technical research ship

Image:USS Liberty (AGTR-5) underway in Chesapeake Bay on 29 July 1967 (K-39927).jpg]]

Technical research ships were used by the United States Navy during the 1960s to gather intelligence by monitoring, recording and analyzing wireless electronic communications of nations in various parts of the world. At the time these ships were active, the mission of the ships was covert and discussion of the true mission was prohibited ("classified information"). The mission of the ships was publicly given as conducting research into atmospheric and communications phenomena. Their designation was AGTR – Auxiliary, General, Technical Research – but it was more or less an open secret that this was a euphemism and they were commonly referred to as "spy ships".{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Bill |date=June 2013 |title=Spy Ships: Cold War Warriors Created at NNS |url=https://www.explorermagazin.de/boote/nsahist.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110234617/https://www.explorermagazin.de/boote/nsahist.pdf |archive-date=10 November 2023 |access-date=10 November 2023 |website=Explorer Magazin |page=[1], 2}}{{Cite book |last1=Polmar |first1=Norman |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MmnDEAAAQBAJ&dq=euphemism+spy+ships&pg=PA97 |title=Spy Ships: One Hundred Years of Intelligence Collection by Ships and Submarines |last2=Mathers |first2=Lee J. |publisher=Potomac Books, an imprint of the University of Nebraska Press |year=2023 |isbn=9781640124752 |location=Lincoln, NE |pages=97 |author-link=Norman Polmar |via=Google Books}}

Function

These ships carried a crew of U.S. Navy personnel whose specialty was intercepting wireless electronic communications and gathering intelligence from those communications (signals intelligence, communications intelligence, and electronic signals intelligence (SIGINT)). In the 1960s those personnel had a U.S. Navy rating of Communications Technician (later changed to Cryptologic Technician), or CT.

In order to transmit intelligence information that had been gathered back to United States for further processing and analysis, these ships had a special system named Technical Research Ship Special Communications, or TRSSCOM (pronounced tress-com).{{cite journal |last=Holhaus |first=H. L. |title=Comment and Discussion |journal=Proceedings |publisher=United States Naval Institute |date=September 1977}} This Earth-Moon-Earth (EME) communications system used a special gyroscope-stabilized {{convert|16|ft|m|adj=on}} parabolic antenna, which can be seen aft of the main superstructure in the accompanying photographs of Belmont and Liberty. Radio signals were transmitted toward the Moon, where they would bounce back toward the Earth and be received by a large {{convert|84|ft|m|adj=on}} parabolic antenna at a Naval Communications Station in Cheltenham, Maryland (near Washington, D.C.) or Wahiawa, Hawaii. Communications could occur only when the Moon was visible simultaneously at the ship's location and in Cheltenham or Wahiawa. The gyro stabilization of the antenna kept the antenna pointed at the Moon while the ship rolled and pitched on the surface of the ocean.

These ships were classified as naval auxiliaries with a hull designation of AGTR, which stands for Auxiliary, General, Technical Research. Five of these ships were built with hull numbers of 1–5. The first three ships of this type (Oxford, Georgetown, and Jamestown) were converted from World War II-era Liberty ships. The last two ships (Belmont and Liberty) were converted from Victory ships. The former Liberty ships' top speed of {{convert|11|kn|lk=in}} limited the first three AGTRs to missions of slow steaming on station with a minimum of transits. Victory ships' sustained speed of {{convert|18|kn}} enabled Belmont to shadow Mediterranean Sea operations of the Soviet helicopter carrier {{ship|Soviet helicopter carrier|Moskva||2}} in 1969. All of the technical research ships were decommissioned and stricken by 1970.

One of these ships' crew received a Presidential Unit Citation for heroism in combat. {{USS|Liberty|AGTR-5|6}} was attacked, severely damaged and 34 crew members killed by shelling, napalm bombing and torpedoing from Israeli jet fighter aircraft and motor torpedo boats on June 8, 1967.

{{USS|Jamestown|AGTR-3|6}} was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation along with {{USS|Oxford|AGTR-1|6}}. The citation reads (in part) "For meritorious service from 1 November 1965 to 30 June 1969 while participating in combat support operations in Southeast Asia. Through research and the compilation of extremely valuable technical data, USS Jamestown and USS Oxford contributed most significantly to the overall security of the United States and other Free World forces operating in support of the Republic of Vietnam. Signed E.R. Zumwalt, Admiral, USN, Chief of Naval Operations."

For specifications of these ships, see Liberty ship and Victory ship.

