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USS OXFORD (AG 159, later AGTR 1) on 4 January 1962.

USS OXFORD (AG 159, later AGTR 1) on 4 January 1962.
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Class: OXFORD (AGTR 1, Z-EC2-S-C5)
Design: SCB Project 192 (for AGTR 1) and 192A (for AGTR 2-3), conversions of MC Z-EC2-S-C5
Displacement (tons): 7,330 light, 11,365 full
Dimensions (feet): 441.5' oa, 428' wl, 417' pp x 57' e/wl x 23'
Armament: none; (1, 3: 1969) 3-20mmT; (2: 1969) 6-20mmT
Accommodations: 254
Speed (kts.): 11
Propulsion (HP): 2,500
Machinery: Steam triple expansion reciprocating, 2 boilers (220psi/450deg), 1 screw

Construction:
AGTRNameAcqBuilderKeelLaunchComm
1OXFORD10 Oct 1960New England SB23 May 194531 Jul 19458 Jul 1961
2GEORGETOWN10 Aug 1962New England SB4 May 194510 Jul 19459 Nov 1963
3JAMESTOWN10 Aug 1962New England SB4 May 194510 Jul 194513 Dec 1963

Disposition:
AGTRNameTDecommStrikeDisposalFateMA Sale
1OXFORD19 Dec 196919 Dec 196914 May 1970MA/S--
2GEORGETOWN19 Dec 196919 Dec 196924 Jun 1970MA/S--
3JAMESTOWN19 Dec 196919 Dec 196914 May 1970MA/S--

Class Notes:
Approved characteristics for a Technical Research Ship (AG) conversion, SCB Project No. 192, were promulgated on 25 April 1958 with a final change on 6 October 1960. The characteristics were applicable to a single conversion in the FY 1960 building program. The document began with a general discussion of the design, which explained that the ship "will be required to perform passive electromagnetic phenomena studies as pertains to transmission, reception, propagation and analysis of a wide range of electromagnetic radiating systems which may or may not convey information." It added that only one ship of this type was then contemplated, and that a Liberty type merchant hull, converted somewhat along the lines of the YAGR (later AGR) was considered appropriate. It noted that minimizing costs and critical materials was of almost equal importance to the suitability of the conversion to the ship's mission. The ship was to have about 4,500 square feet of secure space (controlled access), isolated from all other spaces and passageways, for Naval Security Group operations forward and another 2,500 square feet of secure space aft. The forward space was to include an intercept radio room, communications traffic processing rooms, and a processing center, while the after space was to include an operations room and an analysis room. Due to the mission of the ship its antenna installation was considered its main military characteristic, with interference reduction second in importance only to the antenna configuration. The ship was to be ballasted as necessary to give propeller immersion, satisfactory trim, and a two-compartment standard of damage survival. (Locked water ballast tanks were used as in many converted auxiliaries.) Damage control capabilities were to be upgraded to include a fire fighting capability that met Navy standards. The ship's company consisted of 9 officers, 8 chief petty officers, and 128 enlisted while the NAVSECGRU unit consisted of 10 officers, 12 chiefs, and 163 enlisted. On 7 October 1958 BUSHIPS decided to select a Liberty Z-EC2-S-C5 type hull (specifically from MC hulls 3125-3132) for the conversion. It was also decided that all cargo hatch openinings were to be plated over, the antenna supporting masts were to be hollow, steel, unstayed pole masts, and the ship was to be capable of being replenished at sea. On 25 November 1960 the classification AG 159 and name OXFORD were assigned to the technical research ship then undergoing conversion.

On 4 April 1959 CNO Arleigh Burke informed the Chairman of the Ship Characteristics Board that at a meeting on the previous day the desirability of having a ship to obtain COMINT, ELINT, and other electronics data to be used sporadically off hostile coasts had been discussed. Burke focused on the possibility of building this capability into some new construction combatant ships but added that consideration should also be given to a few small surface ships if it could be done at a reasonable cost. The navy was then designing communications relay ships and fleet flagships. He did not mention dedicated intelligence collection ships other than the "small surface ships."

In the meantime, the Chief of Naval Operations had directed the establishment of the Communications Moon Relay (CMR) system in 1956 for transmission of teletype and facsimile messages between Washington, DC, and Hawaii. The inaugural ceremonial test of CMR was conducted in January 1960. A U.S. postage stamp honoring "the world's first commuinications satellite, Echo 1, placed in orbit by NASA, 12 August 1960," was issued on 15 December 1960 as the "Communications for Peace Issue." Echo 1 was a metalized balloon satellite acting as a passive reflector of microwave signals and has been mentioned in connection with the CMR program. A CMR receiver and 16-ft steerable parabolic dish antenna were installed on the stern of USS OXFORD (AG 159) in 1961. The Naval Research Laboratory demonstrated the first shore-to-ship satellite communications relay on 15 December 1961, when ceremonial messages were sent by CNO Anderson to OXFORD from NRL's Stump Neck, Maryland, satellite research facility. The first two-way ship-to-shore satellite communications were conducted when OXFORD was at sea between Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro on 30 March 1962. The CMR system offered very reliable communications and was resistant to jamming. Its principal operational disadvantage was simply the availability of the moon, which had to be within sight of both of the link terminals. CMR was the only operational satellite communications relay system in the world until the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) came on line on 16 June 1966. The CMR capability was disestablished in the mid-1960s, and its antennas were used in the Technical Research Ship Special Communications (TRSSCOM) System, below.

