USS Outpost (AGR-10)

USS Outpost (AGR/YAGR-10) was a Guardian-class radar picket ship, converted from a Liberty Ship, acquired by the US Navy in 1956. She was 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.

SS Francis J O'Gara on the building ways at J. A. Jones Construction Co. Inc., Panama City, Florida, prior to launching, 8 June 1945.
History
United States
Name: Francis J O'Gara
Namesake: Francis J O'Gara
Owner: War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator: Calmer Steamship Corp.
Ordered: as type (EC2-S-C5) hull, MC hull 3140
Builder: J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida[1]
Laid down: 14 April 1945
Launched: 8 June 1945
Completed: 30 June 1945
Fate: Placed in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York, 4 June 1946
Status: Acquired by US Navy, 22 May 1956
USS Outpost (AGR-10) underway, 19 June 1963, location unknown.
United States
Name: Outpost
Namesake: A security detachment to protect against enemy enterprises
Commissioned: 6 February 1957
Decommissioned: 1 July 1965
Reclassified: Guardian-class radar picket ship
Refit: Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Stricken: 1 July 1965
Identification:
  • Hull symbol: YAGR-10 (1957–1958)
  • Hull symbol: AGR-10 (1958–1970)
Fate: Placed in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York, 1 July 1965
Status: Sold for scrapping, 17 February 1971
General characteristics [2]
Class and type:
Tonnage:
Displacement:
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:
Speed: 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity: 490,000 cubic feet (13,875 m3) (bale)
Complement:
Armament:
General characteristics (US Navy refit)[3]
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

Construction

Outpost (YAGR–10) was laid down on 14 April 1945, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 3140, as the Liberty Ship Francis J. O'Gara, by J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida. She was launched 8 June 1945, and delivered 30 June 1945, to the Calmer Steamship Corp..[3][4]

Service history

Merchant service

The Calmer Steamship Corp. operated Francis J. O'Gara for MARCOM from 30 June 1945 until 4 June 1946. Francis J. O'Gara's cruises during this period included one to the US West Coast of the United States and one to various European ports.[4]

On 4 June 1946 Francis J. O'Gara was laid up in the Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York, of MARCOM. From 28 January 1947 until 14 January 1948, Francis J. O'Gara was operated by the Waterman Steamship Company and then the South Atlantic Steamship Company. During this period she made cruises to Europe, the Near East, and the Orient. On 20 January 1948, Francis J. O'Gara was laid up in MARCOM's Mobile, Alabama, reserve fleet.[4]

US Navy service

On 22 May 1956, the US Navy acquired Francis J. O'Gara to be converted into an Ocean Station Radar Ship.[4]

Francis J. O'Gara was towed from Mobile, to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where conversion was begun to equip her with the electronic detection equipment and communication gear necessary for her role with the Continental Air Defense Command. She was assigned the Navy hull number YAGR–10 and commissioned Outpost, 6 February 1957, Lieutenant Commander John Leslie Murphy, USN, in command.[3][4]

After shakedown training out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Outpost reported to her homeport, Davisville, Rhode Island, 3 June 1957. On 28 June, the ship steamed seaward on her first patrol and on 30 June, relieved Brister on picket station. The ship returned to Davisville, 19 July, but by 24 July, was underway for another patrol setting the pattern of patrols interrupted by short periods in port.[4]

Outpost made a total of six patrols in 1957. These patrols continued into 1958. Outpost's designation was changed to AGR–10 28 September 1958.[4]

During the first half of 1961, Outpost steamed on station. But in August she steamed south to Florida and the Bahamas. From October 1961 to January 1962, she underwent overhaul at Boston, Massachusetts.[4]

Outpost continued her Atlantic patrols in 1962, buttoning up for wartime steaming during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The onset of 1963 found Outpost steaming on station as before. In late July the ship visited Halifax, Nova Scotia.[4]

From August through the end of 1963, Outpost maintained a record of no misses in reporting air contacts. She visited Halifax, again in November before putting into her homeport for the holidays. Early in 1964, she resumed her patrols and continued this pattern of operation until decommissioning 1 July 1965.[4]

Decommissioning

She was returned to the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) 4 February 1966, and entered the Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York. She was sold 17 February 1971, for scrapping in Spain.[3][4]

Military awards and honors

Outpost's personnel qualified for the following medals:

[3]

See also

References
  1. J.A. Panama City 2010.
  2. Davies 2004, p. 23.
  3. Navsource 2015.
  4. DANFS.

Bibliography
  • "Outpost". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  • "Jones Construction, Panama City FL". www.ShipbuildingHistory.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  • Davies, James (May 2004). "Specifications (As-Built)" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  • "USS Oupost (AGR-10)". Navsource.org. 9 October 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2019.


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