USNS Bartlett (T-AGOR 13).
Click on this photograph for links to larger images of this class.
Class: THOMAS G THOMPSON (AGOR 9)
Design: SCB Project Nos. 185A and 710.65
Displacement (tons): 1,088 light, 1,362 full (1,325 for AGOR 12-13)
Dimensions (feet): 209' oa, 196’ wl x 40' e, 39’ wl x 16 max nav, 15’ lim
Armament: none
Accommodations: 26 crew (28 for AGOR 12-13), 15 scientists
Speed (kts.): 13
Propulsion (HP): 1,330
Machinery: Diesel electric, 1 screw
Construction:
| AGOR | Name | Ord | Builder | Keel | Launch | Svc |
| 9 | THOMAS G THOMPSON | 15 Mar 1963 | Marinette Marine | 12 Sep 1963 | 18 Jul 1964 | 4 Sep 1965 |
| 10 | THOMAS WASHINGTON | 15 Mar 1963 | Marinette Marine | 12 Sep 1963 | 1 Aug 1964 | 17 Sep 1965 |
| 12 | DE STEIGUER | 12 Jul 1965 | NW Marine IW | 12 Nov 1965 | 21 Mar 1966 | 28 Feb 1969 |
| 13 | BARTLETT | 12 Jul 1965 | NW Marine IW | 18 Nov 1965 | 24 May 1966 | 15 Apr 1969 |
Disposition:
| AGOR | Name | T | OOS/Cust | Strike | Disposal | Fate | MA Sale |
| 9 | THOMAS G THOMPSON | DECOM | 27 Feb 2004 | 14 Nov 2004 | Target | -- | |
| 10 | THOMAS WASHINGTON | 1 Aug 1992 | 1 Aug 1992 | 28 Sep 1992 | Trf | -- | |
| 12 | DE STEIGUER | T | 2 Nov 1992 | 2 Nov 1992 | 2 Nov 1992 | Trf | -- |
| 13 | BARTLETT | T | 26 Jul 1993 | 30 Aug 1993 | 26 Jul 1993 | Trf | -- |
Class Notes:
AGOR 9-10 incorporated lessons learned from the first ships of the type (AGOR 4 and sisters). Approved characteristics for an Oceanographic Research Ship (AGOR), SCB Project No. 185A, were promulgated on 7 Aug 1962. During late 1962 the Chief of Naval Research asked Scripps and the University of Washington, who were scheduled to operate AGOR 9-10, to review the contract plans of AGOR 4 to determine if the experiences gained in working at sea during the two years since those plans were drawn would necessitate any rearrangements of the scientific spaces. It was also presumed that certain minor modifications would be desirable to make those new ships more suitable to the specialized research programs of those two West Coast institutions. On 30 November 1962 the chief of ONR informed BUSHIPS that the requested changes looked entirely feasible and that the Ship Characteristics Board had approved the few that required minor modifications to the ships' characteristics. He asked BUSHIPS to ensure that the requested rearrangements were incorporated in the ships' plans before the contracts were awarded. Two of the requested changes were to enlarge the deckhouse to provide a single space for a lecture hall and a library and to relocate the after mast from the present position forward of the stack to a position aft of the stack to permit the antenna to meet FCC requirements. ONR suggested more changes to the AGOR 4 design on 2 Jan 1963 and on 19 Feb 1963 BUSHIPS reviewed its action on the requests, which were incorporated into the design for AGOR 9-10.
