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USS Interdictor

History
United States
NameEdwin H. Duff
NamesakeEdwin H. Duff
OwnerWar Shipping Administration (WSA)
OperatorMcCormack Steamship Co.
Orderedas type (EC2-S-C5) hull, MC hull 3142
BuilderJ.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida[1]
Cost$817,101[2]
Yard number102
Way number3
Laid down18 May 1945
Launched29 June 1945
Sponsored byMrs. Edwin H. Duff
Completed27 July 1945
Identification
Fate
United States
NameInterdictor
NamesakeOne who prohibits
Commissioned7 April 1958
Decommissioned5 August 1965
ReclassifiedGuardian-class radar picket ship
RefitCharleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, South Carolina
Stricken1 September 1965
Identification
Fate
General characteristics [4]
Class and type
Tonnage
Displacement
Length
  • 441 feet 6 inches (135 m) oa
  • 416 feet (127 m) pp
  • 427 feet (130 m) lwl
Beam57 feet (17 m)
Draft27 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
Speed11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity490,000 cubic feet (13,875 m3) (bale)
Complement
Armament
General characteristics (US Navy refit)[3]
Class and typeGuardian-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
Armament2 × 3 inches (76 mm)/50 caliber guns

USS Interdictor (AGR/YAGR-13) 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 Pacific Ocean as part of the Distant Early Warning Line.

Construction

Interdictor (YAGR-13) was laid down on 18 May 1945, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 3142, as the Liberty ship Edwin H. Duff, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida. She was launched 29 June 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Edwin S. Duff; and delivered 27 July 1945, to the McCormack Steamship Co.[3][5]

Service history

She carried aircraft until entering the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 17 October 1945. Except for brief cargo service, she remained there until being acquired by the US Navy, 10 May 1957.[5]

She was converted to a radar picket ship at the Charleston Navy Yard, Charleston, South Carolina, and commissioned Interdictor (YAGR-13), 7 April 1958.[3][5]

Fitted with the latest and best electronic search and tracking equipment, Interdictor sailed 2 May 1958, for shakedown training in the Caribbean. She departed Charleston, 18 July 1958, and sailed to her new home port, San Francisco, California.[5]

Arriving 13 August, the ship assumed her role as an ocean radar station ship, part of America's vast early warning defense system. Operating with search aircraft, Interdictor could detect, track, and report enemy aircraft at great distances, supplementing land-based radar stations, and controlling high-speed interceptor aircraft in case of attack. She also carried out weather reporting duties during her three to four week cruises in the Pacific Ocean.[5]

Interdictor's hull classification was changed 28 September 1958, to AGR-13. She continued on radar picket patrols for the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) out of San Francisco, until decommissioned 5 August 1965.[5]

Decommissioning

Her name was struck from the Navy Directory 1 September 1965, when she transferred to the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) for lay-up in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, California, where she remained until she was sold 13 June 1974. Her subsequent fate is not known.[3][5]

Honors and awards

Interdictor's crew was eligible for the following medals:

[3]

See also

References

Bibliography