US Air Force ships

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Starting in 1957 the US Air Force began operating a small fleet of Missile Range Instrumentation Ships to support missile test ranges. They were designated "ORV" for Ocean Range Vessel. They used the ship name prefix "USAF" (e.g.: USAF Coastal Crusader (ORV-16)).

The initial twelve Atlantic Missile Range ships were modified World War II cargo vessels. Six were FS-type ships and six were C1-M-AV-1 vessels. All were equipped with telemetry systems. Two of the C1-M-AV-1 types, Coastal Sentry and Rose Knot, were equipped with command/control transmitters.^[1]

The smaller FS types were retired by 1960^[1]. In 1964 the US Navy took over operation of the larger C1-M-AV-1 type, and redisgnated them as AGM^[2]. The original larger ORV were out of service on the Eastern Test Range by 1969^[1].

The U.S.Army funded the purchase of a Victory class ship, VC2-S-AP3, the S.S.Twin Falls Victory for the purposes of proving the aiming accuracy of the Pershing missile.The ship originally was equipped with AN/FPS-16 monopulse missile tracking radar, telemetry receiving equipment, AN/SPN-8 splash detection radar, AN/GMD-1A Rawinsonde tracking equipment and a balloon hangar, to house a Kytoon tethered blimp and as a weather balloon inflation shelter. The ship eventually was delivered to the Atlantic Missile Range and operated by merchant marine crewmen and contractor technical staff. Pan American World Airways and its subcontractor RCA MTP operated the radar,telemetry, navigation and weather instrumentation aboard the ship. The ship was operated under the name USAF Twin Falls Victory until turned over to MSTS at which time the ship was redesignated T-AGM-11 Twin Falls. The ship was modified in New Orleans for additional capabilities before finally being released from duty, stripped of its specialized tracking equipment and turned over to New York City for use as a vocational school.

1 US Air Force ship list
2 Notes
3 External links
4 References

[edit] US Air Force ship list

FS Type
- USAF Echo
- USAF Foxtrot
- USAF Golf
- USAF Hotel
- USAF India
- USAF Kilo
C1-M-AV-1 Type
- USAF Sword Knot
- USAF Rose Knot
- USAF Coastal Sentry
- USAF Coastal Crusader (ORV-16)
- USAF Timber Hitch
- USAF Sampam Hitch
VC2-S-AP3 Type
- USAF Twin Falls Victory
C4-S-A1 Type^[3]
- USAF General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (ex USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145))
- USAF General H. H. Arnold (ex USS General R. E. Callan (AP-139))
EC2-S-C1 Type
- USAF American Mariner (ex SS George Calvert)^[4]

[edit] Notes

The SS American Mariner, a Liberty ship removed from storage in the Hudson River, was converted by the U.S. Army in 1958 into the missile tracking ship USAS American Mariner for her role in the DAMP Project. She was redesignated USAF on January 1, 1964, when she was transferred to the U.S. Air Force. She later was transferred to the U.S. Navy and redesignated USNS American Mariner (T-AGM-12)^[4], making her possibly the only American ship serving in the Army, Air Force and Navy.