THOR T-ARC 4

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Artemis Class Attack Cargo Ship Keel Laid April 18 1945 - Launched June 8 1945 USS VANADIS AKA-49 Commissioned July 9 1945 - Decommissioned March 27 1946 Struck from Naval Register June 5 1946 Reacquired April 14 1955 by U.S. Navy Converted to Cable Repair Ship (ARC) and renamed USS THOR ARC-4 Recommissioned January 3 1956 - Decommissioned July 2 1973 Assigned to Military Sealift Command USNS THOR T-ARC-4 Placed In Service July 2 1973 - Out of Service April 1974 Sold September 22 1977 for scrap

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. Vanadis Covers Page 1    (1945)
2. Thor Covers Page 1    (1956-67)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each incarnation of the ship (ie, for each entry in the "Ship Name and Designation History" section). Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Date From to Date To	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

---

Post Office Established June 25 1945 - Disestablished March 4 1946

 

Locy Type 2# (Br. #15949)

1945-12-25

As VANADIS AKA-49
Christmas Day 1945. Cachet by George V. Sadworth

 

Locy Type 9# (Br. #15949)

1945-07-12

As VANADIS AKA-49

 

Locy Type 9# + SL3b(n+)

1945-12-25

As VANADIS AKA-49
Christmas Day 1945. Cachet by George V. Sadworth

---

Post Office Established December 29 1955 - Disestablished July 2 1973

 

Locy Type 2(n+) (USS)

1971-04-14

As THOR ARC-4
Additional postmark from Boston MA dated April 15 1971.

 

Locy Type 2r

1956-01-27

As THOR ARC-4

 

Locy Type 2t(n+u)

1967-03-19

As THOR ARC-4
Welcome to Norfolk, cachet by Tazewell G. Nicholson

 

Locy Type 9efu

1971-04-14

As THOR ARC-4
Additional postmark from Boston MA dated April 15 1971.

 

Other Information

VANADIS earned the American Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE - Named after 76 Freia, a minor planet. Vanadis is an alternative name for Freia, the Norse goddess of love and beauty

THOR earned two (2) Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbons, the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal and two (2) National Defense Service Medals during her Naval career.

NAMESAKE - The Norse god of thunder.

 

---

 

If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.

 

---

Copyright 2024 Naval Cover Museum