USNS Mizar: Difference between revisions
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|Ship country=United States |
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|Ship flag={{USN flag|1990}} |
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|Ship name=Mizar |
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|Ship namesake=star Mizar |
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|Ship builder=Avondale Marine Ways, Inc. |
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{{Infobox ship characteristics |
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|Header caption=As AGOR-11{{sfn|Jones|1970|p=28}} |
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|Ship displacement=*3,886t loaded |
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*2,036t light |
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|Ship length={{convert|266|ft|m|abbr=on}} |
|Ship length=*{{convert|266|ft|2|in|m|abbr=on}} LOA |
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*{{convert|250|ft|m|abbr=on}} Design waterline (DWL) |
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|Ship beam={{convert|51|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |
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|Ship draft=*{{convert|17|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |
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*{{convert|20|ft|m|abbr=on}} to hydrophones {{convert|2|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} below keel |
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|Ship propulsion=*2 X diesels, 1,600 hp each |
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*2 X propulsion motors 27 hp at 150 rpm |
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*2 X 4 blade propellers |
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|Ship speed=13 kts |
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|Ship speed={{cvt|12|knots|mph km/h}} |
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|Ship range= {{cvt|20000|nmi| mi km}} |
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|Ship endurance=60 days |
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|Ship crew=*11 officers, 30 crew (civil service marine personnel){{sfn|Jones|1970|p=6}} |
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*19 scientific personnel (accommodations for) |
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|Ship notes=Double hull, ice strengthened, ice breaker bow{{sfn|Jones|1970|p=2}} |
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'''USNS ''Mizar'' (MA-48/T-AGOR-11/T-AK-272)''' was a vessel of the [[United States Navy]]. She was named after the star [[Mizar]]. |
'''USNS ''Mizar'' (MA-48/T-AGOR-11/T-AK-272)''' was a vessel of the [[United States Navy]]. She was named after the star [[Mizar]]. |
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==Cargo ship== |
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⚫ | ''Mizar'' was built as a small ice-strengthened cargo ship of the ''Eltanin'' class on a Maritime Administration type (C1-ME2-13a) hull, by Avondale Marine Ways, Inc. from January 1957. She entered service on March 7, 1958 and served as part of the [[Military Sea Transportation Service]], working around [[Canada]] and [[Greenland]], with a single voyage to [[Antarctica]] in 1961.<ref name=DANFS>{{cite DANFS |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/mizar-ii.html |title=Mizar (AK-272) ii |author=Naval History And Heritage Command |date= |work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships |publisher=Naval History And Heritage Command |accessdate=23 February 2020}}</ref> |
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⚫ | ''Mizar'' was built as a small ice-strengthened, double hull, cargo ship of the ''Eltanin'' class on a Maritime Administration type (C1-ME2-13a) hull, by Avondale Marine Ways, Inc. from January 1957. She entered service on March 7, 1958 and served as part of the [[Military Sea Transportation Service]] (MSTS), working around [[Canada]] and [[Greenland]], with a single voyage to [[Antarctica]] in 1961.<ref name=DANFS>{{cite DANFS |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/mizar-ii.html |title=Mizar (AK-272) ii |author=Naval History And Heritage Command |date= |work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships |publisher=Naval History And Heritage Command |accessdate=23 February 2020}}</ref><ref name=CWI>{{cite report |last=Gennari |first=J. J. |date=1 January 1967 |title=Center Well Installation of USNS ''Mizar'' (T-AGOR-11) |pages= |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Naval Research Laboratory |url=https://archive.org/details/DTIC_AD0647494/mode/2up |accessdate=23 February 2020}}</ref> |
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In 1963 she was chosen for a major conversion. On April 15, 1964 she was reclassified '''AGOR-11''', designed for deep oceanographic search and research and fitted with a deepsea probe, equipped with strobe lights, cameras, sonar, and [[magnetometer]]. She was then operated by the MSTS under the [[Naval Research Laboratory]], Washington. Her major tasks were ocean floor study and service as a floating base for underwater acoustic, chemical, and biological research.<ref name=DANFS/> |
