USAS American Mariner
Encyclopedia
The USAS American Mariner was a U.S. Army research vessel from January 1959 to 30 September 1963. She was originally assigned to DAMP Project
by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to attempt to collect radar signature data on incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles in the Caribbean, the South Atlantic Ocean, and the Indian Ocean. Her initial operations involved providing radar track on the Atlas missile, which was under development at the time. Subsequently, she provided track on other types of missiles as they proceeded through their development and operational stages.
Laid down in 1941 as the Liberty ship
SS George Calvert (MC #20), she first saw service as the U.S. Coast Guard training ship TS American Mariner, where she served until 1953 when she was placed in reserve. After her Army career, she was transferred to the U.S. Air Force on 1 October 1963, and was redesignated the USAFS American Mariner. After Air Force service, she was transferred to the U.S. Navy and designated the USNS American Mariner (T-AGM-12). In 1966 she was scuttled in shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay
about 5 NM north west of Ewell, Smith Island, MD to be used for a target ship
.
She appears to have been the only ship to have served in the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy after being built for service with the United States Merchant Marine
.
added to accommodate more personnel and was renamed the TS American Mariner.
The conversion was completed 10 March 1943 and she was delivered to the War Shipping Administration
– Division of Training. She then served the U.S. Coast Guard as a cadet
training ship, together with the SS American Seaman and the SS American Sailor. After this service to the U.S. Coast Guard she was placed in a standby status on the Hudson River
as she was no longer needed for the war effort. In 1950 she was transferred to the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point
, New York for use as a training ship. She was returned to the Hudson River
reserve fleet on 9 December 1953.
, and transferred to the U.S. Army. and outfitted in early 1959 with state-of-the-art C-band-frequency narrow-beam radar tracking equipment for the Army.
The ship, redesignated USAS American Mariner, was then assigned to Mathiesen Tankers Industry, which provided the crew for the ship, and to RCA Service Company
, which provided the necessary radar
equipment and technical personnel, and Barnes Engineering Company, which provided the necessary optical equipment and technical personnel for the ship's new DAMP Project
assignment.
the USAS American Mariner operated various types of long-distance, narrow-beam radars to gather data on intercontinental ballistic missiles. This period (1959–1963) represented the infancy of the "space race" and ballistic missiles in particular, and it was necessary, for security reasons, for the U.S. to determine if missiles could be identified in space (from a radar signature, for example) before they re-entered the atmosphere.
Hopefully, for it was not known at the time, various types of missiles would provide different radar signatures. This would be important for identifying American missiles from those of other countries. This, if such data could be provided and fed into the computers of that era, would lead to the development of American anti-ballistic-missile defense systems, such as Nike-Zeus, which was a part of Project Nike
.
During her Atlantic Ocean operations, the USAS American Mariner gathered radar signature data of ballistic missiles launched by the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station into the Broad Ocean Area located off of the coast of Florida, as well as intercontinental ballistic missiles launched into the South Atlantic Ocean near Ascension Island
. Collection of signature data of each missile type was important during the in-flight portion of the missile. This was especially true during the missile re-entry as the missile descended through the atmosphere to its designated target point in the ocean, which is where the USAS American Mariner was usually positioned with its narrow-beam radars activated and searching in order to "lock on" to the missile.
Tracking of missiles during re-entry was often difficult since, at times, the missile contained decoy pods which would be ejected during re-entry to deceive tracking personnel at the target test location. As a result, it was difficult to ensure that the vessel's radars were tracking the actual vehicle and not one of the decoys. The decoys were intended to deceive the "enemy" and not necessarily the test vessel's radars; however, those who designed the decoys needed to know how effective they actually were. All such data was very important at this critical time in early space and missile development during the early years of the "Cold War
."
While investigating reports of foreign missile testing in the North Pacific Ocean in November 1962, the USAS American Mariner became caught up in Typhoon Karen, which caused significant rolling, and some flooding, of the top heavy ship, which was quickly repaired.
