October 23, 1943
A little over ten months after being launched by Basalt Rock Company in Napa, California, a rescue and salvage ship was commissioned into the U.S. Navy as USS Diver (ARS-5). This ship, which was paced under the command of Lieutenant Alexis T. Terrio (1902-1985), began her military service at a time when the United States was heavily embroiled in fighting World War II across the globe. The central mission of Diver involved aiding or otherwise handling stricken vessels.
Following a transatlantic voyage from Norfolk, Virginia, Diver arrived at Falmouth, England, on February 15, 1944. This ship and her crew subsequently underwent three days of salvage training operations at Rosneath Bay in Scotland. On March 27, Diver arrived at Portland, England, to take part in the preparations for the Allied invasion of Normandy in France.
A half-century later, the New Jersey-based Daily Record recounted that pivotal military campaign as it was seen through the eyes of Diver crew member Emil Voytac (1921-2000). This newspaper stated, “Navy Radioman Emil Voytac of [Denville Township, New Jersey] had a ringside seat for D-Day from the bridge of the USS Diver,: The ship spent the first day of the invasion pulling landing craft off Omaha Beach as the battle raged all around it.” Voytac recalled, “The little guys, the landing craft and tank craft, were foundering. Our job was to pull them out and either save them or sink them.”
In the weeks following the invasion of Normandy, Diver continued to be deployed in this region for salvage operations at both Omaha Beach and Utah Beach. She also carried out a major lifesaving mission in July of that year when she was used to rescue 30 survivors of SS Norfolk. That Norwegian freighter had been sunk by a mine while en route to the commune and subprefecture of Cherbourg (now part of the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville) along the coast of Normandy.
By the following year, Diver was operating instead in Germany. On June 22 — 45 days after Germany’s surrender to the Allies ended World War II in Europe — Diver arrived at the German city of Bremerhaven to perform salvage duties as needed. Her other responsibilities there included serving as an escort vessel. Starting on August 23, Diver reported to the town of Brake in this region of Germany to be on standby for possible salvage and rescue operations in the Weser River there. On October 4, Diver departed from Bremerhaven for a return voyage to the United States. She arrived at Norfolk on October 22.
Between February 9 and 16, 1946, Diver was stationed in New York Harber to help out with relieving congestion caused by a tugboat strike in this area of the Eastern Seaboard. From April 18 to May 13, Diver was used for towing duty between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and New London, Connecticut. Later that same month, she taken to the city of Orange, Texas. Diver was decommissioned there on July 27.
On April 12, 1949, this ship was sold to Merritt-Chapman & Scott Corporation for use as a salvage vessel. She was renamed MV Rescue. Her ultimate fate is unknown.
Photo Credit: Public Domain
For more information on USS Diver (ARS-5), please check out https://www.navsource.net/archives/09/37/3705.htm
Additional information on U.S. Navy rescue and salvage ships is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diver-class_rescue_and_salvage_ship
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