USS ''Somerset'' (AK-212) was an that was constructed for the

US 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 of ...

during the closing period of

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 ...

. She was later acquired by the

US 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 ...

in 1946 and the

US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

in 1957 before being reacquired by the USN as the USNS ''Coastal Sentry'' (T-AGM-15), a missile range instrumentation ship.

Construction

The third ship to be so named by the Navy, ''Somerset'' was laid down on 9 October 1944, under

US Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

(MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2166, by the Leathem D. Smith Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin; launched on 21 January 1945; sponsored by Mrs.

Fred Bradley Frederick Bradley may refer to: * Frederick Henry Bradley (1876–1943), English recipient of the Victoria Cross *Frederick Gordon Bradley (1886–1966), Canadian and Dominion of Newfoundland politician *Frederick Van Ness Bradley (1898–1947), Ame ...

, wife of the Michigan congressman. Initially earmarked to be manned by a

US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

crew, ''Somerset'' was completed at her building yard on 19 February 1945. After she successfully completed her MARCOM acceptance

trials In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

, a Navy sub-board of inspection and survey recommended preliminary acceptance on 22 February 1945.

US Navy service

Broken-down for the voyage via inland waterways, the ship arrived at

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, Louisiana, on 2 May 1945, to be transferred to

Pendleton Shipyards Pendleton may refer to: Places ;United Kingdom *Pendleton, Lancashire, England *Pendleton, Greater Manchester, England ;United States *Pendleton, Indiana * Pendleton, Missouri * Pendleton, New York *Pendleton, Oregon *Pendleton, South Carolina *P ...

at New Orleans for reassembly. Accepted by the Navy on 20 September 1945 within a month of the Japanese surrender, ''Somerset'' began the conversion process to a cargo ship on 24 September. Ironically, her prospective commanding officer reported on 28 September that progress of the work was proceeding satisfactorily and that crew deficiencies caused by demobilization had been corrected, when, that same day, 28 September, the ship was earmarked for return to the MARCOM. Her assignment to the US Pacific Fleet was cancelled on 29 September. Her estimated commissioning date had been 15 October. Redelivered to the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime Co ...

(WSA) at 1500 on 2 November 1945, ''Somerset'' was stricken from the

Navy Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 5 December 1945 never having been commissioned.

War Shipping Administration

On the same day the WSA received the cargo vessel, renamed ''Coastal Sentry'', that agency transferred her to the Stockard Steamship Company at New Orleans. Transferred again, to the War Department, on 2 August 1946 at

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland., the ship entered the

Reserve Fleet A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed; they are partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; a ...

, berthed at

Suisun Bay Suisun Bay ( ; Wintun for "where the west wind blows") is a shallow tidal estuary (a northeastern extension of the San Francisco Bay) in Northern California. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, forming the ent ...

, California, on 28 September 1949, with the

retaining her title. On 12 December 1949, however, ''Coastal Sentry'' was declared surplus.

Merchant service

The ship resumed commercial operation under the house flag of the

Matson Navigation Company Matson may refer to: *Matson (surname) *Matson, Gloucester, England, a suburb of Gloucester *Matson, Missouri, an unincorporated community *2586 Matson, an asteroid * Matson, Inc., a shipping company, formerly Matson Navigation Company *Matson Film ...

on 15 November 1951. Returned to the Reserve Fleet, this time at

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...

, on 17 February 1954, ''Coastal Sentry'' was taken out of reserve status on 10 May 1955 to be operated by the West Coast Trans-Oceanic Steamship Line for 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 ...

(MSTS). Another stint of inactivity followed, 19 October 1955 – 22 May 1956, after which she again served under MSTS, this time with the Coastwise Line.

US Air Force service

Placed in reserve at

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...

, on 28 September 1956, ''Coastal Sentry'' was taken out of the Reserve Fleet on 29 March 1957. Retaining her name, she was operated by the

as a missile range instrumentation ship (AGM). Reacquired by the Navy on 1 July 1964 and reinstated on the Naval Vessel Register, ''Coastal Sentry'' was designated as T-AGM 15.

NASA service

Along with , ''Coastal Sentry'' not only collected and relayed radio telemetry information from on board spacecraft, but operated in the command-control role, having embarked

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding th ...

(NASA) flight controllers. As an example of that work, ''Coastal Sentry'' initiated the necessary re-entry command signals on the

Gemini VIII Gemini 8 (officially Gemini VIII) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was the sixth crewed spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was launched on March 16, 1966, and was the 14th crewed American flig ...

mission when the capsule had to make an emergency landing in the Pacific on 17 March 1966. For the

Gemini Program Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual ...

, she served as a primary tracking station, call sign CSQ, in the western Pacific. Transferred to the Maritime Administration (the successor of MARCOM) on 11 July 1968, the ship was delivered the same day to the firm of Fuji Marden and Co., Ltd., of

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, British Crown Colony, at

Fremantle, Australia Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, for scrapping. ''Coastal Sentry'' was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 9 October 1969.

Notes

;Citations

Bibliography

Online resources * * * * * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coastal Sentry (T-AGM-15) Alamosa-class cargo ships Ships built in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin 1945 ships World War II merchant ships of the United States Type C1-M ships of the United States Air Force Type C1-M ships of the United States Navy Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Signals intelligence Missile range instrumentation ships of the United States Navy Research vessels of the United States Navy Maritime vessels related to spaceflight