| History of the SS William J. Riddle/ USS Interrupter AGR-15/USS Tracer AGR-15 |
| Specification: Displacement 10,760 tons, Lenth 441' 6", Beam 57', Draft 22, Speed 11 kts, Engine: Triple Expansion Steam. Complement 13 officers, 138 enlisted, Armanent, two 3"/50 guns, Capacities, Fuel OIl 443,646 gals., Diesel, 68,;;;267 gals., Fresh Water, 15,082 gals., Ballast 1,326,657 gals fresh water, two electric generators, Propulsion, two 220 PSI boilers, a single three cylinder triple-expansion reciprcating engine, single 4 blade, 18'6" propeller, Shaft Horsepower. 2,500. History: The William J. Riddle was named for a Merchant Seaman killed when the SS Carrabulle was sunk by subs.The SS William J. Riddle was built in Panama City, Fla by the J.A. Jones Construction Co., The keel was laid on 24 Dec 1944. The MCE hull # is 2340. Ship was launched 31 Jan 1945 and placed in service in Feb 1945. The ship was sponsored by Mrs. Marion Harders. The William J. Riddle operated with the Moore-McCormickLines and the Waterman Steamship Corp. from 1945 to 1947. When hostilities ended the Far East in mid 1945, the Riddle was steaming from Hawaii to the Philippines. She operated as a cattle carrier through mid 1946. In early 1947 she was converted back to a dry cargo carrier and voyaged to Europe and the Mediterranean On 20 Aug 1947 the Riddle was placed in the Maritime's National Defense Reserve Fleet Reserve and berthed in the James River, Va for ten years. On 24 May 1957 the ship was returned to the Navy and converted to a radar picket ship at the Charleston, SC Naval Shipyard. On 16 Oct 1958 the ship was commissioned as the USS Interrupter AGR-15 with LCDR George S. Harrison in command. Following a shakedown cruise in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the Interrupter sailed for the Pacific. She transited the Panama Canal on 26 Jan 1959 and arrived at the new homeport, Treasure Island, San Francisco, CA. on 12 Feb 1959. She joined seven other converted "Liberty Hull" ships in the newly formed Radar Picket Squadron One (RADRON ONE)of the Western Sea Frontier.Fitted out with the latest in radar detection equipment along with the seven other Guardian class sister ships served as the seaborne eyes of the North American Radar Defense Command (NORAD). They covered the Pacific approaches and her mission was to detect, report and track enemy airborne threats to the U.S.. We provide links to a detailed study of this mission thanks to the internet. On 4 Sept 1959 the ship was renamed the USS Tracer AGR-15 per SECNAV notice 5030. It appears there were just too many Ins in the picket ship Navy: USS Interceptor AGR-8, USS Investigator AGR-9, Interdictor AGR-13, and the USS Interpreter AGR-14. Between 1959 and 1965 the ship conducted patrols at sea on picket stations in the Western Contiguous Radar Line. The U. S. Navy reference book states :"the Tracer was an efficient vessel and received awards for administrative and operatrional efficiency." It is nice they noted the outstanding nature of this ship. In 1963 and 1964 the USS Tracer AGR-15 the "E" award as the outstanding ship in the RADRONONE squadron. The below patches were worn on the crew's uniforms As more sophisticated early warning systems were developed and came on line, the need for the AGRs diminished. The USS Tracer AGR-15 was inactived July 7, 1965. On 1 Sept 1965 the ship was decommissioned and transferred to the Maritime Commission and laid up at Suisun Bay, Ca. On 15 July 1974 the ship was sold to be a fish processing company in Alaska, Unisea.. The final chapter in the history of the once proud Tracer (1975-2000) was to be as a civilian in Alaaska. We have pictures and even a link to the Unisea Company webpage. . |
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| In 1964, the USS Tracer AGR-15 was selected by the Navy Subsistence Office as the Edward F. Ney Award Winner as the "Outstanding General Mess Afloat" Initially, 775 ships were in the contest for this coveted award. After 3 or 4 preliminary inspections, the top Commissary people visited our ship from Washington D.C. A more detailed writeup is inculded elsewhere on the website. |
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