USNS ''Shearwater'' (T-AG-177) was a ''Shearwater''-class

miscellaneous auxiliary The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by ind ...

built during the final months 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 ...

for the US Army as ''FS-411'' ( Design 381 coastal freighter) by Hickinbotham Brothers Shipbuilders. ''FS-411'' was Coast Guard manned operating in the Central and Western Pacific, including Hawaii, Saipan, Tinian, Guam, during the closing days of the war. She was placed into service by the U.S. Navy from 1964 to 1969 as USNS ''Shearwater'' (T-AG-177). After this service, she was transferred back to the U.S. Army.

Operational history as T-AG-177

''Shearwater'' began her naval service as a ''survey support ship'' with 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 ...

in May 1964. Operated by a

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crew, she operated in the

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until mid-February 1969, when she was transferred back to the U.S. Army. As of 2007, ''Shearwater'' was active as a fishing vessel based at Reedville, Virginia. She was retired in 2013 and reefed off the coast of Delaware onto the Del-Jersey-Land Inshore Reef site in 2015.

References

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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - T-AG-177 Shearwater
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shearwater Ships of the United States Army Design 381 coastal freighters Ships built in Stockton, California 1945 ships Research vessels of the United States Navy