USS Orion ( AS - 18 ) USS " Orion " ( AS – 18 ) was a of the United States Navy . She was laid down 31 July 1941 at the Moore Dry Dock Company , Oakland , California ; launched 24 June 1942 ; sponsored by Mrs . Robert A . White ; and commissioned 30 September 1943 , Capt . C . S . Isgrig in command . Service history . World War II , 1943 – 1945 . Following shakedown off southern California , " Orion " got underway for Pearl Harbor on 23 November 1943 . Arriving there on the 28th , she received her first submarine , alongside for repairs two days later . On 10 December she steamed for Australia , arriving at Fremantle 5 January 1944 to begin her mission of maintaining the material readiness of , and an adequate stock of supplies for , submarines operating in the southwest Pacific . She remained in Western Australia until 6 August 1944 when she proceeded to Mios Woendi , Indonesia to establish Advanced Submarine Base Able . Arriving 26 August 1944 , she serviced 24 submarines , and 466 surface vessels , before being relieved , 9 December 1944 , by . The next day " Orion " headed back to Hawaii for overhaul . On 8 April 1945 she sailed west again . At Saipan between 23 April and 1 September 1945 , she served as CTG 17 . 7 and as SOPA ( Admin ) for Tanapag Harbor in addition to her tender and repair activities which were performed for over 300 ships . Post - war , 1945 – 1993 . As the formal surrender documents were being signed in Tokyo Bay , " Orion " was en route to the United States . Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet , she operated off the east coast for four months , then sailed south to Balboa , C . Z . Taking up duties with SubRon 6 , 24 January 1946 , she remained in the Panama Canal Zone , with one interruption for overhaul , until 11 May 1949 . Then , with SubRon 6 , she steamed to Norfolk , her new homeport . After that change of homeport , " Orion " continued to service SubRon 6 at Norfolk and , during fleet exercises , in the Caribbean Sea . A FRAM II overhaul and conversion to nuclear support , 6 September 1960 – 25 February 1961 , was followed by refresher training off Cuba . In June ; her first nuclear submarine job came alongside in the form of . Three years later she added foreign nuclear submarines to her long list of services performed after completing work on . Support of SubRon 6 , however , continued to be " Orion ’ s " primary mission . Into 1970 she serviced the conventional and nuclear - powered ships of that squadron from the Destroyer / Submarine Piers at Norfolk . " Orion " again changed homeport to La Maddalena , Italy , servicing ships of the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean Sea until 1993 , when she was relieved by the . " Orion " returned to the United States and was decommissioned 3 September 1993 . Ex - Orion was transferred to the Maritime Administration for storage 1 May 1999 and sold to North American Ship Recycling , Baltimore , Maryland to be dismantled on 27 July 2006 . At the time of her decommissioning in 1993 , Orion was the oldest active ship in the US Navy ' s fleet . Accordingly , she flew the " Don ' t Tread On Me " flag toward the end of her service . References . On 15 October 1970 , Orion ' s homeport changed to Charleston , South Carolina under the command of Submarine Squadron FOUR . From July 1979 through March 1980 , ORION underwent overhaul in Charleston Naval Shipyard in preparation for an overseas change of homeport . On 1 June 1980 , ORION ' s homeport was changed to La Maddalena , Sardinia , Italy