Ships of the AGTR type

:(dates of commissioning–decommissioning)

{{sclass|Oxford|research ship|4}} (Liberty ship type)
{{USS|Oxford|AGTR-1|6}} • 1961–1969
{{USS|Georgetown|AGTR-2|6}} • 1963–1969
{{USS|Jamestown|AGTR-3|6}} • 1963–1969
Belmont class (Victory ship type)
{{USS|Belmont|AGTR-4|6}} • 1964–1970
{{USS|Liberty|AGTR-5|6}} • 1964–1968

Environmental research ship (AGER)

File:USS Pueblo (AGER-2).jpg

Three smaller ships, former Army Freight Supply (FS) ships converted by Navy to Light Cargo Ship (AKL) vessels and then to Banner-class environmental research ships (AGER){{cite web |url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/61/61idx.htm |title=Environmental Research Ship (AGER) Index |work=NavSource Photo Archives |access-date=9 January 2012}} had a similar mission. In contrast to the high freeboard of the AGTR Liberty and Victory hulls, the AGER decks were low and vulnerable to boarding from small craft. {{USS|Pueblo|AGER-2|6}}, technically still in commission, has been held by North Korea since its attack and capture by on January 23, 1968.{{cite web |url={{Naval Vessel Register URL|id=AGER2}} |title=USS Pueblo (AGER 2) |work=Naval Vessel Register |publisher=United States Navy |access-date=2008-12-23}}

=Ships of the AGER type=

{{USS|Banner|AGER-1|6}} (redesignated from AKL-25/T-AKL-25, ex Army FS-345){{cite web |url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/61/6101.htm |title=USS Banner (AGER-1) |work=NavSource Photo Archives |access-date=9 January 2012}}
{{USS|Pueblo|AGER-2|6}} (redesignated from AKL-44, ex Army FS-344){{cite web |url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/61/6102.htm |title=USS Pueblo (AGER-2) |work=NavSource Photo Archives |access-date=9 January 2012}}
{{USS|Palm Beach|AGER-3|6}} (redesignated from AKL-45, ex U.S. Army FS-217){{cite web |url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/61/6103.htm |title=USS Palm Beach (AGER-3) |work=NavSource Photo Archives |access-date=9 January 2012}}

Auxiliary General (AG) USNS ships

File:USNSPvtJoseFValdez.jpg

Three technical research ships were operated as USNS ships with a Military Sea Transportation Service civilian crew and a Navy detachment conducting the mission operations. Two ships were Maritime Commission C1-M-AV1 types. One, {{USNS|LT. James E. Robinson|T-AG-170|6}}, was a VC2-S-AP2 (Victory) type that operated in this role December 1962-April 1964 before being reclassified AK‑274 and resuming cargo operations.{{cite web |url=http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l33/lt_james_e_robinson.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040317221631/http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l33/lt_james_e_robinson.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 17, 2004 |title=Lt. James E. Robinson |work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |access-date=9 January 2012}}

{{USNS|Private Jose F. Valdez|T-AG-169|6}} (Maritime Commission C1-M-AV1 type){{cite web |url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/49/49169.htm |title=USNS Pvt. Jose F. Valdez (T-AG-169) |work=NavSource Photo Archives |access-date=9 January 2012}}
{{USNS|LT. James E. Robinson|T-AG-170|6}} (Maritime Commission VC2-S-AP2 (Victory) type){{cite web |url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/13/130274.htm |title=USNS LT. James E. Robinson (T-AK-274) |work=NavSource Photo Archives |access-date=9 January 2012}}
{{USNS|Sgt. Joseph E. Muller|T-AG-171|6}} (Maritime Commission C1-M-AV1 type){{cite web |url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/49/49171.htm |title=USNS Sgt. Joseph E. Muller (T-AG-171) |work=NavSource Photo Archives |access-date=9 January 2012}}

References

External links

[http://coldwar-c4i.net/SpecialProjectFleet/history.html The "Special Project Fleet" 1961-69, 1985-89 in America's Cold War Infrastructure by Al Grobmeier]
Unofficial ship pages:
[https://web.archive.org/web/20050307103804/http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/6001.htm USS Oxford] — Navsource Online
[https://web.archive.org/web/20051109063411/http://www.ussoxford.com/ USS Oxford]
[http://www.ussgeorgetown.com/ USS Georgetown] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105064900/http://www.ussgeorgetown.com/ |date=2014-01-05 }}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20050507145713/http://www.kilroy.cx/Vietnam/Jamestown.htm USS Jamestown]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20091027090818/http://geocities.com/ussjamestown/ USS Jamestown]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20050527124620/http://www.ussbelmont.com/ USS Belmont]
[http://www.ussliberty.org/ USS Liberty memorial]
[http://www.gidusko.com/ USS Liberty]

Category:Espionage devices

Category:United States Navy in the 20th century

Category:Signals intelligence

Category:Ship types