USS ''Tracer'' (AGR-15) 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 1957. She was 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. Because of the closeness of the sound of names issued for radar picket ships at the time, ''Interrupter'' had her name changed by the Navy to ''Tracer'' so as not to confuse her with and

Construction

''Tracer'' (AGR-15) was laid down on 24 December 1944, 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 2340, as the

''Dudley H. Thomas'', by J.A. Jones Construction,

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 31 January 1945; sponsored by Mrs. Marion Harders; and delivered 21 February 1945, to the Moore McCormack Lines, Inc.

Service history

Merchant service

''William J. Riddle'' operated with Moore-McCormack Lines and the

Waterman Steamship Corporation Waterman is an American deep sea ocean carrier, specializing in liner services and time charter contracts. It is owned by SEACOR Holdings. History Waterman was founded in 1919 in Mobile, Alabama by John Barnett Waterman, Henry Crawford Slaton, ...

from 1945 to 1947. When hostilities ended in the Far East in mid-August 1945, she was steaming from

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Converted to a cattle carrier the following year, she operated as such through the end of 1946. Changed back to a dry cargo carrier by March 1947, she voyaged to European and Mediterranean ports until the summer of 1947, when she was laid up in MARCOM's James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia. She remained there for 10 years.

US Navy service

The Navy selected ''William J. Riddle'' for conversion to a

radar picket ship A radar picket is a radar-equipped station, ship, submarine, aircraft, or vehicle used to increase the radar detection range around a nation or military (including naval) force to protect it from surprise attack, typically air attack, or from cr ...

in May 1957. Towed to 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, conversion work began on 24 May 1957. Renamed ''Interrupter'', and classified as ''AGR-15'', she was commissioned at Charleston, 16 October 1958. Following shakedown in Guantanamo Bay,

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, and post-shakedown availability at her conversion yard, ''Interrupter'' sailed for the

. She transited 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 ...

, on 26 January 1959, and arrived at 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, on 12 February, the sixth ''AGR'' to join newly formed Radar Picket Squadron 1. Fitted out with the latest radar detection equipment, ''Interrupter'' and her seven sister ships were designed to serve as the seaborne eyes of the

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 ...

(CONAD), the naval link in the chain of early-warning stations covering the Pacific approaches to the United States. Her mission was to "detect, report, and track enemy airborne threats approaching by overseas routes and to control the intercepts used to destroy such threats." Before putting to sea for her first patrol, she conducted training evolutions with

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

officers embarked on board for familiarization with the ship's mission. In addition, ''Interrupter's'', officers and men familiarized themselves with the Air Force's part in this vital mission. On 6 March 1959, ''Interrupter'' sailed from San Francisco on her first barrier patrol. On 4 September 1959, ''Interrupter'' was renamed ''Tracer'' to eliminate confusion with some of her sister ships with similarly sounding names. Between 1959 and 1965, ''Tracer'' conducted patrols at sea, at various picket stations in the Western Contiguous Radar Line. The ship proved to be an efficient vessel and received awards for administrative and operational efficiency on several occasions. As more sophisticated early-warning systems came into operational use, the need for the ''AGR''s diminished accordingly.

Decommissioning

Deactivated in 1965, ''Tracer''s name was 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 then transferred to the US Maritime Commission (MARCOM) and laid up at the

Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet The Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet is located on the northwest side of Suisun Bay (the northern portion of the greater San Francisco Bay estuary) in Benicia, California. The fleet is within a regulated navigation area that is about long and wide. It ...

, Suisun Bay, California, where she remained until sold, 15 July 1974. Before being scrapped in China in 2000, ''Tracer'', renamed ''Unisea'', served as a

fish processing plant A fish factory, also called a fish plant, fish processing facility, is a facility where fish processing is performed. Fish factories range in the size and range of species of fish they process. Some species of fish, such as mackerel and herring, a ...

Unalaska Unalaska ( ale, Iluulux̂; russian: Уналашка) is the chief center of population in the Aleutian Islands. The city is in the Aleutians West Census Area, a regional component of the Unorganized Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Unalaska ...

, Alaska.

Honors and awards

''Tracer''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:Tracer (AGR-15) 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 Wilmington Reserve Fleet James River Reserve Fleet Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet