USS ''Scanner'' (AGR/YAGR-5) 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

''Scanner'' (YAGR-5) was laid down on 24 January 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 2344, as the

''Edwin D. Howard'', 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 on 27 February 1945, sponsored by Mrs. John E. Davidson, and delivered on 14 March 1945, to the Alcoa Steamship Company.

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 Norfolk Naval Shipyard, and commissioned ''Scanner'' on 30 January 1956. ''Scanner'' departed

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, on 28 March 1956, for her home port,

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, and commenced her first patrol in the Pacific Ocean in July 1956, with the seaward extension of America's early warning defense system. Fitted with sophisticated electronic search and tracking equipment, ''Scanner'' could detect, track, and report enemy aircraft at great distances, and control high speed interceptor aircraft in event of attack. She also carried out weather reporting duties during her three to four-week-long cruises.

Decommissioning

''Scanner'' was redesignated ''AGR-5'' effective 28 September 1958. She was decommissioned on 21 July 1965, at San Francisco, and turned over to

Maritime Administration Maritime administrations, or flag state administrations, are the executive arms/state bodies of each government responsible for carrying out the shipping responsibilities of the state, and are tasked to administer national shipping and boating issue ...

(MARAD) custody on 26 July, at Suisun Bay, California. Struck from the

Navy List 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 ...

on 1 September 1965, she was transferred permanently to the MARAD on 4 February 1966, and remained in the Suisun Bay reserve fleet until 3 October 1974, when she was sold for non-transport use.

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:Scanner (AGR-5) 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 Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet