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 | unused |
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°43′42″N 117°12′59″W / 32.72847°N 117.21632°W
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]
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]
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]
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]
The USS Recruit is featured in the opening credits of the 1976 television sitcom CPO Sharkey which takes place in San Diego.[31]