USS ''Locator'' (AGR/YAGR-6) was a , converted from a

Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Ma ...

, acquired by the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 1955. She was obtained from the

National Defense Reserve Fleet The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States of America, mostly merchant vessels, that have been "mothballed" but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies ...

and reconfigured as a radar picket ship and assigned to radar picket duty in the North

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

as part of the Distant Early Warning Line.

Construction

''Locator'' (YAGR-6) was laid down on 9 February 1945, under a

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

(MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2347, as the

''Frank O. Peterson'', by

J.A. Jones Construction J.A. Jones Construction was a heavy construction company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Operating internationally since the 1950s, it merged with Germany's Philipp Holzmann AG in 1979. In 2003 the company ceased operations due to the ...

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola. It is the more populated city of the Panama City–Lynn ...

. She was launched 23 March 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Evelyn Flynn, and delivered on 6 April 1945, to International Freigting Corp.

Service history

She was acquired by the Navy from the

US Maritime Administration The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) is an agency of the United States Department of Transportation. MARAD administers financial programs to develop, promote, and operate the U.S. Maritime Service and the U.S. Merchant Marine. D ...

(MARAD) on 10 June 1955. She was converted to a radar picket ship at the

Charleston Naval Shipyard Charleston Naval Shipyard (formerly known as the Charleston Navy Yard) was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and part of Naval Base Charleston. H ...

, Charleston, South Carolina, and commissioned ''Locator'' on 21 January 1956. Departing Charleston, 21 February, ''Locator'' steamed through the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

, and arrived

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, California, 17 March. After a period of repair and training she was assigned to a radar picket station off the US West Coast. Coordinating operations with the Continental and

North American Air Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

s, she detected, tracked, and reported all air contacts that came within her radar surveillance. ''Locator'' was reclassified ''AGR-6'' on 28 September 1958, and for the next 7 years continued the constant vigil at sea, ever ready to sound the signal of enemy air attack. Her operations at sea were alternated by in-port replenishment periods at San Francisco.

Decommissioning

After contributing 9 years to the defense of the United States. ''Locator'' decommissioned at San Francisco, 9 August 1965. Her name was struck from the

Naval Register A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...

1 September 1965, and was sold for scrapping, 4 January 1975.

Military awards and honors

''Scanner''s crew was eligible for the following medals: *

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Locator (Agr-6) Liberty ships Ships built in Panama City, Florida 1945 ships World War II merchant ships of the United States Guardian-class radar picket ships Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Hudson River Reserve Fleet