USS Kittiwake ( ASR - 13 ) USS " Kittiwake " ( ASR - 13 ) was a United States Navy in commission from 1946 to 1994 . Construction and commissioning . " Kittiwake " was launched 10 July 1945 , by Savannah Machine & Foundry Co . , Savannah , Georgia ; sponsored by Mrs . Howard S . Rue , Jr . ; and commissioned 18 July 1946 , Lt . L . H . Collier in command . Service history . After shakedown , " Kittiwake " departed Charleston , South Carolina , 3 October for Balboa , Canal Zone , arriving 8 October . Assigned to support and rescue duty with Submarine Squadron 6 , the submarine rescue ship accompanied submarines during sea trials and maneuvers to monitor diving operations ; to practice underwater rescue procedures ; and to recover practice torpedoes . While based at Balboa , her operations carried her to the Virgin Islands , to Puerto Rico , and along the Atlantic coast to the Davis Strait . Departing Balboa 31 May 1949 , " Kittiwake " arrived Norfolk , Virginia 6 June to continue duty with SUBRON 6 . From 17 January to 1 February 1950 she provided divers and equipment during salvage operations to free the battleship , grounded in tidal banks off Thimble Shoals , Virginia . During the 1950s she cruised the Atlantic from New England to the Caribbean while supporting ships of Submarine Force U . S . Atlantic Fleet with a trained and highly skilled crew . While on station off the coast of Cape Canaveral , Florida , 20 July 1960 , she stood ready to assist the fleet ballistic missile submarine as " George Washington " successfully launched the first two Polaris ballistic missiles ever fired from a submarine beneath the sea . " Kittiwake " continued operating out of Norfolk until 1 August 1961 when she departed for the Mediterranean . Arriving at Rota , Spain , on 15 August , she cruised the Mediterranean from Spain to Greece while deployed with the United States Sixth Fleet . After supporting submarine maneuvers out of Piraeus , Greece , from 20 September to 9 October , she departed the Mediterranean 8 November and arrived Norfolk on the 18th . She then conducted operations out of Norfolk for the next 18 months . While on duty off Key West 2 February 1963 , she sighted a Cuban boat , " Jose Maria Perez " ; took on board 12 refugees ( including 3 children ) fleeing communist oppression in Cuba ; and carried them to safety at Key West . Departing Charleston , South Carolina , 16 April , " Kittiwake " arrived St . Nazaire , France , 3 May with two Landing Craft Utility ( LCU ' s ) in tow . She proceeded to the Mediterranean 10 May and reached Rota on the 14th . For more than two months she participated in fleet operations before departing Rota 31 July for the United States . Returning to Norfolk 10 August 1963 , she resumed training and support operations with submarines , along the Atlantic coast . Through 1964 and 1965 , " Kittiwake " continued her role in maintaining the readiness of individual submarines which were to carry out their missions of defense and deterrent effectively . She escorted them as they left the East Coast shipyards for sea trials , standing ready to come to their rescue should difficulties arise . Constant exercise in use of weapons by submarines was furnished by " Kittiwake " , such as running as a target and recovering exercise torpedoes and mines . The operations ranged from the Virginia Capes to the Atlantic missile range off Florida . On 6 April 1965 , she departed Norfolk with submarines for exercises off the coast of Spain , thence to the Mediterranean Sea . " Kittiwake " departed Toulon 31 May 1965 , to operate out of Rota , Spain , in support of the fleet ballistic missile submarines of Submarine Squadron 16 : , , , and . Following torpedo recovery and training off the coast of Spain , she sailed for Holy Loch , Scotland 30 June 1965 , to give support to Submarine Squadron 14 there . She recovered torpedoes for the fleet ballistic missile submarines and , provided underway training for men of the submarine tender , then sailed 20 July for Norfolk , arriving 30 July 1965 . During the autumn months , " Kittiwake " guarded new Polaris submarines , and , during their builder ' s sea trials prior to commissioning . " Kittiwake " operated on the United States East Coast and in the Caribbean until sailing for the Mediterranean 8 July 1966 . She reached the Bay of Cádiz on the 20th and transited the straits 2 days later . She operated in the Mediterranean until emerging at Rota , Spain , 1 September . She headed for Holy Loch on the 6th and arrived on the 11th . Four days later she was ordered to the North Sea to assist in locating and salvaging the German submarine " Hai " ( S - 171 ) . She reached the scene of the tragedy 17 September and remained on hand assisting salvage operations until the 20th . She continued to operate off Western Europe until returning to Norfolk 13 November . " Kittiwake " operated on the East Coast into 1967 . On 23 April 1984 , " Kittiwake " collided with the attack submarine at Norfolk , Virginia , while " Bergall " was moored to the pier astern of her . " Kittiwake " was getting underway for the first time since she had undergone maintenance , during which her main drive motor was re - wired improperly , causing it and the screw it drove to rotate in the opposite direction from that ordered by personnel on " Kittiwake " s bridge . This was unknown to " Kittiwake " s bridge personnel , who found that " Kittiwake " started to move astern when they were expecting her to move forward . Noting the backward motion , they ordered an increase in the motor drive speed in order to correct it and get " Kittiwake " moving forward , but unwittingly caused " Kittiwake " to move further astern and at a higher speed . Still not realizing that " Kittiwake " s main drive motor was operating in reverse of what they expected , " Kittiwake " s bridge personnel then ordered another increase in " Kittiwake " s forward speed , which only served to increase her speed astern . This continued until " Kittiwake " s stern backed into " Bergall " s sonar dome . In 1986 , the " Kittiwake " recovered the black box from the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster . Decommissioning and disposal . " Kittiwake " was decommissioned on 30 September 1994 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on the same day . Her title was transferred in November 2008 for an undisclosed amount to the government of the Cayman Islands . The Cayman Islands government intended to use " Kittiwake " to form a new artificial reef . Originally intended to be sunk off Seven Mile Beach , Grand Cayman in June 2009 , it was finally sunk on 5 January 2011 . A 2011 episode of the documentary television series " Monster Moves " covered moving and sinking the ship . " Kittiwake " is resting upright in 62 feet of water on a sandy bottom .