USNS BOWDITCH T

- EARLY OPERATIONS -

Loran-C Development.

A single reference, "A History of Coast Guard Aviation: Coming of Age (1957-1975)", reports that Bowditch and Dutton were involved in the evaluation of the prototype radio navigation system that would become Loran-C ( http://uscgaviationhistory.aoptero.org/history03.html ). This project would have been conducted soon after their conversion to Oceanographic Survey Ships, probably ca. early 1959. The timing is uncertain, since Bowditch is reported to have completed her conversion on 30 Sep 1958 and Dutton on 16 Nov 1958, but here is the relevant text :

" By the early 1950s, the Department of Defense required a highly accurate long range radionavigation capability. The Sperry Company had proposed a navigation system which would use phase comparison and operated on two frequencies. This was later reduced to one frequency and the Air Force tried to adapt it for tactical needs but had given up on it. The system was known as Cytac. Capt Peter V. Colmar USCG saw the value in the system as a long range precision navigation system. He convinced the Navy to fund a test using the CG Cutter Androscoggin which showed it would work. A test chain was set up on the East Coast and the Navy Survey Ships USNS Bowditch and USNS Dutton conducted a controlled survey test out as far as Bermuda. This convinced Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, father of the nuclear submarine, to go operational with it. He fought for money, got it, and Capt Loren “Zeke” Brunner USCG drove the effort and the system would become known as Loran C. The Coast Guard was up and operational in a year and a half during which time Sperry designed and built the equipment. Lcdr. Al Manning, who had been assigned to oversee equipment design, inspection and delivery flew out with the final pieces of equipment on December 28,1958. The Mediterranean Loran C Chain was up and operational nine months later. The Norwegian Sea Chain was commenced in late March of 1960. Loran C operates in the 90khz – 110khz band. Under Coast Guard operation provided a repeatable accuracy of 18 – 90 meters with a 99.7% availability factor. "

- SIGNIFICANT OPERATIONS -
(Noteworthy events and activities above and beyond normal survey ops.)

Palomares Incident. ca. late Jan. 1966

On 17 January 1966, a B-52 bomber collided with a KC-135 tanker while refueling over Spain. Of the four nuclear weapons carried by the B-52, three fell on Spanish soil and one landed in the Mediterranean sea off Palomares, Spain.

(The) "Navy Oceanographic Office’s Survey Ship, USNS DUTTON steamed in and was employed in a underwater survey from which charts were published and the Decca System was surveyed in. DUTTON also placed some underwater velocity meters. (Prior to DUTTON charts, the TF had to depend on some old Spanish charts dated in the early 1900’s.)"

Ref: DCR D.H. Moody, USN (Ret.). 40th Anniversary of Palomares. Faceplate, Vol. 10, No. 2, September 2006, pp 15-19. http://www.supsalv.org/pdf/FACEPLATESept06.pdf (go to p15).

SENIOR NAVOCEANO SCIENTISTS A chronological list of Senior NAVOCEANO Scientists (SNS) aboard USNS DUTTON. Many served several times. They are listed in the order they were first assigned as SNS.

NAME	SERVICE DATE *
Ben Alexander
Jake Buenzli
William L. Lear
James Maloney
Clayton Nielson
Charles Jennings
Chuck Williams
Cal Day
John Manken
Thomas F. McCann	Aug 1967
Stan Palzewski
Don Swan
Gary Eckelman
Joe Burger
E.O. Miner
Bernard Mingioli
John Musgrove
Philip G. Hill
Me1 Barche
V. T. Aleksandravicius
Robert Sprague
Grover Bucklew
Richard Vibelius
Paul Hammes
Emory J. Sedlock
Charles Johnson
Peter Urka
Lester E. Stafford
John Palensky
Murray J. Aronson
Van 0 Light
Robert Kuhn
Kim Gebhardt
Douglas Watts
John Donlon
Joseph R . Rubisch
Nelson C. Smoot
John Southall
Michael T. Kayes
Alan Jensen
Ron Murray
Robert Grill
Thomas Sandidge
Marc Chalona
James Newman
Walton C. Clark
Mark D. Sand

* - Names are from the USNS Dutton Decommissioning Ceremony booklet. Service dates taken or estimated from other sources.

