From Associated Press:

NORFOLK, Va. — A World War II troop carrier that saw duty in the Cold War and had a role in a movie is destined to become the largest artificial reef in Florida.

The 533-foot Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, among the hulks in the ever-thinning James River Reserve Fleet, will be towed to waters off Florida’s Key West, probably in one year, the U.S. Maritime Administration announced Tuesday.

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The Vandenberg began its nautical life in 1943 under a different name: the Gen. Harry S. Taylor. After duty in World War II and the Cold War, it was overhauled and became a sophisticated missile-tracking vessel in the Atlantic.

When christened for that assignment, in 1963, it was named after a former Air Force officer and CIA director. In the 1990s, the ship was repainted and stenciled with Russian lettering for its role in the Universal Pictures science-fiction film “Virus.”

A related web site, Sink the Vandenberg has a break down of the economic and ecological impact as well as photos.

Can you tell me what date the Vandenberg will be sunk and where? Thank you Stephen

Stephen — Here’s the most recent info I could find:

Reefmakers LLC of Morsetown New Jersey is the lead contractor coordinating the safety and environmental cleanup of the ship necessary to prepare the Vandenberg as an artificial reef . Planning for today’s 26-mile tow from the Ghost Fleet mooring to the shipyard began in 2003. The Vandenberg will be cleaned and prepared for deployment in Key West at Colonna’s Shipyard, Inc. of Norfolk, VA. The vessel will be ready to move to Key West late this year and deployed at the reef site early next year.

The article is dated March 30, 2007, so if everything went according to plan, the Vandenberg is probably en route to Key West (or will be soon).

i am a crew member of the LT 805 that will be towing this ship to key west, i was interested in finding out more about this vessel and fell apon this web site. i come from a very earth friendly family….(my mothers first ? when i moved to VA was if they recycled) i think it is awesome that this ship will provide habitat for sea life and recreation. but anyways i thought i would learn more about this ship we were going to be towing all the way to Key West. This mission has been one the whole crew has been thrilled about. we are all so excited about this. this ship is one of the largest that an army tug has towed before. when i told my older brother about this mission and told him the name of the vessel we were towing he proudly told me that the general that the vandenburg is name after thesame general that his base in CA is named after. i am proud to be part of this mission and hope we prove the strength that the army tugs contain.

SPC Martin, Please keep us updated onthe voyage. Thanks for stopping by here in our haunted corner of the web.

Hi folks,
Glad I came across this site.
My father, Lawrence Webb, was a crewmember on the first transport of the ship to New Guinea. During the cruise he earned his “Shellback”.
I live in Virginia now, what a shame I missed seeing the ship.
May she serve well.