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==Naval Research Laboratory== |
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⚫ | |||
[[File:USNS Mizar (T-AGOR-11) underway c1966.jpg|250px|thumb|right|''Mizar'' circa 1966 with ice conning tower.]] |
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The loss of the {{USS|Thresher|SSN-593}} on April 10, 1963 and problems handling heavy search equipment over the side from {{ship|USNS|James M. Gilliss|T-AGOR-4|2}} in 1963 drove the [[Naval Research Laboratory]] (NRL) requirement for a larger, more capable ship than the usual oceanographic research type. A search for a candidate ship, capable of being modified for an inboard center well, led to selection of ''Mizar'' in late 1963.<ref name=CWI/> |
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In 1964 ''Mizar's'' successful search for the sunken submarine, before modification for the desired center well, further demonstrated the need for a sheltered work space with heavy lift and towing capability.<ref name=CWI/>{{sfn|Jones|1970|pp=14, 17}} |
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''Mizar'' took part in the search operations for {{USS|Thresher|SSN-593}}, the [[1966 Palomares B-52 crash|Palomares Incident]] in which nuclear weapons were lost off [[Palomares, Almería|Palomares]], Spain.<ref name=DANFS/><ref name=Melson>{{cite journal |last=Melson |first=Lewis B., CAPT USN |date=June 1967 |title=Contact 261 |journal=United States Naval Institute Proceedings |volume= |issue= |page=31 |location= |publisher=United States Naval Institute |doi= |url= |accessdate=}}</ref> |
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===Center well=== |
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The ship was engaged in the extended search for {{USS|Scorpion|SSN-589}} – which was found in October, 1968.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Shuldiner |first=Herbert |date=April 1969 |title=Strange Devices That Found the Sunken Sub ''Scorpion'' |magazine= |volume=194 |issue=4 |pages=66-71, 182 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EyoDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA66&dq=popular%20science%201930&pg=PA66#v=onepage&q&f=true |accessdate=23 February 2020}}</ref> She also took part in searches for foreign wrecks, including ''[[French submarine Eurydice (S644)|Eurydice]]'' and Soviet submarines including [[Soviet submarine K-129 (Golf II)|''K-129'']]. |
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The location of the {{cvt|34|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} number two hatch straddling the ship's center section made a center well through even the double bottom feasible. A well {{cvt|23|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} long and {{cvt|10|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} wide with curved fore and aft ends to reduce wave pounding within was installed. The keel level opening was reduced to one of {{cvt|21|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} long and {{cvt|8|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} wide. A flush mounted, water tight hydraulic door or two parts, one fore and one aft, closed the well at the main deck level. Three {{cvt|24|in|cm|1|abbr=on}} diameter cable sheaves installed in a carriage, within which towed devices would be contained for lowering and raising, and extending below the keel allowed towing of heavy equipment without exposure on open decks. The system had a capacity of 12 tons. Large "breather" ducts from the well relieved air pressure caused by wave action within when the doors were closed. All was enclosed by a housing allowing all weather protection for operators.<ref name=CWI/>{{sfn|Jones|1970|pp=14, 17}}{{sfn|Bundage|1988|pp=12-16}} ''Mizar'' went into the [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard]] in late 1965 with the installation of the well being a priority.{{sfn|Jones|1970|p=3}} |
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On April 15, 1964 ''Mizar'' was reclassified AGOR-11, designed for deep oceanographic search and research, and to be operated by MSTS for NRL. The ship was fitted with a deepsea vehicle (fish), equipped with strobe lights, cameras, sonar, and [[magnetometer]]. Her major tasks were to be ocean floor study and service as a floating base for underwater acoustic, chemical, and biological research.<ref name=DANFS/> The search for ''Thresher'' had paused with advent of bad weather in September 1963. ''Mizar'' was assigned to the successor search task group, TG 168.1, when it formed May 18, 1974. ''Mizar's'' "fish" located the wreckage of the submarine withing a few hours of searching.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=July 1968 |title=Ship That Helped Locate ''Thresher'' Searching for ''Scorpion'' |magazine=Sealift Magazine |volume=18 |issue=7 |pages=3-5, 12-13 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sFsShLqioGAC&lpg=PA12&ots=Eb2Pewl98B&dq=Mizar%20%22Thresher%20search%22&pg=PA3#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=23 February 2020}}</ref><ref group=note>See [https://archive.org/details/DTIC_ADA204011/page/n7/mode/1up/ Table 1] on page 3 of Bundage, ''NRL's Deep Sea Floor Search Era'' for mission list.</ref> |
