USS Recruit (TDE-1)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Recruit.

USS Recruit (TDE-1/TFFG-1) at Liberty Station (Formerly Naval Training Center), San Diego.
History
United States
Name	USS Recruit (TDE-1)
Builder	USN
Commissioned	1949, 1982
Decommissioned	1967, 1997
Nickname(s)	USS Neversail[1]
Fate	Museum ship
General characteristics
Length	225 ft 0 in (68.58 m)
Beam	24 ft 4 in (7.42 m)
Draft	0 ft 0 in (0 m)
Propulsion	none
Speed	N/A
Complement	N/A
Armament	unarmed

32.72847°N 117.21632°W / 32.72847; -117.21632

USS Recruit (TDE-1, later TFFG-1) was a landlocked "dummy" training ship of the United States Navy, located at the Naval Training Center in the Point Loma area of San Diego, California. She was built to scale, two-thirds the size of a Dealey-class destroyer escort, and was commissioned on July 27, 1949.^[2] Recruit was commissioned for 18 years, for much of that period the only landlocked ship to hold that status in the U.S. Navy. After the closure of the Naval Training Center, she sat empty for the better part of 20 years, finally being opened to the public as a museum ship in 2023.^[3]

Background

In 1919, Naval Training Station San Diego was established through the efforts of U.S. Representative William Kettner to have the navy relocate recruit training from Goat Island to San Diego.^{[4]: 73 [a]} Her predecessor USS Recruit, a wooden "battleship" built in Union Square in New York City in 1917, was dismantled in 1920.^[6] Another land-based training ship existed prior to the Recruit, the USS Electrician.^[7] During World War II, there was a minesweeper named USS Recruit (AM-285), which was in commissioned in 1943, decommissioned in 1946, and was ultimately transferred to the Mexican Navy.^[8]

Naval Training Center San Diego

USS Recruit in her original configuration.

Designed to be a two-thirds scale replica of a destroyer escort, her construction began in 1949.^[9] That same year, the Recruit was commissioned by Rear Admiral Wilder D. Baker.^[10][11] "Sailing" on a sea of concrete at the Naval Training Center, she assisted with the training of over 50,000 new recruits per year, providing an education in the fundamentals of shipboard drills and procedures, using standard deck and bridge gear like that found on all naval vessels, including lifelines, accommodation ladders, signal halyards, searchlights, the engine order telegraph and the helm.^[12] Below decks, the ship had six classrooms where recruits were trained, and adjacent to the ship were barracks where those recruits would be housed when not standing watches aboard the Recruit.^[11] Also below decks was a gas chamber where recruits were exposed to a diluted form of tear gas to know first hand of its effects. Due to her landlocked status, Recruit lacked an engine or screw, and therefore was affectionately nicknamed the "USS Neversail."^[12][13][b] In 1954, she was modified from her original configuration.^[9] Reflecting her dual identity as both a ship and a building, she was also known as Building 430, located on Geary Drive between Evans and Chauncey roads.^[15]

Recruit was decommissioned in March 1967, due to the inability to classify the unique ship in a computerized registry of Navy vessels.^[16] She was later reconditioned in 1982, and refurbished to look like an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate; this reconditioning extended the ship's length to 233 feet.^[10][17] That same year she was recommissioned.^[6] Commissioned or otherwise, she served continuously as a training facility from her construction in 1949 until the base was closed by the BRAC commission in 1997.^[6] Redevelopment of the base began in the early 2000s and continues to this day, with the remodeling of a historic building into a new Performing Arts Center scheduled to open in 2024.^[18][19]

