USS Annapolis (AGMR-1)
Photo taken in 1967 off the coast of Vietnam
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Name: |
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| Builder: | Todd Pacific Shipyards |
| Laid down: | 29 November 1943 |
| Launched: | 20 July 1944 |
| Commissioned: | 5 February 1945 |
| Decommissioned: | 21 May 1946 |
| Recommissioned: | 5 February 1951 |
| Decommissioned: | 15 January 1955 |
| Reclassified: | Cargo Ship and Aircraft Ferry, AKV-39, 7 May 1959 |
| Struck: | June 1961 |
| Recommissioned: | 7 March 1964 |
| Decommissioned: | 20 December 1969 |
| Renamed: | USS Annapolis, 22 June 1963 |
| Reclassified: | Communication relay ship, AGMR-1, 1 June 1963 |
| Struck: | 15 October 1976 |
| Homeport: | Long Beach, CA |
| Identification: | AGMR-1 |
| Motto: | Vox Maris - Voice of the Sea |
| Nickname(s): | Anna |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap 1 November 1979 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Commencement Bay-class escort carrier |
| Displacement: | 10,900 long tons (11,100 t), 24,100 long tons (24,500 t) full load |
| Length: | 557 ft (170 m) |
| Beam: | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Draft: | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2-shaft geared turbines, 16,000 shp (12,000 kW) |
| Speed: | 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Complement: | 708 |
| Armament: | four mounts of twin 3 in (76 mm) anti-aircraft radar controlled guns |
| Service record | |
| Part of: | United States Pacific Fleet (1945-46, 1964-67), Atlantic Reserve Fleet (1946-49, 1955-61), US Atlantic Fleet (1952-55) |
| Operations: | Vietnam War (1964-1967) |
| Awards: |
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USS Annapolis (AGMR-1) was the former USS Gilbert Islands (ex-Sunset Bay) and a Commencement Bay-class escort carrier of the United States Navy.
Reclassified as AGMR-1 on 1 June 1963, renamed USS Annapolis on 22 June 1963, and then commissioned on 7 March 1964 with Captain John J. Rowan becoming its first commanding officer. Captain Rowan also served as the pre-commissioning officer when the ship was removed from the Naval Fleet Reserve in Bayonne, New Jersey and then converted at the New York Navy Shipyard.
Her new hull classification as AGMR (Auxiliary General Major Relay) reflected her ability to serve as a floating communications station on the move. This capability allowed Annapolis to position herself at any ocean global position to provide major communication services without the construction and expense of a ground based communications facilities.
The conversion from CVE to AGMR involved the modification of the flight deck to include a hurricane bow, removal of Second World War armament and the addition of four radar controlled twin 3-inch 50 caliber anti-aircraft gun mounts, two per side.
The flight deck was converted to an antenna array with two directional and two omnidirectional antennas. The aircraft hangar bay was converted into communication spaces although one aircraft elevator was retained to allow servicing of equipment and boat storage. In the communication spaces were installed 24 radio transmitters with low through ultra-high frequencies. To provide the necessary cooling of equipment in the communications spaces, three 120-ton air conditioning units were installed with 130 tons dedicated for the communications spaces. The remaining air conditioning tonnage was routed to the other interior spaces of the ship.
All the WWII boilers and steam turbines were retained. However, the original boiler and engine room designs were modified in 1966. The original design prevented both screws from being used if one of the boilers needed maintenance while underway. This was due to the WWII design calling for the ship to have two separate and distinct engineering plants; one for each screw. Because of this, when one boiler was taken down while underway, the ship had to go to single-screw operation. Due to an event in 1966 on the DMZ, the ship's chief engineer, the boiler technicians (BT), and machinist mates (MM) redesigned the steam lines to allow for a steam cross-connect whereby the ship could operate both shafts from a single fire-room when boiler maintenance was needed while underway. After approval by the Bureau of Ships, the necessary modifications were installed at United States Fleet Activities Sasebo during the ship's maintenance period in the latter part of 1966.
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