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''Mizar'' was withdrawn from active service in the 1990s and reclassified as '''AK-272'''. Bay Bridge Enterprizes, LLC, was awarded a contract for the dismantling and recycling of ''Mizar'' on 21 July 2005. |
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===Acoustic navigation system=== |
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The only means of subsurface navigation locating a search vehicle or other sensors relative to the ship and bottom is by acoustic navigation. Towed deep vehicles may be half a mile from the towing ship and respond to the ship's movements as much as half an hour after that movement. A capability developed at the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory was implemented for ''Mizar''.{{sfn|Bundage|1988|p=36}} The system is composed of a triangular array of hydrophones on the ship's hull, a transponder on the towed vehicle with an acoustic pulse triggered by a signal over the towing cable, and a sea floor transponder triggered by an acoustic signal from the ship. By using travel times of the signals distances can be computed. A response from the vehicle can be computed for relative position with regard to the ship and that from the bottom transponder is used to find its relative position. The towed vehicles relative position to the ship and bottom is then computed.{{sfn|Bundage|1988|pp=37-38}}{{sfn|Jones|1970|p=14}} |
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===Research=== |
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The ship was fitted to perform extensively in ocean science and technology with acoustics an important specialty. ''Mizar'' supported scientists from three NRL divisions. The Acoustics Division supported undersea surveillance, fleet sonar systems and studied undersea sound propagation. The Ocean Sciences Division worked in the classical oceanography fields of chemical, physical and biological oceanography and atmospheric studies. Research and development regarding materials and ocean engineering and the ship's searches were under the Ocean Technology Division.{{sfn|Jones|1970|p=1}} |
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As an example of extensive acoustic research with general oceanographic observations included was the ship's work in Operation NORLANT, an acoustic propagation and noise experiment that involved aircraft as well as NRL ships ''Mizar'' and ''Hayes'' and the Norwegian research vessel ''Sverdrup'' in the [[Greenland Sea|Greenland]], [[Norwegian Sea|Norwegian]] and [[Barents Sea|Barents]] seas. In one instance ''Mizar'' penetrated the ice pack while ''Hayes'' remained in the open sea.<ref>{{cite report |year= |date= |title=1972 Review |pages=166-167 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Naval Research Laboratory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wIqmkQGmTWYC&pg=PA166#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=23 February 2020}}</ref> The closure of the ice and mechanical problems led to ''Mizar'' becoming stuck in the ice pack along with her icebreaker escort {{ship|USCGC|Edisto|WAGB-284|6}} which also suffered from mechanical problems. Both were freed by {{ship|USCGC|Southwind||6}} after some days.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=November 1972 |title=''Mizar'' Wins in Battle Against Ice |magazine=Sealift Magazine |volume=22 |issue=11 |pages=18-20 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ge4HAeYToG0C&pg=RA21-PA18#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=23 February 2020}}</ref> |
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One of the NRL developments deployed on ''Mizar'' was the Light Behind Camera (LIBEC) that extended the coverage of deep sea cameras significantly. That system was used to photograph portions of the [[Mid-Atlantic Ridge]] during [[Project FAMOUS]]. |
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{{sfn|Bundige|1988|pp=41-44}}<ref>Brundage, W. L., Jr., and Cherkis, N. Z., 1975, Preliminary LIBEC/FAMOUS cruise results: U.S. Naval Research Lab. Rept. 7785,31 p.</ref> |
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===Searches=== |
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Often more public attention was drawn to the ship's searches for sunken ships than to routine research. |
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''Mizar'' took part in the search operations for ''Thresher'', the [[1966 Palomares B-52 crash|Palomares Incident]] in which nuclear weapons were lost off [[Palomares, Almería|Palomares]], Spain.<ref name=DANFS/><ref name=Melson>{{cite journal |last=Melson |first=Lewis B., CAPT USN |date=June 1967 |title=Contact 261 |journal=United States Naval Institute Proceedings |volume= |issue= |page=31 |location= |publisher=United States Naval Institute |doi= |url= |accessdate=}}</ref> The ship was engaged in the extended search for {{USS|Scorpion|SSN-589}} – which was found in October, 1968.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Shuldiner |first=Herbert |date=April 1969 |title=Strange Devices That Found the Sunken Sub ''Scorpion'' |magazine= |volume=194 |issue=4 |pages=66-71, 182 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EyoDAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA66&dq=popular%20science%201930&pg=PA66#v=onepage&q&f=true |accessdate=23 February 2020}}</ref> She also took part in searches for foreign wrecks, including ''[[French submarine Eurydice (S644)|Eurydice]]''.{{sfn|Jones|1970|p=6}} In 1969 ''Mizar'' was called on to locate the [[Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute]] deep submersible ''Alvin'', fellow searcher off Palomares, had sunk in {{cvt|5000|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}. ''Mizar'' lifted the submersible to shallow water.{{sfn|Jones|1970|p=4}} ''Mizar'' was not involved, despite speculation, in the search for the Soviet submarines [[Soviet submarine K-129 (Golf II)|''K-129'']] as the ship was well known to the Soviets and could not operate clandestinely.<ref>{{cite book |last=Polmar |first=Norman |last2=White |first2=Michael |year=2010 |title=Project Azorian : the CIA and the Raising of the K-129 |location=Annapolis, Md. |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=9781591146902 |lccn=2010037220 |pages=49, 141 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oBQ-4c85T-wC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA141#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=23 February 2020}}</ref> |
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Addition of water sampling capability to the search vehicle allowed environmental monitoring as well as location and photography. One example is the ship's monitoring of the scuttled, nerve agent laden, {{ship|SS|LeBaron Russell Briggs||2}} five times between 1970 and 1974. The entire hulk could be photographed and water samples taken close to its deck.{{sfn|Bundage|1988|pp=i, 1, 30, 49}} |
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==Assignment to undersea surveillance== |
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The Naval Research Laboratory was forced by increasing ship costs to choose between ''Mizar'' and the newer {{ship|USNS|Hayes|T-AGOR-16|2}} and chose to retain ''Hayes''.<ref group=note>See [https://books.google.com/books?id=8YgeAQAAIAAJ&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false Relative Capabilities of USNS ''Hayes'' and USNS ''Mizar'' for Meeting NRL Shipboard Requirements] for details on both ships.]</ref> In 1975 ''Mizar'' came under the technical control of the Naval Electronic Systems Command (NAVELEX) to become part of the "Caesar fleet" supporting the [[SOSUS|Sound Surveillance System]] (SOSUS) installation under the unclassified name Project Caesar.{{sfn|Bundage|1988|p=48}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS) History 1950 - 2010 |publisher=IUSS/CAESAR Alumni Association |url=http://www.iusscaa.org/history.htm |accessdate=23 February 2020}}</ref> A footnote to a table of ships in The Federal Ocean Program dated April 1974 notes that ''Mizar'' is funded and operated by NAVELEX and no longer funded as an oceanographic ship.<ref>{{cite report ||date=April 1974 |title=The Federal Ocean Program |page=100 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rdYX2ZWvH2UC&pg=RA1-PA100#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=23 February 2020}}</ref> |
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⚫ | |||
==Disposal== |
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''Mizar'' was withdrawn from active service entering the [[James River]] [[National Defense Reserve Fleet]] on December 17, 1989. The ship was withdrawn October 24, 1991 for stripping before retruning December 18 awaiting disposal.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vesselhistory.marad.dot.gov/ShipHistory/Detail/3428 |title=MIZAR (T-AGOR-11/T-AK-272) |author=Maritime Administration |work=Ship History Database Vessel Status Card |publisher=U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration |accessdate=23 February 2020}}</ref> Bay Bridge Enterprizes, LLC of [[Chesapeake, Virginia]] was awarded a $243,900 contract for the dismantling and recycling of ''Mizar'' on 21 July 2005.<ref>{{cite web |title=MARAD Announces Ship Disposal Contracts |publisher=Bay Bridge Enterprises |date=21 July 2005 |url=https://www.marinelink.com/news/maritime/bay-bridge-enterprises |accessdate=23 February 2020}}</ref> |
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== Footnotes == |
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{{reflist|group=note}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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==Biblography== |
