USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg

USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10) underway. She was originally USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145)
History
United States
Name
  • General Harry Taylor (1943-1963)
  • General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (1963-
Namesake
Builder
Laid down22 February 1943
Launched10 October 1943
Sponsored byMrs. Mamie M. McHugh
Christened2 October 1943
Acquired29 March 1944
Commissioned1 April 1944 (ferry)
Decommissioned10 April 1944 (ferry)
Identification
Commissioned8 May 1944
Decommissioned13 June 1946
Stricken3 July 1946
FateTo U.S. Army Transport Service
RenamedUSAT General Harry Taylor
OperatorU.S. Army Transport Service
In serviceafter 3 July 1946
Out of service1 March 1950
FateTo MSTS
RenamedUSNS General Harry Taylor
ReclassifiedT-AP-145, 1 March 1950
OperatorMSTS
In service1 March 1950
Out of service19 September 1958
Stricken10 July 1958
FateTo U.S. Air Force
OperatorU.S. Air Force
Acquired15 July 1961
RenamedUSAFS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg
NamesakeHoyt S. Vandenberg
In service1 June 1963
Out of service1 July 1964
Identification
  • Code letters and radio callsign NBBP[1]
FateTo MSTS
RenamedUSNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg
ReclassifiedT-AGM-10, 1 July 1964
In service1 July 1964
Out of service1983
Stricken29 April 1993
FateNDRF James River, Movie Virus, NDRF
In service2007
Out of service2008
FateSunk as an artificial reef 27 May 2009
General characteristics
Class and typeGeneral G. O. Squier-class transport ship
Displacement9,950 tons (light), 17,250 tons (full)
Length522 ft 10 in (159.36 m)
Beam71 ft 6 in (21.79 m)
Draft24 ft (7.32 m)
Propulsionsingle-screw steam turbine with 9,900 shp (7,400 kW)
Speed17 knots (31 km/h)
Capacity3,224 troops
Complement356 (officers and enlisted)
Armament
  • As built:

USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10) (originally named USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145)) was a General G. O. Squier-class transport ship in the United States Navy in World War II named in honor of U.S. Army Chief of Engineers Harry Taylor. She served for a time as army transport USAT General Harry Taylor, and was reacquired by the navy in 1950 as USNS General Harry Taylor (T-AP-145).

Placed in reserve in 1958, she was transferred to the U.S. Air Force in 1961 and renamed USAFS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg in 1963 in honor of the former Air Force Chief of Staff. She was reacquired by the U.S. Navy in 1964 as USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10).

Retired in 1983,[2] and struck from the Naval Vessel Register in 1993, she was to be sunk as an artificial reef originally intended for the spring of 2008,[3] but instead was placed under Federal Lien to be auctioned off for payment recovery in December 2008 at Norfolk Federal Court. A group of banks and financiers from Key West bought the vessel off the auction block and it was docked at the East Quay Pier of Key West Harbor. The ship was sunk 27 May 2009 and is the second-largest artificial reef in the world, after the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany.[4][5]

  1. ^ a b Priolo, Gary P. (29 June 2007). "USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145), USAT General Harry Taylor, USNS General Harry Taylor (T-AP-145), USAFS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10)". NavSource Online. NavSource Naval History. Retrieved 20 November 2007.
  2. ^ "Retired Air Force ship preps for reef duty in the Keys". USA Today. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  3. ^ "General Hoyt Vandenberg USAFS". wrecksite.eu. 7 October 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  4. ^ staff writer. "Vandenberg off central Florida, heading to Key West". The Monroe County Tourist Development Council. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
  5. ^ "Ship to Become 2nd Largest Intentional Reef". NBC. 25 May 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2017.