USNS Flyer (T-AG-178)
Encyclopedia
USNS Flyer (T-AG-178), was a type C2-S-B1
Type C2 ship
Type C2 ships were designed by the United States Maritime Commission in 1937-38. They were all-purpose cargo ships with five holds, and U.S. shipyards built 173 of them from 1939-1945. Compared to ships built before 1939, the C2s were remarkable for their speed and fuel economy. Their design speed...
cargo ship of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, built under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 1209) by the Moore Dry Dock Company
Moore Dry Dock Company
Moore Dry Dock Company was a ship repair and shipbuilding company in Oakland, California. It was started in San Francisco in 1905 as the Moore & Scott Iron Works, but was destroyed by fire in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. It reopened soon and in 1909 purchased the Boole Shipyard in Oakland....
of Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
as SS Water Witch.
The keel was laid on 30 October 1944, and the ship launched on 20 December 1944, sponsored by Miss. Margaret Helen Finnel.
Service history
The ship served under United States LinesUnited States Lines
United States Lines was a transatlantic shipping company that operated cargo services from 1921 to 1989, and ocean liners until 1969—most famously the SS United States.-1920s:...
as SS American Flyer before being returned to the Maritime Administration.
The ship was acquired by the US Navy from the Maritime Administration (MARAD), and placed in service on 9 February 1965, with her new name assigned on 22 March 1965.
Acquired for "Project Caesar", the cover name of the installation of SOSUS
SOSUS
SOSUS, an acronym for Sound Surveillance System, is a chain of underwater listening posts across the northern Atlantic Ocean near Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom — the GIUK gap. It was originally operated by the United States Navy for tracking Soviet submarines, which had to pass...
(Sound Surveillance System), she was converted for Naval service as a Miscellaneous Auxiliary, Bathymetric Survey
Bathymetry
Bathymetry is the study of underwater depth of lake or ocean floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry. The name comes from Greek βαθύς , "deep", and μέτρον , "measure"...
ship. USNS Flyer was operated by the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) (current Military Sealift Command
Military Sealift Command
The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...
) for Project Caesar.
Flyer was struck from the Naval Vessel Register
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
on 17 July 1975, and sold by MARAD for scrapping, 27 April 1976.