1964: The “Flawless Launch” of a U.S. Navy Research Vessel

July 18, 1964

USNS Thomas G. Thompson (T-AGOR-9), a U.S. Navy oceanographic research vessel, was launched at 10:50 a.m. into Menominee River at the Marinette Marine Corporation shipyard in the city of Marinette, Wisconsin. (The prefix USNS stands for “United States Naval Ship” and is used to identify non-commissioned vessels that belong to the Navy.) The ship was the first of her kind to be launched by Marinette Marine Corporation. Measuring 209 feet (64 meters) in length, this vessel was also the largest at that time to be launched at the company’s shipyard.

USNS Thomas G. Thompson was named in memory of a longtime chemist and oceanographer. Thomas Gordon Thompson (1888-1961), who was born on Staten Island, achieved renown as a pioneer in investigating the complex chemistry of seawater. These considerable contributions to oceanographic research earned him the Alexander Agassiz Medal of the National Academy of Sciences in 1948.

Hundreds of people showed up to watch the Saturday morning launch of the vessel bearing Thompson’s name. His widow Isabel, as confirmed by reporter Patricia Zahorik in the next day’s edition of the Green Bay Press-Gazette, “christened the ship in honor of her late husband and patted the vessel affectionately as it slipped away into the water from her in a flawless launch into the river.” Zahorik went on to note in her article, “Almost a year’s work is still ahead at the shipyard to outfit the craft with propulsion and control equipment, facilities for crew and staff of about 40 men, and the extensive laboratory and study facilities necessary for this floating research department.”

On September 21, 1965, USNS Thomas G. Thompson was officially transferred by the Navy to the University of Washington (UW) for that educational institution’s department of oceanography. (This ship’s namesake received his doctorate in chemistry from UW in 1918; as a professor at the university, he established oceanographic laboratories there in 1930.) UW is part of the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) – a combined network of educational institutions and national libraries that coordinates the use of vessels for federally funded ocean research – and USNS Thomas G. Thompson became one of the UNOLS ships to be owned by the Navy but managed by a university and staffed with a civilian crew.

USNS Thomas G. Thompson remained in service with the UNOLS fleet until 1988. She was subsequently assigned to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in the San Francisco Bay Area for general research activities. Her name was eventually changed to Pacific Escort II. In 1997, this vessel was transferred to Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Virginia for use as a multi-purpose platform. In addition, she was renamed Gosport. On February 27, 2004, the ship was placed out of service and struck from the naval register. She was sunk in November of that year as part of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercise.

Another Navy ship named after Thomas Gordon Thompson was launched in 1990. This oceanographic research vessel, USNS Thomas G. Thompson (T-AGOR-23), remains in service today under the management of UW and as part of the UNOLS academic fleet.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

For more information on the original version of USNS Thomas G. Thompson, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USNS_Thomas_G._Thompson_(T-AGOR-9)