USS Investigator

USS Investigator (AGR-9), underway 11 September 1960, location unknown.
History
United States
Name	Charles A. Draper
Namesake	Charles A. Draper
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Polarus Steamship Co. Inc.
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C5) hull, MC hull 2336
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida[2]
Cost	$1,131,702[1]
Yard number	77
Way number	4
Laid down	28 November 1944
Launched	9 January 1945
Sponsored by	Mrs. E. L. Cills
Completed	24 January 1945
Identification	Call sign: ANFB [1]
Fate	Placed in the, National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 26 October 1945 Acquired by US Navy, 2 July 1956
United States
Name	Investigator
Namesake	One who makes an inquiry or examination
Commissioned	16 January 1957
Decommissioned	3 March 1965
Reclassified	Guardian-class radar picket ship
Refit	Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, South Carolina
Stricken	1 April 1965
Identification	Hull symbol: YAGR-9 (1956–1958) Hull symbol: AGR-9 (1958–1965) Call sign: NTAA [3]
Fate	Placed in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York, 1 April 1965 Sold for scrapping, 15 May 1971
General characteristics [4]
Class and type	Liberty ship type EC2-S-C5, boxed aircraft transport
Tonnage	10,600 LT DWT 7,200 GRT
Displacement	3,380 long tons (3,434 t) (light) 14,245 long tons (14,474 t) (max)
Length	441 feet 6 inches (135 m) oa 416 feet (127 m) pp 427 feet (130 m) lwl
Beam	57 feet (17 m)
Draft	27 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
Speed	11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity	490,000 cubic feet (13,875 m3) (bale)
Complement	38–62 USMM 21–40 USNAG
Armament	Varied by ship Bow-mounted 3 inches (76 mm)/50 caliber gun Stern-mounted 4 inches (102 mm)/50 caliber gun 2–8 × single 20 millimeters (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons and/or, 2–8 × 37 millimeters (1.46 in) M1 AA guns
General characteristics (US Navy refit)[3]
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
Armament	2 × 3 inches (76 mm)/50 caliber guns

USS Investigator (AGR/YAGR-9) was a Guardian-class radar picket ship, converted from a Liberty Ship, acquired by the US Navy in 1954. She was 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

Investigator (YAGR-9) was laid down on 28 November 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2336, as the Liberty Ship Charles A. Draper, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida. She was launched 9 January 1945; sponsored by Mrs. E. L. Cills; and delivered 24 January 1945, to the Polarus Steamship Co., Inc.^[5][1]

Service history

The ship carried replacement aircraft and cargo until the end of the war. She entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 26 October 1945.^[5]

After a brief period of service in 1947, she entered the Reserve Fleet at Mobile, Alabama, until she was acquired by the US Navy, 2 July 1956. She was converted to a radar picket ship at the Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina, and commissioned Investigator (YAGR-9), 16 January 1957.^[5][3]

Equipped with the latest in air search and tracking systems, the ship conducted her shakedown training in the Caribbean, and departed Guantanamo Bay, for her new home port, Davisville, Rhode Island. Investigator began her operational pattern of three- to four-week cruises in the North Atlantic Ocean as the seaward extension of the Continental Air Defense Command's (CONAD) air early warning system. Operating with search aircraft, she could detect, track, and report aircraft at long ranges, and could control high speed US interceptor aircraft and direct them to targets.^[5]

The ship was reclassified AGR-9, effective 28 September 1958. She continued radar picket station duties for CONAD, detecting and tracking inbound airborne objects and controlling jet interceptor aircraft until decommissioned 29 March 1965.^[5]

Decommissioning

Her name was struck from the Navy List 1 April 1965. She was transferred the same day to the US Maritime Commission (MARCOM) and entered the Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York, where she remained until sold for scrapping in Spain, 15 May 1971.^[5][3]

Military awards and honors

Investigator's crew was eligible for the following medals:

• National Defense Service Medal
• Navy Expeditionary Medal (2 awards)

^[3]

See also

• United States Navy
• Radar picket

References

Bibliography

External links

• Photo gallery of USS Investigator at NavSource Naval History

This page was last edited on 29 June 2023, at 16:51