- SHIPS' NEWSPAPERS -

OcDet Two Familygrams , June-December 1963.
(All are courtesy of Dennis Solo)

OcDet2 Familygram No.29, June 10 1963

OcDet2_Familygram_No29-p1.jpg (708864 bytes)

OcDet2 Familygram No.30, July 07 1963

OcDet2_Familgram_No30-p1.jpg (655078 bytes)

OcDet2 Familygram No.31, August 02 1963

OcDet2_Familgram_No31-p1.jpg (724783 bytes)

OcDet2 Familygram No.32, September 01 1963

OcDet2_Familygram_No32-p1.jpg (885806 bytes)

OcDet2 Familygram No.33, October 01 1963

OcDet2_Familygram-No33-p1.jpg (897328 bytes)

OcDet2 Familygram No.34, November 14 1963

OcDet2_Familygram_No34-p1.jpg (833224 bytes)

OcDet2 Familygram No.35, December 23 1963

OcDet2_Familygram_No35-p1.jpg (777628 bytes)

OcDet Two Familygram , ca. March 1965.

The Dutton Drift, 10 August 1967.

The Dutton’s Family Newspaper “The Dutton Drift”, 10 August 1967. I got this copy from the Dutton when we shared an uncommon inport together. This is a fine piece of work by Dutton’s crew, and historically invaluable.

(Contributed by Earl Adams.)

The Dutton Drift, 1968.

Another fine "Family Gram" from Dutton's Navy crew.

(Contributed by James Ward.)

- SHIPS' MOVEMENT -
16-21 Jan, 1963	Barcelona, Spain	The Deck Log Book of the USS Ashland LSD-1 reports Dutton present in Barcelona, Spain, on 16-21 Jan, 1963. ( http://www.ussashland.org/60folder/jan1963.htm ).
2 Jul, 1967	Belfast, Northern Ireland	"The Dutton Drift", 10 August 1967
Apr-Sep, 1981	U.S. West Coast between Seattle, WA and San Diego, CA	CV of Jeffrey Michael Pearmain http://www.unols.org/jobs/personnel/jmpearmain.html

- SHIPS' MOVEMENT -

16-21 Jan, 1963

Barcelona, Spain

The Deck Log Book of the USS Ashland LSD-1 reports Dutton present in Barcelona, Spain, on 16-21 Jan, 1963.
( http://www.ussashland.org/60folder/jan1963.htm ).

2 Jul, 1967

Belfast, Northern Ireland

"The Dutton Drift", 10 August 1967

Apr-Sep, 1981

U.S. West Coast between Seattle, WA and San Diego, CA

CV of Jeffrey Michael Pearmain http://www.unols.org/jobs/personnel/jmpearmain.html

- NEWSPAPER ARTICLES -
	All over the country, local newspapers in small cities and towns published stories about local sons serving aboard Naval ships, including the T-AGS.
The Wellsboro Gazette Wellsboro, PA	This article about ET1 Robert Marple is from The Wellsboro Gazette, July 27, 1972, Wellsboro, PA. The article was obtained from a wonderful service, the digital newspaper archives of The Green Free Library, Wellsboro, PA.
The News-Record Gillette, Wyoming	The May 2007 Obituary of Rodney Eveland, who served aboard USNS Dutton ca. 1967.

- NEWSPAPER ARTICLES -

All over the country, local newspapers in small cities and towns published stories about local sons serving aboard Naval ships, including the T-AGS.

The Wellsboro Gazette
Wellsboro, PA

This article about ET1 Robert Marple is from The Wellsboro Gazette, July 27, 1972, Wellsboro, PA. The article was obtained from a wonderful service, the digital newspaper archives of The Green Free Library, Wellsboro, PA.

The News-Record
Gillette, Wyoming

The May 2007 Obituary of Rodney Eveland, who served aboard USNS Dutton ca. 1967.

- LINKS -

Carl Friberg ("Slowbell")

Ramon Jackson's "Blue Pages": Navy Survey Ship (AGS) Designator Listing

NavSource Naval History
(Thumbnail photo of Dutton is courtesy of Carl Friberg.)

