There was a movie on t.v. in the late 50's or early 60's about the navy ship USS Nereus. She was a submarine tender. The movie was something about firing a missile off the ship, as well as other aspects of life on the Nereus. Can anyone help?

The info below is from a Navy site. Doesn't show any missiles in the armanents list. You aren't thinking of the Bedford Incident from 1965-a nuclear standoff with Russians?

USS Nereus (AS 17)
- decommissioned -

USS NEREUS was the fifth FULTON - class submarine tender and the third ship in the Navy to bear the name. In Greek mythology, Nereus is the god of the sea represented as a kind and wise old man who was the eldest son of Pontus and Gaea and the father of fifty mermaids, the nereids. Decommissioned in 1971, the NEREUS is since then laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, Benica, Calif.

General Characteristics: Keel laid: October 11, 1943
Launched: February 12, 1945
Commissioned: October 27, 1945
Decommissioned: 1971
Builder: Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, Calif.
Propulsion System: Diesel electric
Propellers: two
Length: 529.5 feet (161.4 meters)
Beam: 73 feet (22.3 meters)
Draft: 25.6 feet (7.8 meters)
Displacement: approx. 18,000 tons
Speed: 15 knots
Armament: two Mk-30 5-inch / 38 caliber guns, four 20mm guns
Crew: approx. 1200

I was stationed aboard the USS Nereus (AS-17) in 1967 & 1968. I worked in shops X38A (Outside Machine Shop), X38H (Hydraulic Shop), and X31B (Governor & Injector Shop), all of which were in the R2 Division (Machinery Repair). I stood Quartermaster watch in port and Throttleman watch in the After Engine Room underway. The ship was home ported at Ballast Point at the Point Loma Naval Station in San Diego, CA. We were the command ship for SUBRON-5 which, with SUBRON-3 (USS Sperry), was part of SUBFLOT-1 at Ballast Point. We made a number of voyages around the Pacific while I was aboard.

The only movie we were involved in that I can recall was Ice Station Zebra. During the early part of the movie Rock Hudson, playing the part of the Commanding Officer of the USS Tigerfish (USS Caiman) is riding in his limousine out onto a pier in Holy Locke, Scotland (actually Ballast Point in San Diego). As the camera focuses on the limo cruising down the pier the Sub Tender USS Nereus is directly in the background. If you watch very close you can see me very briefly on Fantail Watch as the camera scans by. This is the only part we played in the film and there were no missiles fired. This was in the middle of a typical California summer but we had to be in Dress Blues because of the movie setting (we were dying in those wool uniforms).

The USS Nereus, built in 1943, originally had 4ea. 5in-38 guns, 4ea. 40mm. Twin cannons, and 8ea. 20mm twin mounts. When I was aboard 2 of the 5in-38's, all the 40mm and 6 of the 20mm's had been removed (all those that were left were located up forward). While she stored and repaired all kinds of submarine armament, she was never equipped with any missiles that she could fire herself (of course, we never went anywhere without a submarine escort). By the way, the twin 20mm's were only re-installed after the USS Pueblo incident.


Here is what she looked like when I was on board.

Uss nereus was involved with the first missile fired from a nuclear sub in hi

-correction uss nereus served as support for first missile fired from a sub. Serviced the first nuclear sub on west coast.

OMEGA, my grandfather worked in the mail room on the Nereus from 1967-68, I'm sitting here looking up some stuff with him and am wondering what your name is. His name is Roger Lucas. Do you have any contact info? My email is [email protected]. Thanks!

-zack

I was station on the USS nereus AS17sometime in 1955 when we went sea the launching of the first missile from a submarine. I don't recall the exact date. David Paretich yeoman third class. I was the deck yeoman.

This ship was station in the middle of San Diego harbor.

The USS Nereus took part in the launching of a Regulus 1 missal from the USSG Tunney on May 3 And 4 in 19 55 in French Frigate Sholes in the South Pacific. And if you were on board at that time You were exposed to an estimated 35 RADS according to the radio man on board at that time, which died in 2012 of Cancer.

As of 31/12/2015 their seems to be only a very few shipmates still alive that I know about!

Richard H. Ellett, FP3 USS Nereus AS 17. I was there a this time!!