Two technical research ship conversions were included in the draft FY 1963 shipbuilding program (see AGTR 4-5). In compliance with a SECDEF memo to SECNAV dated 12 February 1962 two more (which became AGTR 2-3) were then added under the FY 1962 program. Approved characteristics for a Technical Research Ship (AG) conversion, SCB Project No. 192A, were promulgated on 19 April 1962 with a final change on 13 January 1964. These were based on experience gained from recent OXFORD operations, unsatisfactory design features in OXFORD, latest techniques in communications and research operations, and availability of newer types of research equipment. In the SCB 192A characteristics references tending to limit the conversions to Liberty type hulls were deleted to allow flexibility in planning and design. (A change dated 19 April 1963 stated that a Liberty hull suitably converted was considered adequate and most economical for the FY 1962 ships and altered the SCB 192A characteristics accordingly, new SCB 192B characteristics were then prepared for the FY 1963 ships.) The SCB192A characteristics featured a new list of electronic equipment and a redistribution of the secure spaces. They also added an armament of four .50 caliber machine guns with four universal mounts (OXFORD as designed had no armament).

On 1 May 1962 SECNAV informed the Secretary of Commerce that the Navy had a requirement for two Liberty ships for conversion to Technical Research Ships under FY 1962 and requested either ROBERT W. HART and WALTER F. PERRY (previously selected by the Army and replaced by J. HOWLAND GARDNER) on the east coast or ALBERT M. BOE and CARDINAL O'CONNELL on the west coast. They would be required around 1 September 1962. The successful bidder for the conversion was on the east coast so the first two were chosen. On 6 March 1963 the classifications and names ROBERT W HART (MCE 3125) and J HOWLAND GARDNER (MCE 2126) were changed to GEORGETOWN (AG 165) and JAMESTOWN (AG 166) for two technical research ships then undergoing conversion. As in OXFORD, about 4,000 tons of locked-in water ballast was added to give proper propeller immersion, satisfactory trim, and a two-compartment standard of damage survival. The ships, being of the Z-EC2-S-C5 type with four oversized holds, also had to have new bulkheads added to meet the two-compartment standard. With the ballast the full load displacement was 11,400 tons. The three Technical Research Ships (AG) were reclassified AGTR 1-3 on 25 February 1964 effective 1 April 1964.

In 1964, the U.S. Navy established the world's first operational ship-shore satellite communications system to provide telecommunications support for Navy Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) surveillance ships that were deployed in several oceans of the world. This communications system was named the "Technical Research Ship Special Communications System" (TRSSCOM) in keeping with the cover story that these ships were for "technical research" rather than surveillance. The TRSSCOM system derived from the Communications Moon Relay (CMR) concept (see above) and consisted of a sixteen-foot, dish shaped antenna capable of bouncing a 10,000 watt microwave signal off a particular spot on the moon and down either to receiving stations at Cheltenham or Maryland or to other Navy SIGINT ships. To obtain the equipment needed for TRSSCOM, the Naval Research Laboratory disestablished the CMR link between Hawaii and Washington, DC, and the CMR antennas were then installed at Cheltenham, Maryland (for the Second and Sixth Fleets); Wahiawa, Hawaii (Third Fleet); and Okinawa (Seventh Fleet). The TRSSCOM system went operational with the USS OXFORD on 25 February 1964. Other "technical research" ships received TRSSCOM as equipment became available: GEORGETOWN and JAMESTOWN in 1966, LIBERTY in 1967, BELMONT in 1968, and USNS JOSE F VALDEZ (AG 169, ex APC 119) in 1969. The "Technical Research" ships were inactivated and the TRSSCOM system was suspended in the fall of 1969, bringing to a close the Navy's first operational satellite communications program.

JAMESTOWN was inspected at Yokosuka, Japan, by an INSURV board around 1 November 1969. The Board found her to be unfit for further service due to obsolescence and unsatisfactory material condition of the main machinery and ship's service electrical system. Her conversion cost had been $7,924,558 and her value when sold for scrap was estimated at $97,000. No mention was made of operational considerations in arriving at this decision, although she and her two sisters left service soon after the LIBERTY and PUEBLO incidents.

Ship Notes:
AGTRNameMCENotes
1OXFORD3127FY 1960. (ex merc. SAMUEL R AITKEN, compl. 31 Aug 1945). Converted at NSY New York. On 25 February 1964 effective 1 April 1964 OXFORD (AG 159) was reclassified to AGTR 1. Returned to MA and sold by them at Yokosuka, to buyer 8 Jun 1970.
2GEORGETOWN3125FY 1962. (ex merc. ROBERT W HART, compl. 2 Aug 1945). Converted at Newport News. Named 6 Mar 1963. On 25 February 1964 effective 1 April 1964 GEORGETOWN (AG 165) was reclassified to AGTR 2. Returned to MA and sold by them in the JRRF, to buyer 26 Aug 1970
3JAMESTOWN3126FY 1962. (ex merc. J HOWLAND GARDNER, compl. 14 Aug 1945). Converted at Newport News. On 25 February 1964 effective 1 April 1964 JAMESTOWN (AG 166) was reclassified to AGTR 3. Returned to MA and sold by them at Yokosuka, to buyer 27 May 1970.

Page Notes:
Compiled: 19 Oct 2021
© Stephen S. Roberts, 2021
Special sources: NARA: RG 19 Entry P 62 Box 95 (SCB 192), RG 19 Entry P 62 Box 73 (SCB 192A); "From the Sea to the Stars: A Chronicle of the U.S. Navy's Space and Space-related Activities, 1944-2009" (www.history.navy.mil)