After completing test operations in the Pacific Ocean, the USAS American Mariner returned to the Eastern Test Range
in the Atlantic Ocean, by transiting the Panama Canal
in January 1963.
in support of NASA's Project Mercury
. During Wally Schirra
's MA-8
transits over the Pacific Ocean, the USAS American Mariner successfully provided radar track of the capsule. While assigned to this mission, all data provided by the ship was transmitted by unclassified methods in accordance with NASA mission principles.
While performing her missile-tracking operations, the American Mariner was reprovisioned in various ports in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans:
In the Atlantic Ocean, shore-side support was generally provided at San Juan, Puerto Rico
; Antigua
Island; Chagaramus, Trinidad
; Recife
, Brazil; Monrovia
, Liberia; Dakar
, Senegal; and Cape Town, South Africa.
During Pacific Ocean operations, support, including logistics, mail, embarkation and transfer of technical personnel, occurred at Pearl Harbor
, in Hawaii, at Midway Island
, and at Johnston Island.
Extensive shipyard overhauls and drydocking were conducted in Brooklyn
, New York; Baltimore, Maryland; San Juan, Puerto Rico
; Long Beach
, California; Pearl Harbor
, Hawaii and Dakar
in Senegal, Africa. Extensive technical enhancements in equipment [28 feet (8.5 m) L-band and UHF-band radar dish installation] were conducted in Cape Town, South Africa with the assistance of local technical personnel.
Prior to participating in nuclear testing operations during the Spring and Fall of 1962 under Operation Dominic, the USAS American Mariner was outfitted at Pearl Harbor
, Hawaii, with protective anti-radiation equipment, including emergency warning lights and a water spraying system that, when turned on during an atomic event, would cover the ship with a fine spray of water intended to remove and wash away unwanted nuclear contamination.
The operations of the American Mariner, a radar-signature data gathering ship, was replaced, in mid-1964, by two U.S. Air Force ships, the H. H. Arnold and the H. S. Vandenberg, both Advanced Research Instrumentation Ships (ARIS) which gathered and provided metric data to the Air Force.
#22. Settling upright in 20 feet of water, she appears to be merely anchored there. The hulk was used for target practice by naval aviators flying out of NAS Patuxent River until at least 1971. Her hulk is still visible in the Chesapeake Bay, at 38°02′25"N 76°09′17"W, roughly midway between Point Lookout
and Smith Island
.
DAMP Project
The Downrange Anti-missile Measurement Program or DAMP was an applied research project to obtain scientific data, just prior to and during re-entry, on intermediate- and intercontinental-range ballistic missiles as they returned to earth...
by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to attempt to collect radar signature data on incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles in the Caribbean, the South Atlantic Ocean, and the Indian Ocean. Her initial operations involved providing radar track on the Atlas missile, which was under development at the time. Subsequently, she provided track on other types of missiles as they proceeded through their development and operational stages.
Laid down in 1941 as the Liberty ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
SS George Calvert (MC #20), she first saw service as the U.S. Coast Guard training ship TS American Mariner, where she served until 1953 when she was placed in reserve. After her Army career, she was transferred to the U.S. Air Force on 1 October 1963, and was redesignated the USAFS American Mariner. After Air Force service, she was transferred to the U.S. Navy and designated the USNS American Mariner (T-AGM-12). In 1966 she was scuttled in shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
about 5 NM north west of Ewell, Smith Island, MD to be used for a target ship
Target ship
A target ship is a vessel — typically an obsolete or captured warship — used for naval gunnery practice or for weapons testing.-Rationale:Sinking redundant warships is an effective way of testing new weapons and warships in as realistic a manner as possible. Whilst practice torpedoes are fired...
.
She appears to have been the only ship to have served in the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy after being built for service with the United States Merchant Marine
United States Merchant Marine
The United States Merchant Marine refers to the fleet of U.S. civilian-owned merchant vessels, operated by either the government or the private sector, that engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine is...
.
Initial construction and early history
The keel for SS George Calvert (build number 2007/MC Hull 20) was laid on 15 August 1941 in the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, Baltimore, Maryland. She was launched 30 December 1941, sponsored by Miss Margaret E. Voss. At 65.4% complete, she was transferred for conversion to a training vessel. She had additional superstructureSuperstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...
added to accommodate more personnel and was renamed the TS American Mariner.
