USS Searcher (AGR-4)

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USS Searcher (AGR-4).jpg
USS Searcher (AGR-4), underway, 9 September 1960, location unknown.
History
United States
NameJames W. Wheeler
Namesake
OwnerWar Shipping Administration (WSA)
OperatorCalmar Steamship Company
Orderedas type (EC2-S-C5) hull, MC hull 2338
BuilderJ.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida[2]
Cost$1,127,547[1]
Yard number79
Way number1
Laid down11 December 1944
Launched23 January 1945
Sponsored byMrs. R. D. Turnage
Completed5 February 1945
Identification
FatePlaced in the, James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 29 October 1945
StatusWithdrawn from reserve fleet and leased to , 4 February 1947
FatePlaced in the, National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, 1 October 1947
StatusAcquired by US Navy, 15 September 1954
United States
NameSearcher
Commissioned2 April 1955
Decommissioned1 July 1965
Reclassified Guardian-class radar picket ship
RefitCharleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, South Carolina
Stricken1 July 1965
Identification
  • Hull symbol: YAGR-4 (1956–1958)
  • Hull symbol: AGR-4 (1958–1970)
FatePlaced in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York
StatusSold for scrapping, delivered, 31 May 1970
General characteristics [3]
Class and type
Tonnage
Displacement
Length
  • 441 feet 6 inches (135 m) oa
  • 416 feet (127 m) pp
  • 427 feet (130 m) lwl
Beam57 feet (17 m)
Draft27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m)
Installed power
  • 2 × Oil fired 450 °F (232 °C) boilers, operating at 220 psi (1,500 kPa)
  • 2,500 hp (1,900 kW)
Propulsion
  • 1 × triple-expansion steam engine,  (manufactured by Joshua Hendy Iron Works, Sunnyvale, California)
  • 1 × screw propeller
Speed11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity490,000 cubic feet (13,875 m3) (bale)
Complement
Armament
General characteristics (US Navy refit)[4]
Class and type Guardian-class radar picket ship
Capacity
  • 443,646 US gallons (1,679,383 l; 369,413 imp gal) (fuel oil)
  • 68,267 US gallons (258,419 l; 56,844 imp gal) (diesel)
  • 15,082 US gallons (57,092 l; 12,558 imp gal) (fresh water)
  • 1,326,657 US gallons (5,021,943 l; 1,104,673 imp gal) (fresh water ballast)
Complement
  • 13 officers
  • 138 enlisted
Armament2 × 3 inches (76 mm)/50 caliber guns

USS Searcher (YAGR/AGR-4) was a Guardian-class radar picket ship, converted from a Liberty Ship, acquired by the US Navy in 1954. She was obtained from the National Defense Reserve Fleet and reconfigured as a radar picket ship and assigned to radar picket duty in the North Atlantic Ocean as part of the Distant Early Warning Line.

Construction[]

Searcher (YAGR-4) was laid down on 11 December 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2338, as the Liberty Ship James W. Wheeler, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida. She was launched on 23 January 1945; sponsored by Mrs. R. D. Turnage; and delivered on 5 February 1945 to the Calmar Steamship Company.[5][1]

Service history[]

She was acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Administration on 15 September 1954 and reclassified YAGR-4 in August 1954. She was converted to a radar picket ship at the Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, South Carolina, and commissioned Searcher on 2 April 1955, Lieutenant Commander James Albert Paulick, in command.[5][4]

Searcher departed Charleston, 16 May 1955, for Newport, Rhode Island, where, after shakedown, she reported for duty with the seaward extension of America's early warning defense system. She reported on station for her first patrol on 5 July 1955.[5]

Fitted with sophisticated electronic search and tracking equipment, Searcher could locate, track, and report enemy aircraft at great distances, and control high-speed interceptor aircraft in event of an attack. She also carried out weather reporting duties during her three-to-four-week-long cruises.[5]

On 13 November 1955, Searcher was damaged by an engine room fire which burned for six and a half hours before being extinguished with the aid of two other ships. Her patrols were otherwise uneventful. She was reclassified AGR-4 effective 28 September 1958; and, during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, she operated at sea for 60 out of 67 days.[5]

In March 1964 she lost her screw at sea while steaming in a heavy gale 450 miles ESE of Cape Cod and was later taken in tow by a US Navy tug. [6]

Decommissioning[]

On 1 July 1965, Searcher was decommissioned, struck from the Navy List and transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD). She was laid up in the Hudson River Reserve Fleet until sold for scrapping on 7 August 1970, to the , Wilmington, Delaware.[5]

Military awards and honors[]

Searcher's crew was eligible for the following medals:

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c MARCOM.
  2. ^ J.A. Panama City 2010.
  3. ^ Davies 2004, p. 23.
  4. ^ a b c Navsource 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e f DANFS.
  6. ^ "USS Searcher".

Bibliography[]


External links[]

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