USS Searcher

USS Searcher (AGR-4), underway, 9 September 1960, location unknown.
History
United States
Name	James W. Wheeler
Namesake	James W. Wheeler
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Calmar Steamship Company
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C5) hull, MC hull 2338
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida[1]
Cost	$1,127,547[2]
Yard number	79
Way number	1
Laid down	11 December 1944
Launched	23 January 1945
Sponsored by	Mrs. R. D. Turnage
Completed	5 February 1945
Identification	Call sign: ANFD [2]
Fate	Placed in the, James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 29 October 1945 Withdrawn from reserve fleet and leased to Grace Lines Inc., 4 February 1947
Fate	Placed in the, National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, 1 October 1947 Acquired by US Navy, 15 September 1954
United States
Name	Searcher
Commissioned	2 April 1955
Decommissioned	1 July 1965
Reclassified	Guardian-class radar picket ship
Refit	Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, South Carolina
Stricken	1 July 1965
Identification	Hull symbol: YAGR-4 (1956–1958) Hull symbol: AGR-4 (1958–1970)
Fate	Placed in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York Sold for scrapping, delivered, 31 May 1970
General characteristics [3]
Class and type	Liberty ship type EC2-S-C5, boxed aircraft transport
Tonnage	10,600 LT DWT 7,200 GRT
Displacement	3,380 long tons (3,434 t) (light) 14,245 long tons (14,474 t) (max)
Length	441 feet 6 inches (135 m) oa 416 feet (127 m) pp 427 feet (130 m) lwl
Beam	57 feet (17 m)
Draft	27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m)
Installed power	2 × Oil fired 450 °F (232 °C) boilers, operating at 220 psi (1,500 kPa) 2,500 hp (1,900 kW)
Propulsion	1 × triple-expansion steam engine,  (manufactured by Joshua Hendy Iron Works, Sunnyvale, California) 1 × screw propeller
Speed	11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity	490,000 cubic feet (13,875 m3) (bale)
Complement	38–62 USMM 21–40 USNAG
Armament	Varied by ship Bow-mounted 3-inch (76 mm)/50-caliber gun Stern-mounted 4-inch (102 mm)/50-caliber gun 2–8 × single 20-millimeter (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons and/or, 2–8 × 37-millimeter (1.46 in) M1 AA guns
General characteristics (US Navy refit)[4]
Class and type	Guardian-class radar picket ship
Capacity	443,646 US gallons (1,679,383 L; 369,413 imp gal) (fuel oil) 68,267 US gallons (258,419 L; 56,844 imp gal) (diesel) 15,082 US gallons (57,092 L; 12,558 imp gal) (fresh water) 1,326,657 US gallons (5,021,943 L; 1,104,673 imp gal) (fresh water ballast)
Complement	13 officers 138 enlisted
Armament	2 × 3 inches (76 mm)/50 caliber guns

USS Searcher (YAGR/AGR-4) was a Guardian-class radar picket ship, converted from a Liberty Ship, acquired by the US Navy in 1954. She was obtained from the National Defense Reserve Fleet and reconfigured as a radar picket ship and assigned to radar picket duty in the North Atlantic Ocean as part of the Distant Early Warning Line.

Searcher (YAGR-4) was laid down on 11 December 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2338, as the Liberty Ship James W. Wheeler, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida. She was launched on 23 January 1945; sponsored by Mrs. R. D. Turnage; and delivered on 5 February 1945 to the Calmar Steamship Company.^[5][2]

She was acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Administration on 15 September 1954 and reclassified YAGR-4 in August 1954. She was converted to a radar picket ship at the Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, South Carolina, and commissioned Searcher on 2 April 1955.^[5][4]

Searcher departed Charleston, 16 May 1955, for Newport, Rhode Island, where, after shakedown, she reported for duty with the seaward extension of America's early warning defense system. She reported on station for her first patrol on 5 July 1955.^[5]

Fitted with sophisticated electronic search and tracking equipment, Searcher could locate, track, and report enemy aircraft at great distances, and control high-speed interceptor aircraft in event of an attack. She also carried out weather reporting duties during her three-to-four-week-long cruises.^[5]

On 13 November 1955, Searcher was damaged by an engine room fire which burned for six and a half hours before being extinguished with the aid of two other ships. Her patrols were otherwise uneventful. She was reclassified AGR-4 effective 28 September 1958; and, during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, she operated at sea for 60 out of 67 days.^[5]

In March 1964 she lost her screw at sea while steaming in a heavy gale 450 miles ESE of Cape Cod and was later taken in tow first by the US Coast Guard Cutter Yakutat and then by a US Navy tug.^[6]

On 1 July 1965, Searcher was decommissioned, struck from the Navy List and transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD). She was laid up in the Hudson River Reserve Fleet until sold for scrapping on 7 August 1970, to the North American Smelting Co., Wilmington, Delaware.^[5]

Searcher's crew was eligible for the following medals:

• National Defense Service Medal
• Navy Expeditionary Medal (2 awards)^[4]

• United States Navy
• Radar picket

• Photo gallery of USS Searcher at NavSource Naval History
• Official website