The conversion was completed 10 March 1943 and she was delivered to the War Shipping Administration
War Shipping Administration
The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....
– Division of Training. She then served the U.S. Coast Guard as a cadet
Cadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
training ship, together with the SS American Seaman and the SS American Sailor. After this service to the U.S. Coast Guard she was placed in a standby status on the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
as she was no longer needed for the war effort. In 1950 she was transferred to the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point
Kings Point, New York
Kings Point is a village and a part of Great Neck in Nassau County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the village population was 5,005.The Village of Kings Point is in the Town of North Hempstead...
, New York for use as a training ship. She was returned to the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
reserve fleet on 9 December 1953.
Conversion to Missile Tracking Ship
On 18 June 1958 she was removed from the Hudson RiverHudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, and transferred to the U.S. Army. and outfitted in early 1959 with state-of-the-art C-band-frequency narrow-beam radar tracking equipment for the Army.
The ship, redesignated USAS American Mariner, was then assigned to Mathiesen Tankers Industry, which provided the crew for the ship, and to RCA Service Company
RCA Service Company
RCA Service Company, designated RCAS, was headquartered at Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and was a division of RCA created to service appliances and equipment manufactured by RCA.-Government services:...
, which provided the necessary radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
equipment and technical personnel, and Barnes Engineering Company, which provided the necessary optical equipment and technical personnel for the ship's new DAMP Project
DAMP Project
The Downrange Anti-missile Measurement Program or DAMP was an applied research project to obtain scientific data, just prior to and during re-entry, on intermediate- and intercontinental-range ballistic missiles as they returned to earth...
assignment.
Atlantic Missile Test operations
During her years on the DAMP ProjectDAMP Project
The Downrange Anti-missile Measurement Program or DAMP was an applied research project to obtain scientific data, just prior to and during re-entry, on intermediate- and intercontinental-range ballistic missiles as they returned to earth...
the USAS American Mariner operated various types of long-distance, narrow-beam radars to gather data on intercontinental ballistic missiles. This period (1959–1963) represented the infancy of the "space race" and ballistic missiles in particular, and it was necessary, for security reasons, for the U.S. to determine if missiles could be identified in space (from a radar signature, for example) before they re-entered the atmosphere.
Hopefully, for it was not known at the time, various types of missiles would provide different radar signatures. This would be important for identifying American missiles from those of other countries. This, if such data could be provided and fed into the computers of that era, would lead to the development of American anti-ballistic-missile defense systems, such as Nike-Zeus, which was a part of Project Nike
Project Nike
Project Nike was a U.S. Army project, proposed in May 1945 by Bell Laboratories, to develop a line-of-sight anti-aircraft missile system. The project delivered the United States' first operational anti-aircraft missile system, the Nike Ajax, in 1953...
.
During her Atlantic Ocean operations, the USAS American Mariner gathered radar signature data of ballistic missiles launched by the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station into the Broad Ocean Area located off of the coast of Florida, as well as intercontinental ballistic missiles launched into the South Atlantic Ocean near Ascension Island
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa...
. Collection of signature data of each missile type was important during the in-flight portion of the missile. This was especially true during the missile re-entry as the missile descended through the atmosphere to its designated target point in the ocean, which is where the USAS American Mariner was usually positioned with its narrow-beam radars activated and searching in order to "lock on" to the missile.
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
."
Pacific Missile Test operations
In the Pacific Ocean in 1962, the American Mariner gathered radar signature data of missiles launched during Operation Dominic atmospheric nuclear testing. The ship operated in the Johnston Island area and, during one major test, the nuclear event exploded in the upper atmosphere directly over the vessel in order to determine if the radars on the USAS American Mariner could track and identify missiles in the nuclear cloud.While investigating reports of foreign missile testing in the North Pacific Ocean in November 1962, the USAS American Mariner became caught up in Typhoon Karen, which caused significant rolling, and some flooding, of the top heavy ship, which was quickly repaired.
