THE NEW EMERGENCE (I960 - 1967) - (Cont'd) 



will have to be the undisputed winner. The highlight of her unprecedented seven year construction 

 period was her capsizing when approximately 85 percent complete (between two sewer outletsi) at 

 New Orleans in 1965 during Hurricane Bestsy. 



The year I960 also saw the introduction of the USNS Mission Capistrano a 524-foot tanker, 

 which was specifically converted to an experimental platform for research in underwater sound in 

 support of new sonar systems. 



In 1964 the Navy converted a 266-foot cargo ship, the USNS Mizar, for oceanographic 

 research. Her scientific facilities include an internal well and an aloft observation tower. The 

 Mizar, which is operated for the Naval Research Laboratory, has received wide acclaim for her 

 successful role in three of the most widely publicized undersea searches of modern times - those 

 for the ill-fated nuclear submarines Thresher and Scorpion and for the H-bomb lost off Palomares, 

 Spain. Her most recent achievement was in the recovery of the Deep Research Vehicle Alvin from 

 a depth of over 5,000 feet, which set a record for object size, depth and salvage time for deep 

 ocean operations. 



Many small converted ships were also provided by the Navy for use by the institutions. 

 These conversions included the harbor minesweeper Sir Horace Lamb for Lamont; the tugs 

 Oconostota for Scripps and Hoh for the University of Washington (prior to her introduction to 

 oceanography, the Hoh had served as the Alcatraz Prison ferry); the 65-foot Army cargo and 

 passenger "T" boats Onar for the University of Washington, Kyma for New York University, 

 T-441 for Scripps (now operated by the University of Connecticut), Manning for Hudson 

 Laboratories, Columbia University (now operated by Crumb School of Mines, Columbia 

 University), T-426 for Bermuda Biological Station, Columbia University (now operated by Florida 

 Institute of Technology), and Tursiops for the University of Miami (now assigned to Florida State 

 University); and the supply boat t'rline for Lamont. 



During the 1960s, the National Science Foundation provided many institutional grants for 

 ship conversions. Most notable of these were the 135-foot schooner Te Vega (Stanford University), 

 which was sold in 1969 and replaced by the 100-foot fishing boat Proteus; the 96-foot yacht 

 Teritu (University of Hawaii); the 114-foot Army island freighter Inland Seas (University of 

 Michigan); and the 180-foot Army island freighters: Alaminos (Texas A&M) which replaced the 

 136-foot subchaser Hidalgo, Trident (University of Rhode \s\ind), Pillsbiiry (University of Miami), 

 and Yaqiiina (Oregon State University) which replaced the Navy-owned 80-foot trawler type 

 boat Acona that had been transferred to the University of Alaska. Oregon State University 

 later received a grant to construct another 80-foot boat, the Cayiise. The National Science 

 Foundation also funded for the construction of the 118-foot Eastward for Duke University 

 and the 133-foot Alpha HelLx for Scripps. Both of these ships are employed as^national co- 

 operative facilities for biological research. The 243-foot Williamsburg, former presidential yacht 

 of Harry S. Truman, was acquired by NSF, renamed the Anton Bruun, and converted to a research 

 vessel for participation in the four-year long International Indian Ocean Expedition. The 266-foot 

 cargo ship USNS Eltanin was converted by NSF to support research in the Antarctic. Also for 

 Antarctic research, NSF later constructed a 125-foot, wooden-hulled, trawler type vessel named the 

 R/V Hero. The diesel powered Hero is equipped with sails which provide propulsive power when 

 ultra-quiet ship operations are required. 



The institutions were also utilizing their own efforts to obtain such ships as Scripps' /l^aM/z , 

 another 180-foot Army freighter, and Ellen B. Scripps, a 95-foot off-shore oil supply boat; Woods 

 Hole's 99-foot Army freighter Gosnold, and the University of Georgia's 64-foot tug Kit Jones. 



The 1960s have also seen the Navy's construction of a new class of 285 -foot oceanographic 

 surveying ships specifically designed for conducting systematic multi-disciplined surveys on a 



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