Mars (AFS 1) - Naval Cruise Book

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USS MARS iAFS-1

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THE MARS INSIGNIA Although the ship was named for a small community which bears the name of the planet MARS, the ships insignia was inspired by the Roman god, MARS, whose symbols were a flaming torch and a spear. As adapted to the USS MARS insignia, the spear represents battle readiness while the torch — a universal symbol of peace represents service towards peace. The fins are an indication of the jet age — a jet age sign supporting an age old symbol of peace.

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The USS MAKS (AFS-l) is tin- first sliip of iho Combat Stores type of auxiliary ships Jincl was commissioned on I )iicml)i ' r L! I . UKi:!. I It-r type is named after United .States i-(inmiimilirs wliicli l)c;ir names of aslroiioniic-al hodies, this hcinj Mars, I ' iiiis l aiiia. MAKS is ap|)roximately 580 feet lonj , 80 feet of beam, and has a fully loaded dis- l)lact ' nunt of Hi. 750 tons. She is equipped with four 3 5() twin mount, rapid-fire guns. Her main etif iiies develop liL ' .SOO horsejjower to iLini her (i-bladed 21 foot screw, givinf her a speed in excess of ' 2 knots. The electrical generators could meet the needs of a citv of L ' D.OOO. The air conditioning and refrigeration equipment has a capacity equal to that of an ice plant making 336,000 pounds of ice a day. The fire mains have a capacity etpial to that of the combined output of five city fire trucks. Her primary Naval mission is the support of the mobile fleet with ship repair parts, tools, aircraft repair and spare parts, food (fresh, canned, and frozen), clothing, and a variety of sundries for the fleet sailor ' s comfort. MARS is the first vessel to be completely equipped with the Fast Automatic Shuttle Transfer (FAST) system of underway replenishment, one of the Navy ' s newest developments in transfer at sea equipment, and also carries two Sea Knight cargo helicopters for distant vertical replenishment of underway vessels. She is equipped with a UNIVAC 1004 computer for the processing of supply transac- tions, and is the first afloat command in the Pacific to be so equipped. MARS is the largest ship ever built in San Diego, California. The MARS is homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, and is one of the ships which com- prise SERVICE FORCE PACIFIC. The ships of this group are the Shell Oil Stations, A P Stores, or the Sears Roebucks and Woolworth 5 lO ' s of the Pacific Navy. She cruises the Far East as a unit of the United States SEVENTH Fleet. The United States SEVENTH Fleet, world ' s largest task fleet, maintains surveillance throughout nearly one sixth of the earth ' s surface of thirty million square miles, from the Siberian coastal waters in the North, to Antarctica, and from the Indian Ocean in the West to 160 degrees East longitude, a point about 1,200 miles east of the U. S, Territory of Guam. Comprised of some 125 ships, 650 aircraft, and 64,000 highly trained Navy and Marine Corps personnel, the SEVENTH Fleet is dispersed throughout this vast ocean area, acting as a deterrent to enemy aggression in the Western Pacific, and insuring that the sea lanes are kept open for free world trade. Aside from military operations, the SEVENTH Fleet is constantly active in search and rescue missions, community aid and relief missions, and myriad People-to-People activities, all of which promote good will and understanding between the United States and the peoples of Southeast Asia. The SEVENTH Fleet is a corps of 64,000 ambassadors of good will, with her sailors and marines giving thousands of pints of blood and thousands of dollars annually to the needy and unfortunate. The People- to-People program is living proof that the SEVENTH Fleet is, in practice, as well as theory, a Ready Power for Peace.