Hull Number: AD-36
Launch Date: 03/07/1946
Commissioned Date: 09/15/1950
Decommissioned Date: 06/30/1981
Call Sign: NBKZ
Namesake: BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, September 2016
A national park in the state of Utah.
Disposition:
Stricken 6/30/1981.
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, September 2016
Bryce Canyon (AD-36) was laid down on 5 July 1945, by the Charleston [S.C.] Naval Shipyard; launched on 7 March 1946; sponsored by Mrs. William J. Carter, wife of Rear Adm. William J. Carter. Little additional work was done on her, however, until after the outbreak of hostilities in Korea. Charleston Naval Shipyard then completed the tender and she was commissioned on 15 September 1950, Capt. M. H. Gerin in command.
Bryce Canyon transited the Panama Canal on 5 December 1950 and reported to the Pacific Fleet. On 26 March 1951 she got underway from San Diego for the Far East. Arriving at Yokosuka, Japan, on 12 April, she spent the next seven months in Japanese waters repairing and servicing warships based at Yokosuka and Sasebo. Bryce Canyon left Japan on 4 November 1951 and arrived at San Diego 18 November.
She got underway, via Pearl Harbor, for her second Western Pacific cruise on 27 June 1952. This cruise was completed 16 February 1953 when she arrived at Long Beach, Calif. On 26 September 1953 she again sailed for Sasebo where she arrived on 16 October. Bryce Canyon provided tender services in Sasebo, Yokosuka, Nagoya, and Kobe during this tour. She returned to the United States on 17 June 1954.
Her fourth Western Pacific tour commenced on 25 February 1955. She serviced vessels at Subic Bay, Luzon, between 16 March and 28 April and then proceeded to Yokosuka, arriving on 11 May 1955. Bryce Canyon returned to Long Beach on 11 August 1955. On 9 December 1955 she departed California on her fifth Western Pacific tour that ended at Long Beach on 26 October 1956. Between Far Eastern cruises, Bryce Canyon operated along the west coast.
Bryce Canyon operated with the Pacific Fleet until decommissioned at Pearl Harbor on 30 June 1981, and was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register the same day. The ex-tender was sold to National Metal & Steel Corp., Terminal Island, Ca., on 1 April 1982, and broken up for scrap.
Bryce Canyon received one battle star for her services to the forces afloat in the Korean conflict.