;

USS Marietta (YN-101/AN-82) was a Cohoes-class net laying ship commissioned at the end of World War II. Post-war she was deactivated, but then recommissioned during the Korean War era. After that service, she was struck from the Navy List and transferred to the Venezuelan Navy in 1962.

Construction and career

Marietta was laid down by the Commercial Iron Works, Portland, Oregon on 17 February 1945. The ship was launched on 27 April 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Theodore C. Lyster, Jr., and commissioned 22 June 1945, Lt. Richard Haber, USNR, commanding.

World War II related service

Following shakedown, Marietta was briefly ordered to San Francisco, California, where she spent two weeks removing the protective nets in that harbor, 14 August to 3 September 1945. She then sailed for Norfolk, Virginia, via the Panama Canal. Reporting to ComServLant 30 October, she immediately began installing moorings for the growing Inactive Fleet.

On 1 February 1946 the netlayer headed for Miami, Florida, and for the next eleven weeks operated with the Hydrographic Office in a series of triangulation surveys of the east coast of Florida and the Bahamas. Marietta next steamed for New Orleans, Louisiana, arriving 25 April, and continuing on to Orange, Texas, 11 May. At Orange she entered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet and decommissioned 19 March 1947.

Korean War era service

Five years later, 14 February 1952, Marietta recommissioned. Assigned to harbor defense in the 3d Naval District, she was based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Brooklyn, New York, for almost eight years. During that time she tended nets, moorings, and buoys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, with periodic deployment to other ports on the U.S. East Coast, including Key West, Florida, Charleston, South Carolina, Norfolk, Virginia, Boston, Massachusetts, and, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Inactivation

On 21 October 1959, following operations with the Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek, Virginia, Marietta entered the New York Naval Shipyard for inactivation. She decommissioned 21 December at Bayonne, New Jersey, and reentered the Atlantic Reserve Fleet.

Transferred to Venezuela

Two years later preparations were started for Marietta's eventual transfer under the terms of the Military Assistance Program. In February 1962 she was put in the custody of the Venezuelan government, for whom she has operated, with the name Puerto Santo (H 03). Her ultimate fate is unknown.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
NavSource Online: YN-101 / AN-82 Marietta