The abbreviation ASR stands for Submarine Rescue Ship (Fleet Support) in the military field, especially in the US. You can find more abbreviations starting with AS here. Also take a look at our list with military acronyms.
Hope for the Worst Case
A Submarine Rescue Ship is a special vessel for one task: rescuing the crew of a sunken submarine. ASRs carry diving systems, rescue chambers and medical facilities – and are part of the fleet support that one hopes never to need.
How Submarine Rescue Works
If a submarine lies disabled on the seabed, time is short: air and CO2 reserves in the boat limit the rescue window. Rescue ships lower a rescue chamber that mates with the submarine’s escape hatch and brings the crew up in groups. The US Navy operated ships of the ASR type, such as the former USS Pigeon, for decades.
ASR appears in this meaning mainly in naval documentation. Note that in aviation the same abbreviation stands for Airport Surveillance Radar – a completely different world. In ship lists and fleet registers, however, ASR designates the rescue vessel.
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