 As RV Argo
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Builder | Basalt Rock Company |
| Laid down | 28 January 1943 |
| Launched | 8 April 1944 |
| Commissioned |
|
| Decommissioned | 23 December 1946 |
| In service |
|
| Out of service | March 1970 |
| Stricken | 1 May 1970 |
| Fate | Sold for scrapping 8 November 1971 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 1,441 tons |
| Displacement | 1,630 long tons or 1,660 metric tons |
| Length | 213 ft 6 in (65.07 m) |
| Beam | 39 ft (12 m) |
| Draft | 14 ft 4 in (4.37 m) |
| Propulsion | diesel-electric, twin screws, 2,780 hp (2.07 MW) |
| Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) |
| Complement | 120 |
| Armament | four 40 mm guns, four 0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine guns |
USS Snatch (ARS-27), well known as Scripps RV Argo after conversion to scientific research, was a Diver-class rescue and salvage ship commissioned by the U.S. Navy during World War II and in service from 11 December 1944 through 23 December 1946. Her task was to come to the aid of stricken vessels. The ship is better known from her scientific research role as the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) research vessel RV Argo. It is that name, apparently not formally recognized by Navy that maintained title to the vessel, found in the scientific literature and public releases about her wide ranging research voyages.