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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Contributed by Anthony J. Basile

USS Crilley (YHLC-1)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

National Defense Service Medal - Vietnam Service Medal - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
YHLC-1 Class Salvage Lifting Craft, Heavy
  • Built in 1942 as the Salvage Barge Energie by Seebeck Werft, Bremerhaven, Germany
  • Launched, date unknown
  • Delivered and placed in service, date unknown
  • Sunk by British aircraft in 1945 in the Baltic Sea
  • Refloated by Germany, resuming service to Germany in 1948
  • Leased by the United Nations in 1957 to clear the Suez Canal
  • Laid up upon completion to clearing wrecks in the Suez Canal
  • Purchased by the US Navy in 1967 at Bremerhaven, Germany from Bugsier-, Reederei & Bergungs - AG, Bremerhaven / Hamburg, Germany, named AHLC I
  • Renamed and commissioned USS Crilley (YHLC-1) in 1967
  • Assigned to Harbor Clearance Unit One at Naval Station Subic Bay R.P.
  • Decommissioned, date unknown
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Custody transferred to the Maritime Administration, 2 September 1976 for lay up in the James River National Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, VA.
  • Permanent custody assigned to the Maritime Administration, 14 December 1977
  • Title transferred to the Maritime Administration, 11 December 1993
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 28 November, 2001 to Transforma Marine, Brownsville, TX.
    Specifications
    Displacement 1732 t.(lt) 1867 t.(fl)
    Length unknown
    Beam unknown
    Draft unknown
    Lifting Capacity 4800 t.
    Accommodations unknown
    Armament none
    Propulsion none
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    YHLC-1 28k
    Namesake

    Frank William Crilley was born in Trenton, New Jersey, on 13 September 1883. Following enlistment in the Navy in March 1900, he became a Gunner's Mate and received additional training as a diver. In 1915, while a Chief Gunner's Mate, he made dives to over 300 feet during salvage operations on the sunken submarine F-4 (SS-23) off Honolulu, Hawaii. On 17 April 1915 he rescued a fellow diver who had become entangled at a depth of 250 feet. For his heroism on this occasion, he was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1929. In 1917, Crilley was appointed to the rank of Gunner(T), and in February 1918 became an Ensign in the Naval Reserve. He commanded USS Salvor in 1919 and left active duty in July of that year. In the mid-1920s, he was involved with salvaging USS S-51 (SS-162), and returned to active Naval service in 1927-28 to work on the recovery of USS S-4 (SS-109). He was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions as a diver during that operation. In 1931, Frank Crilley served as Second Officer and Master Diver during the Arctic expedition of the civilian submarine Nautilus. Also in 1931, he assisted with the salvage of USS Mayflower (PY-1). Transferred to the Retired List in May 1932, he was again employed on Navy work in 1939, during the salvage of USS Squalus (SS-192). Ensign Frank W. Crilley died at the Naval Hospital, Brooklyn, New York, on 23 November 1947. USS Crilley (YHLC-1), 1967-1993, was named in honor of Ensign Frank W. Crilley.
    Photo from Arlington National Cemetery Website    		 Bill Gonyo
    YHLC-2 754k The Salvage Barges Energie and Ausdauer lifting a vessel in the port of Bremerhaven, Germany, in May 1965. Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    YHLC-2 780k AHLC I (background) and AHLC II (foreground) in port at Bremerhaven, Germany, in 1967 shortly before departing for the United States. Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    YHLC-2 59k USS Crilley (YHLC-1), left and USS Crandall (YHLC-2) right at Naval Station Subic Bay, R. P., circa 1967. Note they both are still wearing their civilian colors.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, October 1967.    		 Anthony J. Basile HCU 1
    YHLC-1 257k USS Crandall (YHLC-2) left, and USS Crilley (YHLC-1) right, raising the hull of the French steamer SS Paul Bert, at My Tho, South Vietnam, in 1966. The steamer, sunk during World War Two, was salvaged to allow the establishment of a US Navy patrol boat base.
    US Navy photo from 1968-69 Edition of "Jane's Fighting Ships"    		 Robert Hurst
    There is no DANFS history record available for USS Crilley (YHLC-1) at NavSource
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 5 November 2014