_underway_in_the_later_1960s_(NH_86791).jpg) USSBelmont underway in the late 1960s | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | SSIran Victory |
| Namesake | Iran |
| Owner | War Shipping Administration |
| Operator | Pacific-Atlantic Steamship Company |
| Port of registry |  Portland, Oregon |
| Builder | Oregon Shipbuilding Company, Portland, Oregon |
| Yard number | 1010 |
| Laid down | 25 January 1944 |
| Launched | 24 March 1944 |
| Completed | 4 May 1944 |
| Fate | Transferred toU.S. Navy February 1963, as USSBelmont |
 United States | |
| Name | USSBelmont |
| Acquired | February 1963 |
| Commissioned | 2 November 1964 |
| Decommissioned | 16 January 1970 |
| Stricken | 16 January 1970 |
| Homeport | Norfolk, Virginia |
| Identification | AGTR-4 |
| Fate | Scrapped, 24 June 1970 |
| Badge | _insignia%2c_1964.png) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | VC2-S-AP3 Victory ship |
| Tonnage | |
| Displacement | 15,200 tons |
| Length | 455 ft (139 m) |
| Beam | 62 ft (19 m) |
| Draught | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
| Installed power | 8,500 shp (6,300 kW) |
| Propulsion | HP & LPturbines geared to a single 20.5-foot (6.2 m) propeller |
| Speed | 16.5knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 4 lifeboats |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
| Notes | [1] |
USSBelmont (AGTR-4/AG-167) was the first of twoBelmont-classtechnical research ships, a class of USspy ships of the earlyCold War, acquired by theU.S. Navy in 1963 and converted for the task of conducting "research in the reception ofelectromagnetic propagations" (electronicsignals intelligence gathering). She was originally built duringWorld War II as aVictory cargo ship namedSSIran Victory by theWar Shipping Administration'sEmergency Shipbuilding program under cognizance of theU.S. Maritime Commission.
Iran Victory waslaid down on 25 January 1944 atPortland, Oregon, by theOregon Shipbuilding Corporation as Yard Number 1010 under aMaritime Commission contract (MCV hull 94) as a merchantcargo ship, one of the numerousVC2-S-AP3 Victory design.[2] The Victory ships, a larger improvement on the basicLiberty ship design, carried 10,850 tons of cargo in threeholds.[3]Iran Victory measured 7,608gross register tons and 4,551net register tons, and had alength overall of 439.1 feet (133.8 m), a breadth of 62.1 ft (18.9 m), and a depth of 34.5 feet (10.5 m).[4] She was powered by a pair of oil-firedsteam turbines made byWestinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania; geared to a singleshaft and propeller, the total power of 8,500 hp (6,300 kW) gave her a speed of up to 17knots (31 km/h).[3][4]
The ship waslaunched asIran Victory[a] on 25 March 1944, sponsored by Mrs. Peter Hegge, and delivered on 23 April 1944 to the Maritime Commission, which turned her over to a commercial shipowner, thePacific-Atlantic Steamship Company, for operation manned by a civilian crew.[3][4][6] She was registered at Portland, Oregon withOfficial Number 245473 and allocated code signal KWXB.[4]
On 20 October 1944 SSIran Victory had job of deliveringammunition for troops of the US Central Philippine Attack Force.[7][8][9] She was in aconvoy of ships that was held atKossol Roads in October 1944 until needed. The convoy included theammunition shipsMeridian Victory,Iran Victory andBluefield Victory and thegasoline tankerKishwaukee, protected by thedestroyer escortsLovelace,Neuendorf andThomason, under the command of Comcortdiv Thirty-Seven.[10]
On SSIran Victory's third voyage she loaded at Port Chicago and traveled to Finchaven,Manus Island,Babelthuap,Leyte,Ulithi Atoll,Guam and home toSan Pedro, Los Angeles. On 11 March 1945 while she was at the Ulithi Atoll theaircraft carrierUSS Randolph was hit by aKamikaze plane whileIran Victory was berthed next to her.[11]
During theKorean WarIran Victory transported ammunition, mail, food and other supplies as part of the merchant marine support that moved about 90 percent of supplies to the war zone.[12] She was subsequently laid up atAstoria, Oregon, with theNational Defense Reserve Fleet some time between April 1954 and April 1955.
In February 1963,Iran Victory was acquired by the U.S. Navy and entered the Willamette Iron and Steel Co. yard atPortland, Oregon for conversion to aspy ship, the first in her class of larger electronic spy vessels. On 8 June 1963, she was renamed USSBelmont, the second naval vessel of that name, and designated amiscellaneous auxiliary AG-167. She was redesignated atechnical research ship AGTR-4 on 1 April 1964, and wascommissioned at thePuget Sound Naval Shipyard on 2 November 1964.[13]
Belmont completed outfitting atPuget Sound during November 1964, and on 2 December 1964 departedBremerton, Washington, bound for her permanent assignment with theU.S. Atlantic Fleet at her new homeport,Norfolk, Virginia. She arrived there on 21 December 1964 and, exactly one month later, got underway for a five-week cruise to theWest Indies, which includedshakedown training and concluded with port visits toKingston, Jamaica, andKey West, Florida. She returned toHampton Roads, Virginia, on 1 March 1965 and entered theNorfolk Naval Shipyard for a month of post-shakedown availability. Final acceptance trials occupied 29 and 30 March 1965, and preparations for her first operational deployment followed.
