USS Thor was a cable repair ship that supported Project Caesar, the unclassified name for installation of the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS). Originally the Vanadis (AKA-49) which was briefly in commission from 9 July 1945 to 27 March 1946, it was converted in 1955 after nine years in the reserve fleet. Thor, named after the Germanic god of thunder, was commissioned on 3 January 1956 and served in that capacity until 2 July 1973 when transferred to the Military Sealift Command (MSC) for brief operation as USNS Thor (T-ARC-4) until April 1974 when the ship was returned to the Maritime Administration for disposal. After removal of cable machinery the ship was eventually sold for scrap on 22 September 1977. Thor was one of four Navy cable ships supporting military cable projects from the 1950s until 1984 with construction of . The others were , the other transport conversion, and the two Army designed cable ships, the only ships in the Navy designed and built as cable ships, and which were modernized in the 1980s. USS Vanadis, 1945–1946 Vanadis (AKA-49) was laid down on 18 April 1945 under a Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1910) at Providence, Rhode Island, by the Walsh-Kaiser Co., Inc. and launched on 8 June 1945 sponsored by Mrs. J. Henry Gill. The ship was named after 76 Freia, a minor planet. Vanadis is an alternative poetic name for Freia, the Germanic goddess of love and beauty. The Navy acquired the ship on 9 July 1945 with commissioning the same day. Following shakedown out of Hampton Roads, Vanadis arrived at Newport, Rhode Island, on 4 August and began shuttling back and forth between that port and Hampton Roads. In mid-December, the attack cargo ship headed for the Gulf of Mexico. After visiting Mobile, Alabama; Gulfport, Mississippi; and Jacksonville, Florida, she arrived at Boston. On 6 February, she reported to the Commandant, 1st Naval District, for inactivation. Vanadis was placed out of commission on 27 March 1946. Her name was struck from the Navy List on 5 June 1946; and, on 2 July, she was transferred to the Maritime Commission. USS Thor After almost nine years of inactivity — berthed with the National Defense Reserve Fleet at James River, Virginia — Vanadis was reacquired by the Navy on 14 April 1955 and reinstated on the Navy List as AKA-49. On 30 June, she entered the Bethlehem Steel Co.'s