THE NEW EMERGENCE (1960 - 1956) - (Cont'd) 



world-wide basis. Currently, two ships of this class, the USNS Bent (T-AGS 26) and USNS Kane 

 (T-AGS 27) are operational and a third ship, the USNS Wilkes (T-AGS 33) currently under 

 construction in Bay City, Michigan, is scheduled for delivery in mid-1971 . 



Five new hydrographic surveying ships were also funded during this period. The 

 aforementioned USNS Kellar (T-AGS 25) and USNS Lee (T-AGS 31) are operational and have 

 replaced the Navy-manned conversions Sheldrake and Tow/iee. The new design 393-foot coastal 

 survey ships USNS Chauvenet (T-AGS 29) and USNS Harkness (T-AGS 32), completing con- 

 struction in Glasgow, Scotland, will replace the Navy-manned survey ships Tanner and Maury 

 which were inactivated in 1969. The Chauvenet and Harkness are designed to carry four 36-foot 

 survey launches, two helicopters, a combined naval/civilian hydrographic survey detachment, and a 

 Marine Corps coastal survey team. The USNS Wyman (T-AGS 34) is also under construction in 

 Bay City, Michigan, and, when delivered in late 1971 will replace the Serrano which was inacti- 

 vated in January 1970. The 285-foot Wyman is the same class as the Bent (T-AGS 26) but 

 modified for hydrographic surveying. 



In addition to these ships, the Navy converted two cargo ships for ocean gravity surveys, the 

 USNS Sgt. Curtis F. Shoup and USNS Sgt. George D. Keathley. 



In 1966 the limitations of the AGOR 3 class research ships to meet changing oceanographic 

 requirements were recognized and. primarily through the efforts of the Office of Naval Research, a 

 new and novel design was conceived. 



This new design was designated the AGOR 14 class. Among the number of new concepts 

 which were incorporated was the utilization of cycloidal propellers, a major advancement in 

 position keeping and maneuverability, and the capability to "customize" the basic design to meet 

 the diversity of requirements among the prospective institutional and government users. This first 

 two ships of this class, the R/V Melville (AGOR 14) delivered to the Navy in August 1969, and 

 R/V Knorr (AGOR 15), delivered in January 1970 have been assigned Xo Scripps Institution and 

 Woods Hole, respectively. These ships have an overall length of 245 feet, maximum beam of 46 

 feet, full load displacement of approximately 2,100 tons, 2,000 square feet of laboratory space 

 and accommodations for 25 crew and 25 scientists. The customized features incorporated include 

 a drill rig for the Melville and submersible handling facilities on the Knorr. 



Other new avenues in the design of research vessels were also being explored. In 1967, the 

 catamaran-hull research vessel Ridgely WarfielJ was completed. This all aluminum 106-foot 

 catamaran was built by Johns Hopkins University through a grant provided by the National 

 Science Foundation. 



About the same lime the AGOR 14 class design was being completed, the Navy was also 

 investigating designs for a specialized platform capable of handling large deep sea vehicles and 

 acoustical arrays in open ocean and high sea states. The result of these investigations was the USNS 

 Hayes (T-AGOR 16) which features a catamaran hull. Funded in 1967, the Hayes (which is named 

 for Harvey C. Hayes, developer of the sonic-depth finder) is now under construction in Seattle, 

 Washington, and when delivered in mid-1971 will be used by the Naval Research Laboratory. This 

 catamaran research ship provides a major improvement in stability with increased deck area and 

 laboratory space in contrast to a single-hull ship of the same displacement. The laboratory space, 

 for instance, is more than double that of the Atlantis // or the AGOR 14 Class ships. The large 

 separation between the controllable, reversible-pitch (CRP) propellers on each hull allows a high 

 degree of maneuverability thereby eliminating the need for bow thrusters and active rudders used 

 in previous ship designs. At slow speeds the Hayes will be able to turn almost within her own 

 length. The principal characteristic of this first Navy catamaran* research ship are: 



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