.jpg) USSTracer (AGR-15) underway, date and location unknown. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | William J. Riddle |
| Namesake | William J. Riddle |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration (WSA) |
| Operator | Moore McCormack Lines, Inc. |
| Ordered | as type (EC2-S-C5) hull,MC hull 2340 |
| Builder | J.A. Jones Construction,Panama City, Florida[1] |
| Cost | $1,068,836[2] |
| Yard number | 81 |
| Way number | 5 |
| Laid down | 24 December 1944 |
| Launched | 31 January 1945 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Marion Harders |
| Completed | 15 February 1945 |
| Identification | |
| Fate |
|
 United States | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake |
|
| Commissioned | 16 October 1958 |
| Decommissioned | 7 July 1965 |
| Renamed | 4 September 1959 |
| Reclassified | Guardian-classradar picket ship |
| Refit | Charleston Naval Shipyard,Charleston, South Carolina |
| Stricken | 1 September 1965 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate |
|
| United States | |
| Name | Unisea |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics[4] | |
| 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)[3] | |
| Class & type | Guardian-classradar picket ship |
| Capacity |
|
| Complement |
|
| Armament | 2 ×3 inches (76 mm)/50 caliber guns |
USSTracer (AGR-15) was aGuardian-classradar picket ship, converted from aLiberty Ship, acquired by theUS Navy in 1957. 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.
Because of the closeness of the sound of names issued for radar picket ships at the time,Interrupter had her name changed by the Navy toTracer so as not to confuse her withUSS Interdictor (AGR-13) andUSS Interpreter (AGR-14)
Tracer (AGR-15) was laid down on 24 December 1944, under aMaritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2340, as theLiberty ShipDudley H. Thomas, byJ.A. Jones Construction,Panama City, Florida. She was launched 31 January 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Marion Harders; and delivered 21 February 1945, to theMoore McCormack Lines, Inc.[3][5]
William J. Riddle operated with Moore-McCormack Lines and theWaterman Steamship Corporation from 1945 to 1947. When hostilities ended in the Far East in mid-August 1945, she was steaming fromHawaii to thePhilippines.[5]
Converted to a cattle carrier the following year, she operated as such through the end of 1946. Changed back to a dry cargo carrier by March 1947, she voyaged to European and Mediterranean ports until the summer of 1947, when she was laid up in MARCOM'sJames River Reserve Fleet,Lee Hall, Virginia. She remained there for 10 years.[5]
The Navy selectedWilliam J. Riddle for conversion to aradar picket ship in May 1957. Towed to theCharleston Naval Shipyard,Charleston, South Carolina, conversion work began on 24 May 1957. RenamedInterrupter, and classified asAGR-15, she was commissioned at Charleston, 16 October 1958.[3][5]
Followingshakedown inGuantanamo Bay,Cuba, and post-shakedown availability at her conversion yard,Interrupter sailed for thePacific Ocean. She transited thePanama Canal, on 26 January 1959, and arrived at her home port,San Francisco, California, on 12 February, the sixthAGR to join newly formedRadar Picket Squadron 1.[5]
Fitted out with the latest radar detection equipment,Interrupter and her sevenGuardian-class radar picket shipsister ships were designed to serve as the seaborne eyes of theNorth American Air Defense Command (CONAD), the naval link in the chain of early-warning stations covering the Pacific approaches to the United States. Her mission was to "detect, report, and track enemy airborne threats approaching by overseas routes and to control the intercepts used to destroy such threats."[5]
Before putting to sea for her first patrol, she conducted training evolutions withU.S. Air Force officers embarked on board for familiarization with the ship's mission. In addition,Interrupter's, officers and men familiarized themselves with the Air Force's part in this vital mission. On 6 March 1959,Interrupter sailed from San Francisco on her first barrier patrol.[5]
On 4 September 1959,Interrupter was renamedTracer to eliminate confusion with some of her sister ships with similarly sounding names.[5]
Between 1959 and 1965,Tracer conducted patrols at sea, at various picket stations in theWestern Contiguous Radar Line. The ship proved to be an efficient vessel and received awards for administrative and operational efficiency on several occasions. As more sophisticated early-warning systems came into operational use, the need for theAGR's diminished accordingly.[5]
Deactivated in 1965,Tracer's name was struck from theNavy List on 1 September 1965. She was then transferred to theUS Maritime Commission (MARCOM) and laid up at theSuisun Bay Reserve Fleet,Suisun Bay, California, where she remained until sold, 15 July 1974. Before being scrapped in China in 2000,Tracer, renamedUnisea, served as afish processing plant inUnalaska, Alaska.[3][5]
Tracer's crew was eligible for the following medals:
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
