The ''Banner'' class was a

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of three environmental research ships converted from Camano-class cargo ships by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during the 1960s. The class comprised three ships: , , and . The ships were originally

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

vessels, which had been built in 1944. Although officially classified as environmental research ships, they were actually used for

signals intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...

gathering, as part of the AGER program. In 1964 the

Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

became interested in having smaller, less expensive, more flexible, and responsive

collection vessels than the existing AGTR and T-AG vessels. The mothballed light cargo ships were the most suitable existing DOD ships. The

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

(NSA) wanted 25 AGER vessels, though after a detailed discussion with the Navy, this was reduced to 15 in budget requests for what the NSA called the Phase I and Phase II Trawler program. Eventually, only three were converted.

Ships in class

''Banner''

''Banner'' (AKL-25) was the second ship of the

named in honor of Banner County, Nebraska. Her keel was laid down in 1944 as the US Army small freighter ''Captain William M. Galt'' (FS-345) by Kewaunee Shipbuilding and Engineering Corporation of Kewaunee, Wisconsin. She was commissioned on 26 July 1944, Lieutenant Junior Grade G.W. Oberst of the

United States Coast Guard Reserve The United States Coast Guard Reserve is the reserve component of the United States Coast Guard. It is organized, trained, administered, and supplied under the direction of the Commandant of the Coast Guard through the Assistant Commandant for R ...

in command. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, FS-345 served in the Southwest Pacific Theater, operating at

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

and

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. She was acquired by the United States Navy on 1 July 1950, and placed in service by the

Military Sea Transportation Service Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...

and redesignated T-AKL-25. On 24 November 1950, she was commissioned as ''Banner'' (AKL-25). ''Banner'' was assigned to Pacific Fleet's Service Division 31, where she supplied bases in the Pacific. She was converted to an environmental research ship from August to October 1965, after which she collected intelligence out of Yokosuka until decommissioning on 14 November 1969. She was scrapped by Mitsui and Co. at

Tadotsu 270px, Shorinji Kempo head dōjō is a town located in Nakatado District, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 22,124 in 10365 households and a population density of 270 persons per km². The total area of the ...

from 5 June 1970.

''Pueblo''

''Pueblo'' (AGER-2) was the third ship of the United States Navy named in honor of

Pueblo, Colorado Pueblo () is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Pueblo County, Colorado, Pueblo County, Colorado ...

. She was laid down in 1944, as the US Army small freighter ''FS-344'' by Kewaunee Shipbuilding and Engineering Corporation of Kewaunee, Wisconsin. She was commissioned on 7 April 1945. ''FS-344'' was placed out of service in 1954. ''FS-344'' was transferred to the United States Navy on 12 April 1966, and was renamed ''Pueblo'' (AKL-44). Initially, she served as a light cargo ship, but shortly after resuming service was converted to an intelligence gathering ship and redesignated AGER-2 on 13 May 1967. On 23 January 1968, ''Pueblo'' was attacked, boarded, and seized by North Korean forces while in, according to U.S. officials, international waters. As of 2016, ''Pueblo'' is still held by North Korea as a tourist attraction in Pyongyang, North Korea. She was moored on the Taedong River, near the spot that the

General Sherman incident The ''General Sherman'' incident ( ko, 제너럴셔먼호 사건) was the destruction of the American merchant ship '' SS General Sherman'' in the Taedong River during an unsuccessful and illegal attempt by the ship's crew to open up trade with ...

is believed to have taken place, from 1999 until 2012. In late 2012 ''Pueblo'' was moved again to the Botong River in Pyongyang next to a new addition to the Pyongyang Victorious War Museum, where the ship is currently located. The ship was renovated and made open to tourists with an accompanying video of the North Korean perspective in late July 2013. To commemorate the anniversary of the Korean War, the ship had a new layer of paint added. ''Pueblo'' is still considered to be commissioned by the United States Navy and remains the second-oldest commissioned ship in the U.S. Navy, behind . ''Pueblo'' is one of only a few American ships to have been captured since the wars in Tripoli.

''Palm Beach''

''Palm Beach'' (AGER-3) was the only ship of the United States Navy named after

Palm Beach, Florida Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intracoas ...

. She was laid down in 1944, as the US Army small freighter ''Colonel Armond Peterson'' (FS-217), a Design 427 coastal freighter. First based in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, ''Colonel Armond Peterson'' later surveyed the coasts of Central America after being moved to Balboa, in the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

. Placed in reserve on 17 February 1956, ''Colonel Armond Peterson'' was acquired by the United States Navy and converted to an environmental research ship, also being redesignated ''Palm Beach'' (AGER-3). She served for two years in that capacity, collecting intelligence in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

. The vessel was decommissioned in 1969, and later sold to a private owner, involved in drug smuggling and later sunk and used as a scuba diving reef.

References

{{reflist Auxiliary ship classes of the United States Navy