On 6 Jan 1964 OPNAV asked for comments on the present AGOR design. The approved characteristics for an Oceanographic Research Ship (AGOR), SCB Project No. 185A, were updated as SCB Project No. 710.65 on 24 February 1964 with a final change on 17 February 1965. On 13 Apr 1964 BUSHIPS recommended using the AGOR 9-10 design as the basis for the discussions of the AGOR design, which presumably resulted in AGOR 12-13. All four ships were essentially repeats of AGOR 6-7 in which the mast was moved aft of the stack. S P LEE (AGS 31) was a variant of this class. As parts of the national academic research fleet, THOMAS G THOMPSON and THOMAS WASHINGTON were commonly referred to as research vessels (R/V), not U.S. Naval Ships (USNS). DE STEIGUER and BARTLETT were operated by MSTS in NAVOCEANO's Navy Lab West Coast Pool
On 12 October 1962 the Chief of Naval Research informed CNO that AGOR 9 was scheduled to go out for bidding during the first part of 1963. The ship was to be leased to the University of Washington for use in oceanographic research. The founder of the oceanographic labratories at this university was Professor Thomas Gordon Thompson, who had recently died on 10 August 1961. On 18 September 1962 the university asked that the ship be named for him. However on 15 February 1964 a SECNAV notice assigned the name SILAS BENT to AGOR 9. This prompted a strong letter of protest from Senators Warren G. Magnusen and Henry M. Jackson of Washington State dated 6 March. SECNAV Paul Nitze received the senators' letter on 10 March and on 12 March RADM Ernest M. Eller, OP-09BH (the predecessor of today's Naval History and Heritage Command) prepared a draft response that was then preserved in the relevant OP-09BH ship name folder. This draft, which may or may not have been sent in this form, gives several poignant insights into how ship naming policies of half a century ago differed from those of today. The writer explains that after reading the senators' letter SECNAV Nitze had asked him to inform the senators that the Navy had decided to reassign the name SILAS BENT and that AGOR 9 would be assigned the name THOMAS G THOMPSON. "This decisions is not based upon the relative merits of the two men, for Bent followed his conscience as did Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Maury; these names are borne by ships now active in the defense of our united America." It was made because, unknown to the Navy, it had been widely publicised since the previous October that the ship would be named after Professor Thompson. "For those types of ships that bear the names of men, we have found it desirable, unless strong reasons dictate otherwise, to select an 18th or 19th century man in preference to one of the 20th century, especially one recently deceased. This was the controlling reason in selecting Bent and not naval versus army service as someone misinformed you. We admire and honor the achievements of our sister service in the defense of our country." By a separate notice dated 12 March 1964 SECNAV cancelled the assignment of the name SILAS BENT to AGOR 9, reassigned it to AGS 26, and assigned the name THOMAS G THOMPSON to AGOR 9. T-AGOR 12-13 were built by the Northwest Marine Iron Works of Portland, Oregon.
On 5 June 1987 the Office of Naval Research (ONR) solicited bids from University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) institutions for operation of a new, more capable, class of research vessels. The initial vessel, to be designated AGOR-23, was to "replace at least one existing AGOR 3 class ship in the Navy portion of the UNOLS academic fleet" with a part of the requirement being "a practical plan for return to the Navy of at least one AGOR 3 Class ship now chartered from ONR." Operator representatives observed that only three such ships existed at three institutions (AGOR 3, 9, and 10), thus seemingly limiting bidding to those institutions. The University of Washington's bid resulted in the old THOMAS G THOMPSON (AGOR 9) being returned to the Navy in 1989 to be replaced by the new THOMAS G THOMPSON (AGOR-23) on 8 July 1991.
Ship Notes:
| AGOR | Name | MA | Notes |
| 9 | THOMAS G THOMPSON | FY 1963. (ex-SILAS BENT 15 Feb 1964 or 12 Mar 1964). Transferred on loan on 21 Sep 1965 at NSY Boston to the University of Washington, Seattle, for ONR projects. The name THOMAS G THOMPSON was cancelled for T-AGOR 9 on 28 Apr 1989 so that it could be reassigned to the new T-AGOR 23 instead of the name EWING, which had been assigned to T-AGOR 23 on 6 Feb 1989 but was needed for a ship privately operated for the National Science Foundation. T-AGOR 9 was reclassified IX 517 11 Dec 1989 and renamed PACIFIC ESCORT II, available for hire from NSY Mare Is. That yard closed Oct 1996, ship renamed GOSPORT 7 May 1997 and available for hire from NSY Norfolk. Sunk 14 November 2004 as a target for a NATO exercise. | |
| 10 | THOMAS WASHINGTON | FY 1963. Loaned to Scripps Institute of Oceanography 1966 for ONR projects. To Chile 1992 as VIDAL GORMAZ (commissioned at San Diego on 28 Sep 1992). Decomm. 30 Aug 2010, BU at Chinquique, Puerto Montt, in 2012. | |
| 12 | DE STEIGUER | FY 1965. Accepted by Com 13 from builder 14 Feb 1969. To MSTS from Com 13 on 28 Feb 1969. To Tunisia 1992 under grant aid as SALAMMBO. | |
| 13 | BARTLETT | FY 1965. Accepted by Com 13 from builder 31 Mar 1969. To MSTS from Com 13 on 15 Apr 1969. To Morocco 1993 as ABOU EL BARAKAT AL BARBARI. |
Page Notes:
Compiled: 19 Oct 2021
© Stephen S. Roberts, 2021
Special sources: NARA: RG 19 Item S-13 Entry P 62 Box 72 (SCB 185A).