Spacecraft Recovery
17 March 1966: Gemini 8
CLASS - GEARING As Built.
Displacement 3460 Tons (Full), Dimensions, 390' 6"(oa) x 40' 10" x 14' 4" (Max)
Armament 6 x 5"/38AA (3x2), 12 x 40mm AA, 11 x 20mm AA, 10 x 21" tt.(2x5).
Machinery, 60,000 SHP; General Electric Geared Turbines, 2 screws
Speed, 36.8 Knots, Range 4500 NM@ 20 Knots, Crew 336.
Operational and Building Data
Laid down by Bethlehem Steel,Quincy. August 6 1945.
Launched January 4 1946 and commissioned June 28 1946.
Decommissioned (?).
Stricken November 2 1976.
To Taiwan March 10 1978, renamed Shuei Yang.
Fate Still active in Taiwanese Navy as of May 1998 (?).
2nd class patrol vessel, (Reported to be suffering from engineering problems) may have been stricken in late 1997.
For more information on USS Leonard F. Mason from the United States Navy.
She was sold to Republic of China (Tiawan) 10 March 1978. The ship was decommissioned on 16 February 2000, and sunk on 11 April 2003 to create an artificial reef.