Naval Historical Center, Dictionary of American Fighting Ships

	Portrait of Capt. Benjamin Dutton, Jr., USN (1883-1937). This is the portrait which hung aboard USNS Dutton T-AGS-22. The photo of the portrait was taken in 1962. USNS Dutton was named in honor of Capt. Dutton, the author of Navigation and Nautical Astronomy, 1926. (Courtesy of Jack Keenan)
	Dutton tied up at the pier at Malaga, Spain, ca. 1972-1974. (Courtesy of Paul Rokoff.)
	An official photograph of USNS Dutton at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard on 20 October 1958. She is perhaps on trials, or moving berths. Dutton underwent conversion from her original merchant cargo configuration to a T-AGS at this shipyard from 8 Nov 1957 to 16 Nov 1958, according to some sources, and, according to other sources, was delivered as USNS Dutton to MSTS on 1 Nov 1958. This photo was therefore taken just before her rebirth, from SS Tuskegee Victory to USNS Dutton. (A copy of the photograph was provided to this site by the Naval Oceanographic Office on 4/11/2007). ______________________________________
	Dutton. Date and location are unknown but the photo is probably ca. 1986 or before. Thanks to Edward Alford for the photograph. In these later photographs, it is obvious that MSC in the 1980s had more money for maintenance--or at least for painting--than MSTS in the 1960s and early 1970s. Railings and hatch covers are nicely detailed in white, and not a single spot of rust is visible. Perhaps the Navy also finally ran out of WWII surplus lead-based paint and red-lead primer. Lin Combs comments on this photo here. __________________________________
	Dutton underway, from http://www.briem.photosite.com/Navy/scan0087.html . The caption reads: "This is the USNS Dutton, formerly the merchant ship Tuskegee Victory which my father served on at the end of WWII as a member of the ships' Naval Armed Guard." No contact information is given, so I was unable to contact the person who posted the photo. The photo has an official look to it. Antennae place it before the photos above and below, but after 1972 (see Bowditch photos). The story of the WWII Navy Armed Guard is worth reading. Go here for the veteran's site: http://www.armed-guard.com/index.html . __________________________________
	Dutton underway, from http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/4900/ussdutton7df.jpg Date and location unknown. I have found the photo at numerous locations on the web, so I do not know its origin, but it has the look of an official USN product. The discussion thread that led me to this photo is interesting, in that it illustrates the fascination that people have for these ships, and the corresponding misinformation about the ships' mission. ____________________________________

- FINAL FATE OF USNS DUTTON T-AGS-22 -

	On 16 October 2007, our shipmate Chet Headley visited USNS Dutton at All Star Metals in Brownsville, TX. , where she awaits final disposal. See his commentary and pictures here.

Dutton retirement ceremony, from the cover of: Naval Oceanographic Office Bulletin, Sept-Oct, 1989. Source: Ramon Jackson, via NavSource online.
The Dutton is deactivated on 12 September 1989. At least she got a ceremony. The article includes a brief history as well. This is from the Naval Oceanographic Office Bulletin, Sept-Oct, 1989.
A booklet apparently prepared for the Dutton retirement ceremony, although this is not stated explicitly. Source: Naval Oceanographic Office, 11 April 2007.
The Naval Vessel Register
Mariners. World Ship Society

National Defense Reserve Fleet Beaumont Reserve Fleet Beaumont, TX The arrow points to the ship I believe to be USNS Dutton. (Thanks to Jack Keenan's reminiscences for reminding me that I might find her in Beaumont using Google Earth).
A closeup of USNS Dutton. The graphic identifies Naval architectural features which I believe identify the ship. Her position is: 30 deg, 01 min, 28.68 sec N 94 deg, 01 min, 04.30 sec W
A comparison of the overhead satellite photo of Dutton to her "precommissioning" photo (the first photo on this page). The features line up perfectly. Lifeboats No.5 and No.6 were removed from the ships during a yard period probably in the early to mid 1970s. Michelson still had hers in 1971.
The National Defense Reserve Fleet Inventory of July 31 2007 lists Dutton's status as "Disposal".

- CREW PORTRAITS AND ROSTERS -

The crew of Oceanographic Unit Two, 1972. Kneeling, L to R: Jack Tackett and Wayne Meisner. Front row right is ET3 Paul Rokoff. Left of Paul is the unit's SK1, name unknown. Behind Paul in the second row on the right is ET3 Venable (beard and glasses) and ET3 David Aas. Back row, right, 2nd from right, is Larry Schuldt (the tall guy with glasses). Back row, right, just behind the bearded CPO, is Phil Brooks. (Courtesy of Paul Rokoff.)
The crew of Oceanographic Unit Two, 1974. We posted portraits of the crew on the OcUnit Bulletin Board. Here is an album of the entire board. Click the thumbnail on the right for the album, then any thumbnail in the album to open the slide show. Click any slide for a higher resolution photo. (Courtesy of Paul Rokoff.)