The USS Recruit has been humorously called the USS Neversail. Embedded in concrete at the old Naval Training Center San Diego, the landlocked dummy training ship was an official U.S. Navy vessel commissioned in 1949 (and re-commissioned in 1982) that never set sail!
After Naval Training Center San Diego finally closed in 1997 and Liberty Station was developed on the Navy’s old property, the USS Recruit remained in place, slowly deteriorating. Then about ten years ago, the sheet-metal-over-wood-framing mock destroyer received a new paint job.
Last year the USS Recruit finally opened as a ship museum, allowing visitors to enter a large ground-level room inside the training ship. The walls of the museum are filled with historical photographs and video of past service members recalling their unique experiences aboard ship.
I ventured into the free ship museum a couple weekends ago for my first time. I was told that the one room open to the public used to be filled with telephones. Young sailors could use the phones to call home.
Here are a few photos…
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My father used to train recruits on the ship to tie knots . This was 1949 to 1959. I have a photo of some service men posing for a picture in front of the shipIt is kinda of grainy but I think my dad was in it . No names given . I’d be stunned if I saw it again on the ship . My dad was a Chief Petty Officer. I’d visit the USS Neversail many times when I was a kid. Brings back memories.
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Thanks for sharing your memories!
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