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*{{cite report |last=Bundage |first=Walter|date=November 29, 1988 |title=NRL's Deep Sea Floor Search Era |page=48 |url=https://archive.org/details/DTIC_ADA204011/mode/1up/ |accessdate=23 February 2020|ref={{sfnref|Bundage|1988}}}} |
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*{{cite book |last=Jones |first=W. L. |date=September 17, 1970 |title=USNS ''Mizar'' 1979 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Naval Research Laboratory |url=https://archive.org/details/DTIC_AD0713060/mode/1up/ |accessdate=23 February 2020|ref={{sfnref|Jones|1970}}}} |
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*{{DANFS}} |
*{{DANFS}} |
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*{{NVR|{{NVR url|id=AGOR11}}}} |
*{{NVR|{{NVR url|id=AGOR11}}}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/13/130272.htm USNS Mizar (T-AGOR-11), NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive] |
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* http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-m/ak272.htm |
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120204074224/http://patriot.net/~eastlnd2/Agor.htm AGOR Numeric List] |
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120204074224/http://patriot.net/~eastlnd2/Agor.htm AGOR Numeric List] |
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120204074548/http://patriot.net/~eastlnd2/Mizar.htm USNS ''Mizar'' (T-AGOR 11)] |
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* [https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-97000/NH-97577.html Side view of the towed sled used by the Navy research ship ''Mizar'' in the search for the nuclear submarine USS ''Scorpion'' (SSN-589).] |
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{{Eltanin-class cargo ship}} |
{{Eltanin-class cargo ship}} |
Revision as of 15:42, 24 February 2020
![]() | |
History | |
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![]() | |
Name | Mizar |
Namesake | star Mizar |
Builder | Avondale Marine Ways, Inc. |
Laid down | 1 January 1957 |
Launched | 7 October 1957 |
In service | 7 March 1958 |
Stricken | 16 February 1990 |
Identification | IMO number: 8834873 |
Fate | Sold for scrap |
General characteristics As AGOR-11[1] | |
Displacement |
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Length |
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Beam | 51 ft 6 in (15.70 m) |
Draft |
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Propulsion |
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Speed | 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h) |
Range | 20,000 nmi (23,000 mi; 37,000 km) |
Endurance | 60 days |
Crew |
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Notes | Double hull, ice strengthened, ice breaker bow[3] |
USNS Mizar (MA-48/T-AGOR-11/T-AK-272) was a vessel of the United States Navy. She was named after the star Mizar.
Cargo ship
Mizar was built as a small ice-strengthened, double hull, cargo ship of the Eltanin class on a Maritime Administration type (C1-ME2-13a) hull, by Avondale Marine Ways, Inc. from January 1957. She entered service on March 7, 1958 and served as part of the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), working around Canada and Greenland, with a single voyage to Antarctica in 1961.[4][5]
Naval Research Laboratory
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/USNS_Mizar_%28T-AGOR-11%29_underway_c1966.jpg/250px-USNS_Mizar_%28T-AGOR-11%29_underway_c1966.jpg)
The loss of the USS Thresher (SSN-593) on April 10, 1963 and problems handling heavy search equipment over the side from James M. Gilliss in 1963 drove the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) requirement for a larger, more capable ship than the usual oceanographic research type. A search for a candidate ship, capable of being modified for an inboard center well, led to selection of Mizar in late 1963.[5]
In 1964 Mizar's successful search for the sunken submarine, before modification for the desired center well, further demonstrated the need for a sheltered work space with heavy lift and towing capability.[5][6]
Center well
The location of the 34 ft (10.4 m) number two hatch straddling the ship's center section made a center well through even the double bottom feasible. A well 23 ft (7.0 m) long and 10 ft (3.0 m) wide with curved fore and aft ends to reduce wave pounding within was installed. The keel level opening was reduced to one of 21 ft (6.4 m) long and 8 ft (2.4 m) wide. A flush mounted, water tight hydraulic door or two parts, one fore and one aft, closed the well at the main deck level. Three 24 in (61.0 cm) diameter cable sheaves installed in a carriage, within which towed devices would be contained for lowering and raising, and extending below the keel allowed towing of heavy equipment without exposure on open decks. The system had a capacity of 12 tons. Large "breather" ducts from the well relieved air pressure caused by wave action within when the doors were closed. All was enclosed by a housing allowing all weather protection for operators.[5][6][7] Mizar went into the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in late 1965 with the installation of the well being a priority.[8]