After completing test operations in the Pacific Ocean, the USAS American Mariner returned to the Eastern Test Range
Eastern Test Range
The Eastern Range is an American rocket range that supports missile and rocket launches from the two major launch heads located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center. The range has also supported Ariane launches from the Guiana Space Centre as well as providing support...
in the Atlantic Ocean, by transiting the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
in January 1963.
Support of NASA
While in the Pacific Ocean, the USAS American Mariner was temporarily assigned in late September 1962 to NASANASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
in support of NASA's Project Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
. During Wally Schirra
Wally Schirra
Walter Marty Schirra, Jr. was an American test pilot, United States Navy officer, and one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts chosen for the Project Mercury, America's effort to put humans in space. He is the only person to fly in all of America's first three space programs...
's MA-8
Mercury-Atlas 8
Mercury-Atlas 8 was an early manned space mission, part of NASA's Mercury program. Astronaut Walter M. Schirra, Jr., orbited the Earth six times in the Sigma 7 spacecraft on October 3, 1962, in a nine-hour flight focused mainly on technical evaluation rather than on scientific experimentation...
transits over the Pacific Ocean, the USAS American Mariner successfully provided radar track of the capsule. While assigned to this mission, all data provided by the ship was transmitted by unclassified methods in accordance with NASA mission principles.
Vessel Support
In the Atlantic Ocean, shore-side support was generally provided at San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
; Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
Island; Chagaramus, Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
; Recife
Recife
Recife is the fifth-largest metropolitan area in Brazil with 4,136,506 inhabitants, the largest metropolitan area of the North/Northeast Regions, the 5th-largest metropolitan influence area in Brazil, and the capital and largest city of the state of Pernambuco. The population of the city proper...
, Brazil; Monrovia
Monrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
, Liberia; Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
, Senegal; and Cape Town, South Africa.
During Pacific Ocean operations, support, including logistics, mail, embarkation and transfer of technical personnel, occurred at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, in Hawaii, at Midway Island
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
, and at Johnston Island.
Vessel and equipment overhaul
Since the American Mariner remained at sea for approximately four years under U.S. Army service, the ship regularly required shipyard service on her hull and her electronic equipment.Extensive shipyard overhauls and drydocking were conducted in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York; Baltimore, Maryland; San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
; Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, California; Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, Hawaii and Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
in Senegal, Africa. Extensive technical enhancements in equipment [28 feet (8.5 m) L-band and UHF-band radar dish installation] were conducted in Cape Town, South Africa with the assistance of local technical personnel.
Prior to participating in nuclear testing operations during the Spring and Fall of 1962 under Operation Dominic, the USAS American Mariner was outfitted at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
, Hawaii, with protective anti-radiation equipment, including emergency warning lights and a water spraying system that, when turned on during an atomic event, would cover the ship with a fine spray of water intended to remove and wash away unwanted nuclear contamination.
Retirement
Fate
In October 1966, she was scuttled in shallow water with demolition charges by Navy Underwater Demolition TeamUnderwater Demolition Team
The Underwater Demolition Teams were an elite special-purpose force established by the United States Navy during World War II. They also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War...
#22. Settling upright in 20 feet of water, she appears to be merely anchored there. The hulk was used for target practice by naval aviators flying out of NAS Patuxent River until at least 1971. Her hulk is still visible in the Chesapeake Bay, at 38°02′25"N 76°09′17"W, roughly midway between Point Lookout
Point Lookout, Maryland
Point Lookout is a Maryland state park at the southern tip of St. Mary's County, Maryland. It is a peninsula formed by the confluence of the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River....
and Smith Island
Smith Island, Maryland
Smith Island is a census-designated place in Somerset County, Maryland, United States. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland Metropolitan Statistical Area....
.
External links
- The Space Review
- NavSource Online: Ship Archive – USAS American Mariner – USAFS American Mariner – USNS American Mariner (T-AGM-12)
- American Mariner 1941
- MEASUREMENT OF ATMOSPHERIC ATTENUATION ABOARD USAS AMERICAN MARINER
- Ships of the Special Mission Force, Military Sea Transportation Service/Military Sealift Command 1958–2000
- Photo of American Mariner hulk
- American Mariner interior photographs – 25 April 2009
- American Mariner interior video – 25 April 2009