USS Interceptor (YAGR-8), ex-Edward W. Burton, moored pierside at Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, S.C., c. 1955-56.
History
United States
NameEdward W. Burton
NamesakeEdward W. Burton
OwnerWar Shipping Administration (WSA)
OperatorR.A.Nichol & Co.Inc.
Orderedas type (EC2-S-C5) hull, MC hull 3147
BuilderJ.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida[1]
Cost$850.797[2]
Yard number107
Way number4
Laid down10 July 1945
Launched12 September 1945
Sponsored byMiss Juanita M. Kaylor
Completed28 September 1945
Identification
FateAcquired by US Navy, 28 June 1955
United States
NameInterceptor
NamesakeOne who intercepts
Commissioned15 February 1956
Decommissioned5 July 1965
ReclassifiedGuardian-class radar picket ship
RefitCharleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, South Carolina
Stricken1 September 1965
HomeportSan Francisco, California
Identification
  • Hull symbol: YAGR-8 (1956–1958)
  • Hull symbol: AGR-8 (1958–1978)
FateScrapped, 16 February 1978
General characteristics [3]
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)[4]
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 Interceptor (AGR-8/YAGR-8) was a Guardian-class radar picket ship acquired by the US Navy in 1955, from the "mothballed" reserve fleet. 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

Interceptor (YAGR-8) was laid down on 10 July 1945, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 3147, as the Liberty Ship Edward W. Burton, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida. She was launched 12 September 1945; sponsored by Miss Juanita M. Kaylor; and delivered to T. J. Stevenson & Company, Inc., 8 November 1945.[5][4]

Service history

She served several lines as a cargo ship until being placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Wilmington, North Carolina, 20 June 1948.[5][4]

Acquired by the Navy, 28 June 1955, the ship was converted to a radar picket ship at Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, South Carolina, and commissioned Interceptor (YAGR-8), 15 February 1956.[5][4]

Interceptor was designed to carry the latest in long-range radar and communications equipment and to act as an ocean radar station ship. Following shakedown training she sailed from Charleston, 17 March 1956, en route to her new home port, San Francisco, California.[5]

Arriving via the Panama Canal, 11 April, the ship began a regular cycle of 3– to 4–week at–sea periods as a picket ship under the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD). Operating with search aircraft, Interceptor could detect, track, and report aircraft at great distances as well as control interceptor aircraft in the event of an air attack on the United States.[5]

Patrolling off the coast of Canada, she formed an integral part of North America's air early warning system. Reclassified AGR-8, radar picket ship, 28 September 1958, Interceptor, for the next 7 years, operated with NORAD, in forming an important link in the nation's defenses.[5]

Decommissioning

Interceptor was struck from the Navy List 1 September 1965, and placed in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, Suisun BayCalifornia,[5] where she remained until sold for scrapping, 16 February 1978.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ J.A. Panama City 2010.
  2. 1 2 MARCOM.
  3. ↑ Davies 2004, p. 23.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Navsource 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 DANFS.

Bibliography

  • "Interceptor". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 25 November 2019.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  • "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  • Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  • "SS Edward W. Burton". Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  • "USS Interceptor (AGR-8)". Navsource.org. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
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