On April 15, 1964 Mizar was reclassified AGOR-11, designed for deep oceanographic search and research, and to be operated by MSTS for NRL. The ship was fitted with a deepsea vehicle (fish), equipped with strobe lights, cameras, sonar, and magnetometer. Her major tasks were to be ocean floor study and service as a floating base for underwater acoustic, chemical, and biological research.[4] The search for Thresher had paused with advent of bad weather in September 1963. Mizar was assigned to the successor search task group, TG 168.1, when it formed May 18, 1974. Mizar's "fish" located the wreckage of the submarine withing a few hours of searching.[9][note 1]
Acoustic navigation system
The only means of subsurface navigation locating a search vehicle or other sensors relative to the ship and bottom is by acoustic navigation. Towed deep vehicles may be half a mile from the towing ship and respond to the ship's movements as much as half an hour after that movement. A capability developed at the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory was implemented for Mizar.[10] The system is composed of a triangular array of hydrophones on the ship's hull, a transponder on the towed vehicle with an acoustic pulse triggered by a signal over the towing cable, and a sea floor transponder triggered by an acoustic signal from the ship. By using travel times of the signals distances can be computed. A response from the vehicle can be computed for relative position with regard to the ship and that from the bottom transponder is used to find its relative position. The towed vehicles relative position to the ship and bottom is then computed.[11][12]
Research
The ship was fitted to perform extensively in ocean science and technology with acoustics an important specialty. Mizar supported scientists from three NRL divisions. The Acoustics Division supported undersea surveillance, fleet sonar systems and studied undersea sound propagation. The Ocean Sciences Division worked in the classical oceanography fields of chemical, physical and biological oceanography and atmospheric studies. Research and development regarding materials and ocean engineering and the ship's searches were under the Ocean Technology Division.[13]
As an example of extensive acoustic research with general oceanographic observations included was the ship's work in Operation NORLANT, an acoustic propagation and noise experiment that involved aircraft as well as NRL ships Mizar and Hayes and the Norwegian research vessel Sverdrup in the Greenland, Norwegian and Barents seas. In one instance Mizar penetrated the ice pack while Hayes remained in the open sea.[14] The closure of the ice and mechanical problems led to Mizar becoming stuck in the ice pack along with her icebreaker escort USCGC Edisto which also suffered from mechanical problems. Both were freed by USCGC Southwind after some days.[15]
One of the NRL developments deployed on Mizar was the Light Behind Camera (LIBEC) that extended the coverage of deep sea cameras significantly. That system was used to photograph portions of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge during Project FAMOUS. [16][17]
Searches
Often more public attention was drawn to the ship's searches for sunken ships than to routine research.
Mizar took part in the search operations for Thresher, the Palomares Incident in which nuclear weapons were lost off Palomares, Spain.[4][18] The ship was engaged in the extended search for USS Scorpion (SSN-589) – which was found in October, 1968.[19] She also took part in searches for foreign wrecks, including Eurydice.[2] In 1969 Mizar was called on to locate the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute deep submersible Alvin, fellow searcher off Palomares, had sunk in 5,000 ft (1,524.0 m). Mizar lifted the submersible to shallow water.[20] Mizar was not involved, despite speculation, in the search for the Soviet submarines K-129 as the ship was well known to the Soviets and could not operate clandestinely.[21]
Addition of water sampling capability to the search vehicle allowed environmental monitoring as well as location and photography. One example is the ship's monitoring of the scuttled, nerve agent laden, LeBaron Russell Briggs five times between 1970 and 1974. The entire hulk could be photographed and water samples taken close to its deck.[22]
Assignment to undersea surveillance
The Naval Research Laboratory was forced by increasing ship costs to choose between Mizar and the newer Hayes and chose to retain Hayes.[note 2] In 1975 Mizar came under the technical control of the Naval Electronic Systems Command (NAVELEX) to become part of the "Caesar fleet" supporting the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS) installation under the unclassified name Project Caesar.[23][24] A footnote to a table of ships in The Federal Ocean Program dated April 1974 notes that Mizar is funded and operated by NAVELEX and no longer funded as an oceanographic ship.[25]
The ship was assigned to Military Sealift Command Pacific in 1975 and underwent another major modification in 1980.
