THE POSTWAR YEARS (1946 - 1956) - (Cont'd) 



In 1949 an additional capability was provided to the Navy's survey fleet with the 

 introduction of the converted seaplane tenders San Pablo and ReliDboth. These were the first ships 

 specifically designated to conduct deep ocean oceanographic surveys for the Hydrographic Office. 

 The 132-foot freight lighter YF-854 was acquired in 1952 and used for conducting harbor surveys 

 which ranged from Alaska to Panama on the West Coast and from Florida to Newfoundland on the 

 East Coast. Renamed the Littlehales (the second ship to bear that name) she was assigned to 

 Project AUTEC (Atlantic Underwater Test and Evaluation Center) from 1962 until her disposal in 

 1968. Also in the early 1950s, the 204-foot landing ship LSM-398 was converted to support 

 testing of experimental sonar equipment for the Naval Research Laboratory. Designated the 

 Hunting (EAG-398), she was plagued by mechanical problems and finally placed out of service in 

 1962. 



Recognizing that, since the Atlantis in 1931, no American oceanographic research ship had 

 been specifically designed and built, and concerned with the present hodge-podge of jury-rigs, the 

 Office of Naval Research established a ship panel at the June 1952 symposium on Oceanographic 

 Instrumentation in Rancho Santa Fe, California. This panel stimulated the oceanographic 

 community's interest in ship design, and many concepts and recommendations were made which 

 were representative of the highly individualistic and motivated personages in attendance. 

 Consequently, in that same year, ONR provided funds to Woods Hole to conduct a predesign 

 engineering study of oceanographic vessels reflecting existing ideas and exploring further the most 

 logical choices of power plant, ship size and outfitting. The study was directed by an Advisory 

 Committee consisting of Mr. Francis Minot, Chairman, who was the Woods Hole naval architect; 

 Dr. Columbus O'D. Iselin, then Director of Woods Hole; Professor Emeritus H. L. Seward of Yale 

 University; Dr. K. S. M. Davidson, then Director of the Experimental Towing Tank at Stevens 

 Institute of Technology; and Mr. Mandel Rosenblatt, naval architect. This was the most 

 comprehensive study at that time to describe the general requirements of oceanographic vessels. 



Shortly after the study became available, the Office of Naval Research, in October 1953, 

 sponsored a conference in Washington, D. C. on oceanographic ships. It was attended by over 50 

 representatives of academic and private institutions. Navy laboratories, the Hydrographic Office 

 and the Bureau of Ships. General ship characteristics for an oceanographic vessel were evolved, but 

 it was the consensus that a steering committee be established for further definition. This steering 

 committee was composed of representatives of each of several institutions and Navy activities. 

 However, the ship characteristics adopted were those proposed by the Scripps Institution 

 representative, Rear Admiral C. D. Wheelock, USN (Retired), formerly professor of Naval 

 Construction at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Deputy Chief of the Navy's Bureau of 

 Ships. 



In 1955 the Bureau of Ships undertook and completed a preliminary design study 

 investigating the feasibility of these characteristics. The project, which eventually resulted in the 

 basic design for the AGOR 3 Class research vessels, was to remain dormant, however, for more 

 than three years while awaiting the appropriation of funds for construction of an especially 

 designed oceanographic ship. 



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