USS Skylark ( ASR - 20 ) USS " Skylark " ( ASR - 20 ) was a " Penguin " - class submarine rescue ship of the United States Navy . The ship was laid down in July 1945 as the " Yustaga " ( ATF - 165 ) by the Charleston Shipbuilding & Drydock Co . of Charleston , South Carolina . While under construction " Yustaga " was redesignated a submarine rescue ship on 11 October 1945 , assigned the hull designation ASR - 20 on 13 November 1945 , and renamed " Skylark " on 5 December 1945 . She was launched on 19 March 1946 , sponsored by Mrs . H . C . Weatherly , and was placed in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet , berthed first at Charleston and later at New London , Connecticut , until 1 March 1951 , when she was finally commissioned , Lt . Comdr . Romolo Cousins in command . Service history . 1951 – 1962 . Following restricted availability at the Portsmouth Navy Yard , " Skylark " conducted her shakedown cruise and training out of Norfolk , Virginia , during July . The ship then returned to New London and operated out of that base , practicing submarine rescues and serving as a target recovery ship for submarines conducting torpedo - firing drills . In April 1952 , the ship temporarily moved south to relieve as rescue vessel at Key West , Florida , while the latter ship underwent an overhaul . In June , she returned north to New London to resume her former duties . During January and February 1953 , " Skylark " was overhauled at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard ; and , after refresher training at Newport , Rhode Island , during March and April , she spent May at Norfolk filling in for while the latter ship went into the shipyard for overhaul . In June , she returned to New London and carried out her training schedule until October when she again headed back to Norfolk to substitute for " Kittiwake " , while the latter participated in " Operation Springboard . " Upon the conclusion of that brief assignment , she resumed her New London - based routine . In February and March 1954 , " Skylark " engaged in her own share of " Operation Springboard " exercises , providing services to Atlantic Fleet submarines during the annual training evolution . She returned to New London late in March and resumed her usual duties . In September , the ship entered the Boston Naval Shipyard for a two - month overhaul . Until the beginning of 1962 , " Skylark " continued the pattern of duties described above . She operated out of New London the majority of the time but , periodically , did temporary duty elsewhere , notably at Norfolk and Key West , taking over briefly the duties of " Kittiwake " or " Petrel " when either ship was incapacitated due to repairs . She also operated regularly in the West Indies during the annual " Springboard " exercises . The one notable exception to that pattern occurred in January and February 1955 when she assisted , the Navy ' s first nuclear - powered submarine , in completing her builders ' trials . 1962 – 1973 . At the beginning of 1962 , the submarine rescue vessel began a new phase of her career when regular deployments to the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean became a normal aspect of her activities and continued to be for the remainder of her naval service . She embarked upon the first such cruise on 8 January 1962 . During that assignment , she served as flagship of Task Force ( TF ) 69 and participated in the search for an Air Force jet fighter which crashed at sea near Malaga , Spain . On 7 May 1962 , she returned to New London and resumed her duties with the Atlantic Fleet . In April 1963 , she was one of the first ships to answer the distress call sent by before she sank during diving tests . " Skylark " also participated in the search for the submarine which was conducted for several days after the loss . In July 1963 , she was deployed to the Mediterranean once more and again served as flagship of TF 69 . That cruise lasted until late October , and " Skylark " reentered New London on 2 November . Nineteen months of duty out of her home port , along the Atlantic coast of the United States , followed her return home . On 7 July 1965 , the submarine rescue vessel stood out of New London once more , bound for the Mediterranean and duty in support of 6th Fleet submarines . During the latter portion of that cruise , " Skylark " served for several weeks at the ballistic missile submarine base located in Holy Loch , Scotland , before returning home to New London on 29 October . During the remaining eight years of her Navy career , the ship alternated duty along the Atlantic coast of the United States with deployments to the Mediterranean and to the submarine base at Holy Loch . In the spring of 1968 , she participated in the unsuccessful rescue attempt and search for , the second American nuclear - powered submarine to be lost at sea . Her only other major departure from her routine came in June 1972 when she participated in NATO Exercise " Pink Lace " before beginning a scheduled deployment to Holy Loch and the Mediterranean in July . That deployment in the summer and fall of 1972 saw " Skaylark " deploy with the Submarine Tender USS FULTON ( AS - 11 ) , and virtually the entire Submarine Squadron 10 for which Fulton served as flagship . During the early part of the deployment , " Skylark " performed operational exercises with both U . S . and U . K boats out of Faslane , and researched alternate egress possibilities from Holy Loch into the North Sea . In the Mediterranean , she participated in the founding of the NATO naval base in La Madellena , where she , the Fulton and members of Submarine Squadron 10 created a permanent mid - Mediterranean base of operations . " Skylark " also performed joint submarine rescue practice four - point moor operations with an Italian Navy ASR out of Sicily . She returned to New London on 18 November 1972 , completing the last deployment of her career . Decommissioning and sale . On 30 June 1973 , " Skylark " was decommissioned , and her name was struck from the Navy List . On that same day , she was sold to Brazil through the Security Assistance Program ( SAP ) . In Brazilian service , 1973 – 1996 . " Skylark " was commissioned into the Brazilian Navy as " Gastao Moutinho " ( K . 10 ) in 1973 . In 1989 , " Gastão Moutinho " was reclassified as an auxiliary ship , and redesignated U . 20 . Based at the naval base of Aratu , it was placed under the control of the Commandant of the 2nd Naval District , carrying out coastal patrols , supporting other ships , and restocking the radio beacon of Abrolhos , amongst other missions . On 18 September 1996 , " Gastão Moutinho " was deactivated , having sailed and spent 1 , 626 days at sea during her service in the Brazilian Navy .