Disposal
Mizar was withdrawn from active service entering the James River National Defense Reserve Fleet on December 17, 1989. The ship was withdrawn October 24, 1991 for stripping before retruning December 18 awaiting disposal.[26] Bay Bridge Enterprizes, LLC of Chesapeake, Virginia was awarded a $243,900 contract for the dismantling and recycling of Mizar on 21 July 2005.[27]
Footnotes
- ^ See Table 1 on page 3 of Bundage, NRL's Deep Sea Floor Search Era for mission list.
- ^ See Relative Capabilities of USNS Hayes and USNS Mizar for Meeting NRL Shipboard Requirements for details on both ships.]
References
- ^ Jones 1970, p. 28.
- ^ a b Jones 1970, p. 6.
- ^ Jones 1970, p. 2.
- ^ a b c Naval History And Heritage Command. "Mizar (AK-272) ii". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d Gennari, J. J. (1 January 1967). Center Well Installation of USNS Mizar (T-AGOR-11) (Report). Washington, D.C.: Naval Research Laboratory. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ a b Jones 1970, pp. 14, 17.
- ^ Bundage 1988, pp. 12–16.
- ^ Jones 1970, p. 3.
- ^ "Ship That Helped Locate Thresher Searching for Scorpion". Sealift Magazine. Vol. 18, no. 7. July 1968. pp. 3–5, 12–13. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ Bundage 1988, p. 36.
- ^ Bundage 1988, pp. 37–38.
- ^ Jones 1970, p. 14.
- ^ Jones 1970, p. 1.
- ^ 1972 Review (Report). Washington, D.C.: Naval Research Laboratory. pp. 166–167. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ "Mizar Wins in Battle Against Ice". Sealift Magazine. Vol. 22, no. 11. November 1972. pp. 18–20. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ Bundige 1988, pp. 41–44.
- ^ Brundage, W. L., Jr., and Cherkis, N. Z., 1975, Preliminary LIBEC/FAMOUS cruise results: U.S. Naval Research Lab. Rept. 7785,31 p.
- ^ Melson, Lewis B., CAPT USN (June 1967). "Contact 261". United States Naval Institute Proceedings. United States Naval Institute: 31.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Shuldiner, Herbert (April 1969). "Strange Devices That Found the Sunken Sub Scorpion". Vol. 194, no. 4. pp. 66–71, 182. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
{{cite magazine}}
: Cite magazine requires|magazine=
(help) - ^ Jones 1970, p. 4.
- ^ Polmar, Norman; White, Michael (2010). Project Azorian : the CIA and the Raising of the K-129. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. pp. 49, 141. ISBN 9781591146902. LCCN 2010037220. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ Bundage 1988, pp. i, 1, 30, 49.
- ^ Bundage 1988, p. 48.
- ^ "Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS) History 1950 - 2010". IUSS/CAESAR Alumni Association. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ The Federal Ocean Program (Report). April 1974. p. 100. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
{{cite report}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=
(help) - ^ Maritime Administration. "MIZAR (T-AGOR-11/T-AK-272)". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
- ^ "MARAD Announces Ship Disposal Contracts". Bay Bridge Enterprises. 21 July 2005. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
Biblography
- Bundage, Walter (November 29, 1988). NRL's Deep Sea Floor Search Era (Report). p. 48. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
{{cite report}}
: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) - Jones, W. L. (September 17, 1970). USNS Mizar 1979. Washington, D.C.: Naval Research Laboratory. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link) This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.