USS Norton Sound (AV-11/AVM-1) was originally built as a Currituck-class seaplane tender by Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, San Pedro, California.

She was named for Norton Sound, a large inlet in West Alaska, between the Seward Peninsula and the mouths of the Yukon, north-east of the Bering Sea.

[1] After Pacific shakedown, the new seaplane tender stood out from San Diego 26 February 1945 and steamed for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

She reported to Commander, Marshall-Gilbert area for training in mid-March, and she arrived Saipan 1 April 1945 to provide seaplane tending services.

[1] Norton Sound anchored 1 May 1945 at Aka Kaikyo, Kerama Retto, and by 21 June 1945 had assisted in downing three hostile air raiders.

Word of the Japanese surrender arrived eight hours later, and into September the tender engaged in upkeep and air operations at Okinawa.

She was in Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in 1948 for seven months while equipment was installed for handling, stowing, launching, and controlling guided missiles.

[1] After modifications in February and March 1950 at San Francisco Naval Shipyard, Norton Sound launched a five-ton Viking rocket 11 May in Project Reach.

Detonations occurred at an altitude of 300 miles (480 km), and effects were monitored by the Explorer IV satellite and other instrumented rockets.

[1] Her commanding officer, Captain Arthur R. Gralla, received the Legion of Merit for his role leading the task force responsible for these tests.

The Norton Sound was the only AT-SEA Testing Platform for the AEGIS Weapon System, later installed on Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.

[7] One of her anchors is on display in WestSound Viewpoint at the end of McCall Blvd in Bremerton, WA, overlooking Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Dyes Inlet.