On 26 April,Belmont passed between theVirginia Capes into the Atlantic Ocean and laid in a course for theWest Indies. Two days at sea, the ship received orders to proceed to the vicinity of theDominican Republic where, four days earlier, a revolt of left-wing factions had broken out.Belmont remained on station observing conditions until the middle of July. On 13 May, she headed back to Norfolk where she arrived four days later. After almost two months in port, the ship once more got underway on 14 September and spent about a month cruising in the West Indies before transiting thePanama Canal in mid-October. For the remainder of the year, she conducted operations along the western coast of South America, including visits toValparaíso, Chile, andCallao, Peru.
New Year's Day 1966 found her at anchor in Callao. Two days later she weighed anchor to return to thePanama Canal Zone. Belmont retransited the canal on 21 January 1966 and moored in Norfolk on the 28th, where she remained for almost seven weeks for upkeep and shipyard availability. On 16 March 1966, the ship embarked upon another deployment to the western coast of South America. She transited the Panama Canal on 28 and 29 March 1966 and, for the next eight weeks, cruised along the coasts ofPeru andChile.Belmont returned to the Panama Canal Zone for a five-day visit between 23 and 28 May 1966. On the latter day, she departedPanama and embarked upon five weeks of operations in order to spy on French atomic tests inFrench Polynesia (12 June 1966). The ship arrived back in the Panama Canal Zone on 13 July 1966, transited the canal the next day, and reentered Norfolk on 20 July.
After seven weeks of upkeep in her homeport,Belmont stood out to sea on 7 September 1966, bound for her third assignment in the Pacific coastal waters of South America. She transited the Panama Canal again on 19 September 1966, and two days later shaped a course for her zone of operations. At the conclusion of that assignment, the ship returned to the Canal Zone on 4 November 1966. She proceeded through the canal on 8 November 1966 and then set course for Norfolk.Belmont reentered her homeport on 14 November 1966, and spent the remainder of the year in theNorfolk Naval Shipyard installing communication gear.
Thespy ship spent the first month of 1967 completing the installation of her new communications equipment and testing it. On 1 February 1967,Belmont loosed her mooring lines to begin an extended cruise to theSouthern Hemisphere, one that included acircumnavigation of the South American continent.Hydrographic and communications research highlighted the five-month voyage as did visits to sundry South American ports.Belmont completed her circuit of the South American continent on 3 June 1967 when she transited thePanama Canal and laid in a course for Norfolk. Thetechnical research ship pulled into her homeport on 9 June 1967 and commenced a repair period. Her hull and various items of equipment received repairs over the next two months.
On 14 August 1967, she stood out of theChesapeake Bay bound for theIndian Ocean. The ship rounded theCape of Good Hope on 5 October 1967, and spent the following six weeks engaged in special operations along the eastern coast of Africa. On 22 November 1967, she redoubled the cape and, after an overnight stop atMonrovia, Liberia on 2 and 3 December 1967, pointed her bow west for the homeward voyage.Belmont arrived back at Norfolk on 12 December 1967, and spent the remainder of the year engaged in holiday leave and upkeep.
January 1968 foundBelmont still at Norfolk. On 26 January, she began regular overhaul at theNorfolk Naval Shipyard. She emerged revitalized on 14 May 1968 and put to sea to conduct refresher training in theGuantanamo Bay, Cuba, operating area. The ship completed post-overhaul training on 14 June 1968 and, after a visit toSan Juan, Puerto Rico, embarked upon her second deployment to the coasts of Africa. On 2 July 1968, she arrived offCape Palmas and commenced operations along Africa's western coast. That phase of the assignment lasted until 25 September 1968, at which time she passed theCape of Good Hope and entered theIndian Ocean. That portion of her mission proved relatively brief, occupying her time during the last week in September 1968 and the month of October 1968. On 1 November 1968,Belmont retraced her course around the Cape of Good Hope and steamed back into the Atlantic Ocean. The ship stopped over atRecife, Brazil, from 13 to 16 November 1968, and then headed for the northeastern coast of South America and a series of operations in that vicinity.Belmont completed the last mission of the cruise on 24 November 1968 and headed home. She moored at Norfolk on 28 November 1968 and remained there for the rest of 1968.
During the first half of 1969,Belmont stayed in or, infrequently, operated near Norfolk. A restricted availability followed by sea trials occupied the first three months of the year. Early in April 1969, she began installation of additional equipment. May 1969 brought tests and type training in theVirginia Capes operating area. In June 1969, she began preparations for overseas movement. On 17 June 1969,Belmont left her berth at theNorfolk Naval Station bound for her first and only tour of duty with theU.S. 6th Fleet in theMediterranean. She passed through the Strait ofGibraltar on 28 June 1969 and joined the 6th Fleet, two years afterthe Israeli attack on her sister ship,USS Liberty. Over the next four months,Belmont ranged the length and breadth of the Mediterranean conducting a series of special operations and making stops at ports along the Mediterranean littoral. However, this technical research (spy) ship spent the majority of her time in the eastern portion of the sea nearKythira,Greece, and the island ofCrete.Belmont concluded this last deployment of her career atRota, Spain (never made it to Rota) on 21 October 1969, and steered a course back to the United States that same day.
Belmont arrived back in Norfolk on 3 November 1969. Three weeks later, the ship received the close scrutiny of aboard of inspection and survey. As a result, she was found to be of limited naval value. Accordingly,Belmont wasdecommissioned at Norfolk on 16 January 1970, and her name was struck from theNaval Vessel Register that same day. On 24 June 1970, over 26 years after her construction during World War II, she was sold to theBoston Metals Co. inBaltimore, Maryland, forscrapping.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