Liberty Station

California historical landmark marker

When the base closed the Recruit remained, with the hope that she would someday become a maritime museum.^[20] Maintenance became the responsibility for a private company placed in charge of repurposing the former training center.^[21] In July 2001, Naval Training Center was listed in the National Register of Historic Places;^[22] the Recruit is included in the Naval Training Center's listing.^[21][23] In 2004, she was listed as a California Historical Landmark.^[21][24] In 2014, partnering with the USS Midway Museum, the Recruit was refurbished.^[21][25] The San Diego chapter of E Clampus Vitus also assisted with the renovation.^[12] She remains where she was built; is adjacent to a retail area of Liberty Station, as the redeveloped base is known; and can be seen from North Harbor Drive.^[26] A conference building and several hotels are also located nearby.^[27]

She appears to be the one of two surviving examples of the Navy's landlocked ships, or "landships".^[10][25] At Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois, there is the USS Trayer (BST-21), used for the battle stations phase of recruit training.^[28] The USS Commodore, located at the United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge in Maryland, was dismantled when the base closed in the 1970s.^[29] The USS Bluejacket, located at Naval Training Center Orlando in Florida, was also dismantled when this base closed March 31, 1995.^[30]

Museum ship

The longtime hope to make the Recruit into a museum ship finally began to bear fruit in 2018, as plans took shape to commemorate the base's hundredth anniversary in 2023. The ship was acquired by the Seligman Group, which has redeveloped and owns many historical properties such as the Watergate office building in Washington, D.C. The ship's history was studied, and she was refurbished inside and out. She was opened to the public in June 2023. Interior exhibits feature historical photos and recorded commentary from past service members.^[3]

In media

The USS Recruit is featured in the opening credits of the 1976 television sitcom CPO Sharkey which takes place in San Diego.^[31]

Notes

1. Land for the base was acquired through the efforts of Ed Fletcher.^[5]
2. The same nickname, "The Neversail," was also applied to the landlocked "ship" USS Commodore at United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge in Maryland.^[14]

