The USS Aeolus (ARC-3) began service as USS Turandot (AKA-47), an Artemis-class attack cargo ship built by the Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc. In 1954 the vessel was removed from the reserve fleet for conversion to a cable repair ship to support the installation of the Sound Surveillance System SOSUS. The USS Aeolus was the first ship converted into a cable ship and performed cable duties from 1955 to 1973 as a commissioned ship and from 1973 until 1985 as the civilian-crewed USNS Aeolus (T-ARC-3) of the Military Sealift Command. She was mainly used to transport, deploy, retrieve, and repair cables and to conduct acoustic, hydrographic, and bathymetric surveys under Project Caesar. The ship was prepared for decommissioning in 1973 and transferred to MSC as USNS Aeolus (T-ARC-3). Operating until 1985, she received three Meritorious Unit Commendations throughout her career. Asbestos was utilized nearly everywhere on the ships built before the 80s; it was present as insulation, pipe covering, and paint that coated the vessels. Navy veterans were routinely exposed to the toxic material and should get tested, as asbestos-related diseases develop only after decades.
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