.jpg) USSInterceptor (YAGR-8), ex-Edward W. Burton, moored pierside atCharleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, S.C.,c. 1955-56. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Edward W. Burton |
| Namesake | Edward W. Burton |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
| Operator | R.A.Nichol & Co.Inc. |
| Ordered | as type (EC2-S-C5) hull,MC hull 3147 |
| Builder | J.A. Jones Construction,Panama City, Florida[1] |
| Cost | $850.797[2] |
| Yard number | 107 |
| Way number | 4 |
| Laid down | 10 July 1945 |
| Launched | 12 September 1945 |
| Sponsored by | Miss Juanita M. Kaylor |
| Completed | 28 September 1945 |
| Identification | |
| Fate | Acquired byUS Navy, 28 June 1955 |
 United States | |
| Name | Interceptor |
| Namesake | One who intercepts |
| Commissioned | 15 February 1956 |
| Decommissioned | 5 July 1965 |
| Reclassified | Guardian-classradar picket ship |
| Refit | Charleston Naval Shipyard,Charleston, South Carolina |
| Stricken | 1 September 1965 |
| Homeport | San Francisco, California |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Scrapped, 16 February 1978 |
| General characteristics[3] | |
| Class & type |
|
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | |
| Length | |
| Beam | 57 feet (17 m) |
| Draft | 27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 11.5knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
| Capacity | 490,000 cubic feet (13,875 m3) (bale) |
| Complement | |
| Armament |
|
| General characteristics (US Navy refit)[4] | |
| Class & type | Guardian-classradar picket ship |
| Capacity |
|
| Complement |
|
| Armament | 2 ×3 inches (76 mm)/50 caliber guns |
USSInterceptor (AGR-8/YAGR-8) was aGuardian-classradar picket ship acquired by theUS Navy in 1955, from the "mothballed"reserve fleet. She was reconfigured as a radar picket ship and assigned to radar picket duty in the NorthPacific Ocean as part of theDistant Early Warning Line.
Interceptor (YAGR-8) was laid down on 10 July 1945, under aMaritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 3147, as theLiberty ShipEdward W. Burton, byJ.A. Jones Construction,Panama City, Florida. She was launched 12 September 1945; sponsored by Miss Juanita M. Kaylor; and delivered toT. J. Stevenson & Company, Inc., 8 November 1945.[5][4]
She served several lines as acargo ship until being placed in theNational Defense Reserve Fleet atWilmington, North Carolina, 20 June 1948.[5][4]
Acquired by the Navy, 28 June 1955, the ship was converted to aradar picket ship atCharleston Naval Shipyard,Charleston, South Carolina, and commissionedInterceptor (YAGR-8), 15 February 1956.[5][4]
Interceptor was designed to carry the latest in long-range radar and communications equipment and to act as an ocean radar station ship. Followingshakedown training she sailed from Charleston, 17 March 1956, en route to her new home port,San Francisco, California.[5]
Arriving via thePanama Canal, 11 April, the ship began a regular cycle of 3– to 4–week at–sea periods as a picket ship under theContinental Air Defense Command (CONAD). Operating with search aircraft,Interceptor could detect, track, and report aircraft at great distances as well as control interceptor aircraft in the event of an air attack on theUnited States.[5]
Patrolling off the coast ofCanada, she formed an integral part ofNorth America's air early warning system. ReclassifiedAGR-8, radar picket ship, 28 September 1958,Interceptor, for the next 7 years, operated withNORAD, in forming an important link in the nation's defenses.[5]
Interceptor was struck from theNavy List 1 September 1965, and placed in theSuisun Bay Reserve Fleet,Suisun BayCalifornia,[5] where she remained until sold for scrapping, 16 February 1978.[4]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
