''Thomas G. Thompson'' (T-AGOR-9) was a ''Robert D. Conrad''-class

oceanographic research ship Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics ...

acquired by the

U.S. 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 ...

in 1965. The ship was transferred to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

for operation as part of the

University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System The University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) is a group of academic institutions and National Laboratories organized in the United States to coordinate research vessel use for federally funded ocean research. Authority The UNOLS ...

(UNOLS) fleet on 21 September 1965. In 1988 the ship went out of UNOLS service. The ship, retaining the previous name, was designated by the Navy as IX-517 assigned to the

Mare Island Naval Shipyard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates th ...

for general naval research. ''Thomas G. Thompson'' was later renamed ''Pacific Escort II'' with the same designation. On 7 May 1997 the Navy renamed the ship ''Gosport'' and transferred the ship to the

Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

available for hire as a multi purpose platform from the shipyard. The ship, placed out of service and struck from the register on 27 February 2004, was sunk as part of a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

exercise 14 November 2004.

Construction

''Thomas G. Thompson'' (AGOR-9), specially designed for oceanographic research work, was laid down on 12 September 1963 at

Marinette, Wisconsin Marinette is a city in and the county seat of Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the south bank of the Menominee River, at its mouth at Green Bay, part of Lake Michigan; to the north is Stephenson Island, part of the ...

, by the Marinette Marine Corp.; launched on 18 July 1964; sponsored by Mrs. Isabel Thompson, the widow of Professor Thompson; and delivered to the Navy on 4 September 1965.

University of Washington service

From the ceremonial transfer to the

at the

Boston Naval Shipyard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

on 21 September 1965 until 1988 the ship was assigned to the university as part of the

(UNOLS) fleet of Navy owned ships. ''Thomas G. Thompson'' was one of three such ships operated by academic institutions as parts of the academic fleet; the others being R/V ''obert D. Conrad'' operated by the

Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory The Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) is the scientific research center of the Columbia Climate School, and a unit of The Earth Institute at Columbia University. It focuses on climate and earth sciences and is located on a 189-acre (64 h ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and R/V ''Thomas Washington'' operated by the

Scripps Institution of Oceanography The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (sometimes referred to as SIO, Scripps Oceanography, or Scripps) in San Diego, California, US founded in 1903, is one of the oldest and largest centers for oceanography, ocean and Earth science research ...

. The Navy owned ships operated under the general control of the Oceanographer of the Navy, but were managed by the institutions, with civilian crews, conducting research experiments in support of the national oceanographic programs of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. On 5 June 1987 the

Office of Naval Research The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is an organization within the United States Department of the Navy responsible for the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. Established by Congress in 1946, its mission is to plan ...

(ONR) solicited bids from UNOLS institutions for operation of a new, more capable, class of research vessels. The initial vessel to be designated AGOR-23 was to "replace at least one existing AGOR 3 class ship in the Navy portion of the UNOLS academic fleet" with a part of the requirement being "a practical plan for return to the Navy of at least one AGOR 3 Class ship now chartered from ONR must be included in the proposal." Operator representatives observed that only three such ships existed at three institutions thus seemingly limiting bidding to those institutions. The University of Washington's bid resulted in the old ''Thomas Washington'' being returned to the Navy in 1991 to be replaced by the new AGOR-23 to also be named ''Thomas G. Thompson'' operated by the university on 8 July 1991.

Naval designations and further use

After retirement from the UNOLS service with the University of Washington the ship was placed in service at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard under the designation (IX-517) available for general research. The ship was renamed ''Pacific Escort II'' in 1990. Renamed ''Gosport'' and transferred to the Atlantic and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard the ship operated as a multi-purpose research ship available for hire from the shipyard. ''Gosport'' was retired, struck from the register 27 February 2004, and sunk in a NATO exercise on 14 November 2004.

References

External links

Global Security description of R/V Gosport IX-519

History of UNOLS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas G. Thompson (T-AGOR-9) Robert D. Conrad-class oceanographic research ships University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System research vessels Ships built by Marinette Marine 1964 ships University of Washington Ships sunk as targets