SUPPORTING SERVICES 



SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT 



, Nineteen Navy surface ships, a submarine, and four airplanes 

 are assigned fulltime to the collection of oceanographic, hydro- 

 graphic and other related geophysical and meteorological data. 

 These include 4 AGOR class ships utilized by Navy Labs and the 

 Naval Oceanographic Office in support of their programs. Also 

 included are 15 AGS class ships operated by the Military Sea 

 Transport Service and appropriate Fleet Commands which per- 

 form both oceanographic research and hydrographic survey 

 functions. The aircraft, Projects MAGNET, BIRDS EYE, and 

 ASWEPS are operated by Air Development Squadron Eight 

 located at the U. S. Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Maryland. 

 This constitutes one of the largest oceanographic fleets in the 

 world. It is being modernized by the replacement of older ships, 

 not particularly well suited for oceanographic surveys, with new 

 ones specifically designed and instrumented for oceanographic 

 work. 



In addition to the fulltime fleet, other ships are under contract 

 to the Navy for special oceanographic projects. Still other ships 

 of the Navy and the U. S. Coast Guard are used on an opportunity 

 basis to obtain oceanographic information to meet the defense 

 requirements of the Nation. 



The five aircraft of Weather Reconnaissance Squadron FOUR 

 (VW-4), the "Hurricane Hunters" for the Atlantic Fleet, and the 

 eight aircraft of the Airborne Early Warning Squadron ONE 

 (VW-1), the "Typhoon Trackers" for the Pacific Fleet, provide 

 timely meteorological information supporting oceanographic 

 operations, particularly in the area of predictions. Ice recon- 

 naissance in support of MSTS operations in the Baffin Bay and 

 Bering Sea operating areas is performed by Patrol Squadron 

 aircraft. 



CALIBRATION RANGES AND FIELD GROUPS 



Calibration ranges for sea gravity meters have been established 

 in cooperation with the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in the 



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