Wreck of USS/USNS Niagara Falls (T-AFS-3)

 military, shipwreck, United States Navy

Laid down in May 1965 at the NASSCO Shipyard at San Diego, USS Niagara Falls was the third member of the Mars Class of Combat Stores Ships, and commissioned into service with the US Pacific Fleet in April 1967.

Immediately deployed to Southeast Asia following her shakedown and training cruises, Niagara Falls and her crews began what would turn into five straight years of operations in support of American Forces fighting the Vietnam War, operations which would earn the ship and crew ten Campaign Stars. Following her final Vietnam operations in support of the ceasefire, Niagara Falls joined the US 7th Fleet and was homeported at Guam, where she would be based from 1974 through 1991.

Operating extensively with the 7th Fleet in the Pacific and Indian Oceans during this time, as the 1980's gave way to the 1990's the Falls was increasingly deployed to the Persian Gulf to support US operations in the contested waterways during the Iran-Iraq War. Culminating with her involvement with the First Gulf War in early 1991, the Niagara Falls continued her routine deployments with the US 7th Fleet until she was decommissioned in September 1994 and transferred to the operational authority of the Military Sealift Command. Renamed USNS Niagara Falls, the now civilian-crewed vessel continued her service to the US Navy's 7th Fleet as part of the MSC's Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force Far East for the next fourteen years before her advancing age and operational limitations when compared to newer auxiliary vessels led to her final deactivation in September 2008.

Placed into Category X Reserve at NISMF Pearl Harbor following her deactivation, the Niagara Falls was stripped of reusable materials through 2010 and subsequently listed on the Navy's target ship roster. Following environmental remediation and preparation operations lasting until 2012, the Niagara Falls was towed out of Pearl Harbor to this location roughly 63 nautical miles Southwest of Kauai and set adrift. Through the night and early morning of July 14th, 2012, the Niagara Falls served as a target ship for the ships and aircraft assembled for RIMPAC 2012, absorbing numerous live-fire munitions before sinking bow-first at approximately 1130hrs in 15,480ft of water.

www.navsource.org/archives/09/52/5203.htm