.jpg) USSSearcher (AGR-4), underway, 9 September 1960, location unknown. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | James W. Wheeler |
| Namesake | James W. Wheeler |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
| Operator | Calmar Steamship Company |
| Ordered | as type (EC2-S-C5) hull,MC hull 2338 |
| Builder | J.A. Jones Construction,Panama City, Florida[1] |
| Cost | $1,127,547[2] |
| Yard number | 79 |
| Way number | 1 |
| Laid down | 11 December 1944 |
| Launched | 23 January 1945 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. R. D. Turnage |
| Completed | 5 February 1945 |
| Identification | |
| Fate |
|
| Fate |
|
 United States | |
| Name | Searcher |
| Commissioned | 2 April 1955 |
| Decommissioned | 1 July 1965 |
| Reclassified | Guardian-classradar picket ship |
| Refit | Charleston Naval Shipyard,Charleston, South Carolina |
| Stricken | 1 July 1965 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate |
|
| 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 |
USSSearcher (YAGR/AGR-4) was aGuardian-classradar picket ship, converted from aLiberty Ship, acquired by theUS Navy in 1954. She was obtained from theNational Defense Reserve Fleet and reconfigured as a radar picket ship and assigned to radar picket duty in the NorthAtlantic Ocean as part of theDistant Early Warning Line.
Searcher (YAGR-4) was laid down on 11 December 1944, under aMaritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2338, as theLiberty ShipJames W. Wheeler, byJ.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 theCalmar Steamship Company.[5][2]
She was acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Administration on 15 September 1954 and reclassifiedYAGR-4 in August 1954. She was converted to a radar picket ship at theCharleston Naval Shipyard,Charleston, South Carolina, and commissionedSearcher on 2 April 1955.[5][4]
Searcher departed Charleston, 16 May 1955, forNewport, Rhode Island, where, aftershakedown, 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 reclassifiedAGR-4 effective 28 September 1958; and, during theCuban 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 first by the US Coast Guard Cutter Yakutat and then by a US Navy tug.[6]
On 1 July 1965,Searcher was decommissioned, struck from theNavy List and transferred to theMaritime Administration (MARAD). She was laid up in theHudson River Reserve Fleet until sold for scrapping on 7 August 1970, to theNorth American Smelting Co.,Wilmington, Delaware.[5]
Searcher's crew was eligible for the following medals:
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
