USS Watchman
USS Watchman (AGR-16) entering San Francisco Bay
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History | |
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United States | |
Name | Vernon S. Hood |
Namesake | Vernon S. Hood |
Owner | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
Operator | Overlakes Freight Co. |
Ordered | as type (EC2-S-C5) hull, MC hull 2343 |
Builder | J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida[2] |
Cost | $1,061,814[1] |
Yard number | 84 |
Way number | 6 |
Laid down | 17 January 1945 |
Launched | 20 February 1945 |
Sponsored by | Mrs. Inez Bulifant |
Completed | 7 March 1945 |
Identification | |
Fate |
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United States | |
Name | Watchman |
Namesake | One who watches |
Commissioned | 5 January 1959 |
Decommissioned | 7 July 1965 |
Reclassified | radar picket ship |
Refit | Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, South Carolina |
Stricken | 1 September 1965 |
Identification |
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Fate |
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General characteristics [4] | |
Class and type |
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Tonnage | |
Displacement | |
Length | |
Beam | 57 feet (17 m) |
Draft | 27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m) |
Installed power |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
Capacity | 490,000 cubic feet (13,875 m3) (bale) |
Complement | |
Armament |
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General characteristics (US Navy refit)[3] | |
Class and type | radar picket ship |
Capacity |
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Complement |
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Armament | 2 × 3 inches (76 mm)/50 caliber guns |
USS Watchman (AGR-16) was a
US Navy in 1958. She was reconfigured as a radar picket ship and assigned to radar picket duty in the North Pacific Ocean as part of the Distant Early Warning Line
.
Construction
Watchman (YAGR-16) was laid down on 17 January 1945, under a
Liberty Ship Vernon S. Hood, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida. She was launched 20 February 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Inez Bulifant; and delivered 7 March 1945, to MARCOM.[3][5]
Service history
Merchant service
Following a
The ship remained there until mid-1958 when she was taken over by the US Navy and converted to a
Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina. During conversion, she was renamed Watchman and received the designation YAGR-16. However, that designation was changed to AGR-16 before she completed her conversion late in the year. On 5 January 1958, Watchman was placed in commission at Charleston.[5]
Watchman conducted shakedown training in the
Acapulco, Mexico, she arrived in her new home port, San Francisco, California, on 11 April.[5]
Assigned to the
Contiguous Radar Coverage System. She operated from her base at San Francisco, during her entire naval career, spending an average of 200 days per year actually at sea engaged in picket patrols.[5]
That routine continued until 1 September 1965, at which time she and the remaining AGR's were placed out of commission.[5]
Decommissioning
Her name was struck from the
Suisun Bay, California. She remained there until 3 October 1974, when she was sold to American Ship Dismantlers for scrapping.[5]
Honors and awards
Watchman's crew was eligible for the following medals:
References
Bibliography
- "Watchman". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- "SS Vernon S. Hood". Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- "USS Watchman (AGR-16)". Navsource.org. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
External links
- Photo gallery of USS Watchman at NavSource Naval History