USS Sunbird ( ASR - 15 ) USS " Sunbird " ( ASR - 15 ) was a " Chanticleer " - class submarine rescue ship in the United States Navy . " Sunbird " was laid down on 2 April 1945 by the Savannah Machine and Foundry Co . , Savannah , Georgia , and launched on 3 April 1946 , sponsored by Mrs . John H . Lassiter . " Sunbird " was accepted by the Navy , inactivated , and towed to the Charleston Navy Yard on 15 January 1947 . She was commissioned at New London , Connecticut , on 23 June 1950 , Lt . Comdr . A . R . Clark , Jr . , in command . Service history . 1950 – 1959 . " Sunbird " held sea trials at New London before moving to the Norfolk Naval Shipyard for modernization from August to October . While holding refresher training off Guantánamo Bay on 29 November , she rescued two survivors of a plane crash . " Sunbird " trained off New London from December 1950 to May 1951 at which time she alternated two - week training periods between there and Norfolk . Off Norfolk on 14 May , she came to the rescue of which had been in a collision with a merchantman , badly holed and set on fire . She then returned to New London until November , at which time she made a round trip recreational cruise to Bermuda , British West Indies . Following an overhaul at Boston , from January to March 1952 , " Sunbird " operated along the east coast from Greenland to the Caribbean . In June 1954 she towed a disabled submarine from Cape Hatteras to Norfolk . In March 1956 , " Sunbird " assisted in removing the destroyer from rocks in Narragansett Bay where she had been driven by a blizzard . In November of that year , she salvaged a torpedo retriever boat from a ledge off Block Island . These local operations continued until November 1959 . " Sunbird " had some of her rescue equipment removed in late November 1959 to enable the installation of two huge wire parbuckling nets and large racks . This was Launch Test Vehicle ( LTV ) recovery equipment which transformed her into the first dummy Polaris missile recovery ship . 1960 – 1969 . In February 1960 , " Sunbird " was called to aid two tugs that were towing the decommissioned escort aircraft carrier " Chenango " ( CVHE - 28 ) . The carrier had grounded on the north shore of Long Island and the recovery ship was successful in refloating her . Later in the month , divers from " Sunbird " aided in refloating the which had grounded at the mouth of the Thames River . In March , " Sunbird " recovered 15 missiles that had been fired from ballistic submarines . By 1 July 1960 , the ship had greatly contributed to the Polaris Program in recovering 46 of the seven and one - half ton missiles . In August and September , she operated off Cape Kennedy during Polaris test firings . In January 1961 , the rescue ship was ordered to Texas Tower 4 to search for survivors of the tower which had collapsed . Her divers made 174 dives in searching the wreckage , with many to depths of 180 feet . The ship then engaged in local operations until mid - 1962 . In July 1962 , " Sunbird " towed YFNB - 31 from Philadelphia to Holy Loch , Scotland . From 1 August to 24 October she served as flagship of Task Force ( TF ) 69 while operating with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean . She returned to New London and was in an upkeep status until the end of November . Local operations followed until April 1963 when she was dispatched to the search area for a week , with negative results . She returned to normal east coast fleet operations until 5 January 1965 when she got underway for a four - month deployment with the 6th Fleet which ended on 1 May . In October , she participated in Operation " Springboard 65 " in the Caribbean and returned to New London on 12 November 1965 . " Sunbird " stood out of New London on 11 April 1966 en route to Rota , Spain . Two days out of that port her orders were changed to proceed to Naples , Italy , and join the 6th Fleet . While attached to the 6th Fleet , in addition to routine duties , she was called upon to perform special operations . The ship was detached on 20 May and proceeded to Spain and thence , on 27 June , to Holy Loch where she provided services for Submarine Squadron ( SubRon ) 16 until 22 July when she sailed for New London , arriving there on 1 August 1966 . The year 1967 was an uneventful year for " Sunbird " and , from 11 September 1967 to 11 January 1968 , she was being overhauled . On 27 May 1968 , the ship was operating in the Narragansett Bay operating area when she was ordered to proceed south and aid in the search for the missing nuclear submarine . " Sunbird " arrived at the scene and began operating with in a search area along the 50 - fathom curve . " Scorpion " was not found , but the two ships did find three uncharted hulls , including a German World War II submarine . The ASR was detached on 6 June to return to New London . Other than normal operations and providing services to SubRon 2 , the year 1969 was highlighted by the rescue of five fishermen , on 27 May , from a fishing boat . 1970 – 1979 . " Sunbird " was deployed to the 6th Fleet from 6 April to 30 July 1970 and from 3 January to 4 May 1972 . In 1971 , other than local operations , the ship was overhauled at Philadelphia from 11 February to 18 May . She deployed to the Caribbean for two tours in 1974 which were a welcome break in her routine . " Sunbird " operated from her homeport of New London with the Atlantic Fleet into February 1975 . In September / October 1976 " Sunbird " ( under CO Edward Craig ) and NR - 1 performed the recovery operation of the Phoenix Missile lost from an F - 14 . The F - 14 experienced a throttle manfunction and " taxied " off the deck of the Kennedy aircraft carrier . " Sunbird " secured the missile after NR - 1 recoved it from the bottom . 1980 – 1993 . During the period 12 February through 22 April 1986 , " Sunbird " , in company with " NR - 1 " , participated in the search , location and recovery of debris and wreckage from the ill - fated Space Shuttle Challenger ( STS - 51L ) . During this operation , " Sunbird " conducted numerous dives , recovering several pieces of shuttle debris , and providing surface support to " NR - 1 " , who ultimately located a part of the solid rocket booster suspected as the cause of this tragic casualty . Decommissioning and disposal . " Sunbird " was decommissioned on 30 September 1993 , laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet , and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 2 November 1993 . She was transferred to MARAD custody on 1 May 1999 , for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet , James River , Virginia . The contract for scrapping was awarded to Bay Bridge Enterprises , Chesapeake , Virginia , on 18 July 2005 , and the ex - " Sunbird " was removed on 17 August 2005 by Bay Bridge Enterprises , and scrapping was completed on 12 November 2005 .