USS Norton Sound ( AVM - 1 ) USS " Norton Sound " ( AV - 11 / AVM - 1 ) was originally built as a by Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Company in San Pedro , California . She was named for Norton Sound , a large inlet in West Alaska , between the Seward Peninsula and the mouths of the Yukon , north - east of the Bering Sea . Career . " Norton Sound " ( AV - 11 ) was laid down 7 September 1942 ; launched 28 November 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Ernest L . Gunther , wife of Rear Admiral Ernest L . Gunther ; and commissioned 8 January 1945 , Captain Ben Scott Custer in command . World War II . After $ 3 shakedown , the new seaplane tender stood out from San Diego 26 February 1945 and steamed for Pearl Harbor , Hawaii . She reported to Commander , Marshall - Gilbert Area for training in mid - March , and she arrived Saipan 1 April 1945 to provide seaplane tending services . " Norton Sound " anchored 1 May 1945 at Aka Kaikyo , Kerama Retto , and by 21 June 1945 had assisted in downing three hostile air raiders . Air alerts continued until midnight , 14 August 1945 . Word of the Japanese surrender arrived eight hours later , and into September the tender engaged in upkeep and air operations at Okinawa . She steamed for Sasebo , Japan 21 September 1945 , returning to Okinawa one week later . Norton Sound called at Shanghai , China 1 October 1945 , and by the 23rd of that month she was at Tsingtao , where she tended seaplanes until 7 November 1945 . The next day she anchored at Shanghai , and from then until April 1946 , she remained on duty with the occupation forces between China and Japan . " Norton Sound " departed Tokyo Bay 7 April 1946 for Norfolk , Virginia . After overhaul there she joined the Atlantic Fleet . She operated off the east coast until October 1947 , when she steamed for San Diego to rejoin the Pacific Fleet . " Norton Sound " received two battle stars for World War II service . 1948 to 1950 . Later " Norton Sound " was converted to a missile - launching platform . She was in Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in 1948 for seven months while equipment was installed for handling , stowing , launching , and controlling guided missile s . Upon completion of her modifications in October 1948 , " Norton Sound " steamed for her new homeport of Port Hueneme , California . En route she conducted tests with Skyhook balloon s . Off the coast of Southern California she underwent a missile training program . Late that Autumn " Norton Sound " launched a training missile , marking the beginning of the Navy ’ s use of shipborne guided missiles . After launching equipment for Aerobee rocket s was installed at Long Beach Naval Shipyard in February 1949 , she steamed to equatorial waters off the South American coast and launched two Aerobees . These launchings provided information on the earth ’ s radiation belt . On 1 July 1949 , " Norton Sound " headed for the geomagnetic equator 1 , 500 miles ( 2 , 400 km ) south of Hawaii , and conducted tests with seventeen Skyhook balloons and nine smaller balloon clusters , all carrying scientific instrumentation packages . After modifications in February and March 1950 at San Francisco Naval Shipyard , " Norton Sound " launched a five - ton Viking rocket 11 May in Project Reach . This rocket carried a 500 pound instrumentation package to an altitude of 106 . 4 miles ( 171 km ) , and provided data on cosmic ray s . Project " Reach " concluded the first phase of " Norton Sound " ' s use as a missile platform . 1950 to 1962 . In the fall of 1950 " Norton Sound " underwent a four - month overhaul at San Francisco Naval Shipyard . New Terrier missile handling , launching , stowage , and guidance systems were installed , and she was reclassified AVM - 1 on 8 August 1951 . This was the first of three extensive alterations accomplished through 1955 . Test launchings of Terrier and Tartar missiles continued through 1958 . In 1958 " Norton Sound " participated in Operation Argus . From south of the Falkland Islands she launched three rockets carrying low - yield atomic warheads . Detonations occurred at altitudes between 160 and 750 km , and effects were monitored by the Explorer IV satellite and other instrumented rockets . Analysis of the data contributed to the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belt . The ship returned to San Diego in June 1959 and resumed Terrier and Tartar test launchings . These operations continued until June 1962 , when she steamed for Norfolk , Virginia , where she was decommissioned 10 August 1962 . 1962 to 1969 . In November 1962 she was towed to Baltimore , Maryland for installation of the Typhon Weapon Control System , including the AN / SPG - 59 radar . This was completed early in 1964 , and " Norton Sound " recommissioned 20 June 1964 for weapons research . Homeported in Baltimore , " Norton Sound " operated for several months in Chesapeake Bay , evaluating the Typhon System . She was then assigned to Port Hueneme , Calif . in July 1965 . Her mission was increased to include evaluation of the Sea Sparrow missile , which she first launched 13 September 1965 . During a three - month stay at Long Beach Naval Shipyard commencing 15 July 1966 , all Typhon equipment was removed . For the next two years " Norton Sound " evaluated various missile countermeasures . She also tested ECM equipment , and a new concept in gyroscope design . " Norton Sound " entered Long Beach Naval Shipyard 13 June 1968 for regular overhaul . The yard also installed a new , light - weight 5 " / 54 gun mount with associated control components for test . Into 1969 she continued in test and evaluation work with the Pacific Fleet . 1973 to 1986 . In 1973 she received the first ship - borne installation of the Aegis Combat System , which later became the primary combat system in U . S . Navy cruiser s and destroyer s . In the spring of 1981 , the pre - production model of the Vertical Launcher was installed at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula , Mississippi . During the next two years the VLS underwent extensive testing . The " Norton Sound " was the only AT - SEA Testing Platform for the AEGIS Weapon System , later installed on s and Arleigh Burke ( DDG - 51 ) class destroyers . The summer of 1983 saw the installation of an advanced VLS which underwent testing until the end of Norton Sound ' s active service . " Norton Sound " was decommissioned 11 December 1986 , and struck from the Naval Register 26 January 1987 . Title was transferred to the Maritime Administration 20 October 1988 , and she was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet . Later the USS Norton Sound was sold to an overseas firm where she was scrapped . One of her anchors is on display in WestSound Viewpoint at the end of McCall Blvd in Bremerton , WA , overlooking PSNS and Dyes Inlet .