References

1. Palen, James (September 18, 2014). "USS Recruit restoration aimed to make old trainer ship-shape". The Daily Transcript. San Diego. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
2. "quarterdeck.org". Archived from the original on February 8, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
3. Faurot, Tyler (June 18, 2023). "Liberty Station's land ship opens to the public with historical exhibit". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
4. McClain, Molly (2008). ""Liberty Station" and the Naval Training Center in San Diego" (PDF). The Journal of San Diego History. 54 (2): 73–84. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
5. "Senator Ed Fletcher". Digital Archives. City of San Diego. 2002. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
   "COLONEL ED FLETCHER (1872-1955)". San Diego History Center. 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
   Jennifer A. Garey (2008). San Diego's Naval Training Center. Arcadia Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-7385-5958-2. OCLC 236352186.
6. Sears, David (April 2017). "The USS Recruit, The Navy's World War I 'Lanship'". VFW Magazine. Vol. 104, no. 7. Veterans of Foreign Wars. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
7. Hampton Roads Naval Historical Foundation (February 24, 2014). Naval Station Norfolk. Arcadia Publishing. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-4396-4480-5. OCLC 900733615.
   "Photos: The birth of a naval base: The Navy in Norfolk 1917-1919". The Virginian-Pilot. Hampton Roads, Virginia. June 25, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
   "Letters". All Hands. United States Navy. January 1975. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
8. Patton, James (May 8, 2019). "The USS Recruit". Kansas WW1. University of Kansas. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
   Stone, Sarah (March 28, 2016). "Forgotten History - The Battleship Built in Union Square". Today I Found Out. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
9. Jennifer A. Garey (2008). San Diego's Naval Training Center. Arcadia Publishing. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-7385-5958-2. OCLC 236352186.
10. Jennifer A. Garey (2008). San Diego's Naval Training Center. Arcadia Publishing. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-7385-5958-2. OCLC 236352186.
11. "Changes in Recruit Training". Naval Training Bulletin. The Bureau of Naval Personnel. January 1951. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
12. Perry, Tony (November 11, 2015). "Former Navy training vessel 'Neversail' in San Diego is again shipshape". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
13. Jennifer A. Garey (2008). San Diego's Naval Training Center. Arcadia Publishing. pp. back cover. ISBN 978-0-7385-5958-2. OCLC 236352186.
14. Christopher Knauss (2007). Maritime Cecil County. Arcadia Publishing. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-7385-4446-5. OCLC 1065964655.
15. City of San Diego photo gallery Archived May 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
    Scanlon, Karen (April 2007). "Aboard San Diego's Ragged Navy Relic, USS Recruit". Western Outdoor Times. Arizona Boating & Watersports. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
16. Whetstone, Marc; Jansing, Tom; Stovall, Jim (December 1974). "25th Anniversary USS Recruit" (PDF). All Hands. No. 695. United States Navy. p. 53. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
17. Grandfield, Danese (July 1982). "USS Recruit". Campus. Vol. XI, no. 7. Pensacola, Florida: Chief of Naval Education and Training. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
18. "Naval Training Center, San Diego". www.militarymuseum.org. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
19. Sklar, Debbie L. (November 16, 2022). "Jacobs Performing Arts Center Set to Debut in Liberty Station in 2024". Times of San Diego. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
20. "City of San Diego". Archived from the original on May 6, 2010. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
21. Bell, Diane (October 6, 2014). "Shabby USS Recruit gets baselift". Hartford Courant. Connecticut. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
22. Beall, Edson (2001). National Register of Historic Places 2001 Weekly Lists (PDF) (Report). National Park List. p. 94. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
    California State Assembly. "Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 110". Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California (Resolution). State of California. Ch. 160 (Direct URL).
    "California - List View". National Park Service. Retrieved November 20, 2021. National Register of Historic Places - listed 2001
    "Naval Training Center San Diego, California Redevelopment Profile". Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation. United States Department of Defense. October 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
23. National Register of Historic Places listing^{[dead link‍]}
    "Navy's Neversail Ship to Be Preserved Evermore". Los Angeles Times. July 30, 2005. Archived from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
    Advancing the Preservation and Reuse of Maryland's Historic Complexes (PDF) (Report). The Maryland Department of Planning. January 28, 2020. p. 24. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
24. "USS Recruit". Office of Historic Preservation. California State Parks. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
    "Navy's Neversail Ship to Be Preserved Evermore". Los Angeles Times. July 30, 2005. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
25. London, Christina (November 11, 2014). "USS Recruit Gets Into Shipshape". KNSD. San Diego. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
26. "Location 15: USS Recruit". Liberty Station. Liberty Station Community Association. 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
27. "The History of Liberty Station". Liberty Station Conference Center. 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
    "Logistics & Information". Tear 3m 2021. National Defense Industrial Association. 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
    Joe Sanok (October 5, 2021). Thursday is the New Friday: How to Work Fewer Hours, Make More Money, and Spend Time Doing What You Want. HarperCollins Leadership. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-4002-2604-7. OCLC 1262726421.
    Environmental Impact Statement Disposal and Reuse of Certain Real Properties Naval Training Center San Diego. Southwest Division Naval Facilities Engineering Command San Diego, California: United States Navy. July 1998. pp. 2–16 – via Northwestern University.
28. "Back to Basics". Naval Historical Foundation. January 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
    Thornbloom, Scott A. (June 28, 2007). "Destroyer simulator Trayer commissioned at RTC". The Flagship. Norfolk: Public Affairs Office of Navy Region Mid-Atlantic. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
    Wise, Jeff (October 1, 2009). "Surviving on the USS Trayer, the Navy's Disaster Simulator". Popular Mechanics. New York, New York: Heart Digital Media. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
29. Christopher Knauss (2007). Maritime Cecil County. Arcadia Publishing. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-7385-4446-5. OCLC 1065964655.
30. Hodges, Sam (November 19, 1991). "The USS Bluejacket Sinks Far From The Sea". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
31. Department of Defense Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1978. Department of the Navy. 1977. Retrieved December 2, 2021.