Tracking ship

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Missile Range instrumentation Ship USNS Range Sentinel (T-AGM 22) USNS Range Sentinel T-AGM-22 DNSC8510327.jpg
Missile Range instrumentation Ship USNS Range Sentinel (T-AGM 22)

A tracking ship, also called a missile range instrumentation ship or range ship, is a ship equipped with antennas and electronics to support the launching and tracking of missiles and rockets. Since many missile ranges launch over ocean areas for safety reasons, range ships are used to extend the range of shore-based tracking facilities.

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In the United States, the initial tracking ships were constructed by the U.S. Army and then the U.S. Air Force to support their missile programs. They were generally built on a surplus Liberty ship or Victory ship hull. By 1964, the U.S. Navy took over all the range ships and introduced more.

In some Navies, such a ship is also given the Type Designation "Vigilship" or "Veladora" [1] [ circular reference ], with the Designation Letter "V" or Letters "VC".

Missile range instrumentation ships

Chinese PLA Strategic Support Force

Yuanwang 2 YuanWang2c.JPG
Yuanwang 2

The Chinese ships were purpose built vessels for their role in the navy and the space program.

French Navy

The Monge (A601) of the French Navy, 1999 FS Monge.jpg
The Monge (A601) of the French Navy, 1999

The Poincaré was a converted tanker, but the Monge was a purpose-built ship.

Inactive

Active

Indian Navy

Pakistan Navy

Russian Navy / Soviet Navy

Kosmonavt Yuri Gagarin underway, 1987 Space control-monitoring ship "Kosmonaut Yuri Gagarin" in 1987 (2).png
Kosmonavt Yuri Gagarin underway, 1987

The Soviet and later Russian ships were purpose built vessels for their role.

United States Navy/United States Air Force

USNS Vanguard underway USNS Vanguard.jpg
USNS Vanguard underway
U.S. Army tracking ship (1958-1964) USAS American Mariner docked at Chaguaramus, Trinidad Dmp trinidad dock.jpg
U.S. Army tracking ship (1958-1964) USAS American Mariner docked at Chaguaramus, Trinidad
Timber Hitch being supplied with additional fresh water from USAS American Mariner, December 1961 USNS Timber Hitch 1962.jpg
Timber Hitch being supplied with additional fresh water from USAS American Mariner, December 1961

There are currently only two active Instrumentation Ships in the U.S. Navy inventory: USNS Invincible (T-AGM-24) [6] and USNS Howard O. Lorenzen (T-AGM-25). [7] The former is now in the inactive fleet. The latter was delivered in January 2012 [8] to replace USNS Observation Island (T-AGM-23) in 2014. [9] Most of the USN and USAF tracking ships were converted into their role. Some ships were in service with NASA.

Inactive

Active

See also

Related Research Articles

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USNS Watertown (T-AGM-6) was a Watertown-class missile range instrumentation ship acquired by the United States Navy in 1960 and converted from her SS Niantic Victory Victory ship cargo configuration to a missile tracking ship, a role she retained for eleven years before being placed out of service in 1971.

Victory ship Class of US cargo ship, 1940s

The Victory ship was a class of cargo ship produced in large numbers by American shipyards during World War II to replace losses caused by German submarines. They were a more modern design compared to the earlier Liberty ship, were slightly larger and had more powerful steam turbine engines, giving higher speed to allow participation in high-speed convoys and make them more difficult targets for German U-boats. A total of 531 Victory ships were built in between 1944 and 1946.

Yuan Wang-class tracking ship Chinese strategic support ships

The Yuan Wang-class are a line of Chinese tracking ships used for surveillance and communication of launch vehicle rockets and intercontinental ballistic missiles by the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force. This class is not of a single ship design, but instead is a group of different designs under the same series that share the same name. The ships are all assigned to the China Maritime Satellite Telemetry and Control Department in Jianyin, Jiangsu province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Type C1 ship</span> Class of American cargo ships

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USNS <i>Mission San Juan</i> United States ship (1943–1984)

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USNS <i>Redstone</i>

USNS Redstone, designated T‑AGM‑20, was a tracking ship assigned to Apollo space mission support under the control of the Eastern Range. For a brief time during conversion the ship was named Johnstown with the designation AGM‑20.

USNS <i>Mission San Fernando</i>

SS Mission San Fernando was a Type T2-SE-A2 tanker built for the United States Maritime Commission during World War II. After the war she was acquired by the United States Navy as USS Mission San Fernando (AO-122). Later the tanker transferred to the Military Sea Transportation Service as USNS Mission San Fernando (T-AO-122). She was a member of the Mission Buenaventura-class oiler and was named for Mission San Fernando Rey de España in Los Angeles. She was later renamed USNS Muscle Shoals (T-AGM-19), and, later, USNS Vanguard (T-AG-194).

USNS <i>Observation Island</i> Mariner-class merchant ship

USNS Observation Island (T-AGM-23) was built as the Mariner-class merchant ship Empire State Mariner for the United States Maritime Commission, launched 15 August 1953, and operated by United States Lines upon delivery on 24 February 1954, making voyages for the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) until going into reserve at Mobile, Alabama on 9 November 1954.

Type C4-class ship Cargo ships built by the United States Maritime Commission

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USNS <i>Range Recoverer</i> American tracking ship

USNS Range Recoverer (T-AG-161/T-AGM-2/YFRT-524) was a missile range instrumentation ship responsible for providing radar and/or telemetry track data on missiles launched from American launch sites.

USNS <i>Haiti Victory</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

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USNS <i>Dalton Victory</i> American victory-class cargo ship

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USNS <i>Huntsville</i>

USNS Huntsville (T-AGM-7) was a Watertown-class missile range instrumentation ship acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1960 and converted from the SS Knox Victory Victory ship cargo configuration to a missile tracking ship, a role she retained for a number of years before being struck from the Navy List in 1974.

USNS Wheeling (T-AGM-8) was a Wheeling-class missile range instrumentation ship acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1962 and converted from her Victory ship cargo configuration to a missile tracking ship, a role she retained for a number of years before being sunk as a target by Harpoon missiles on 12 July 1981.

USNS <i>Rose Knot</i>

USNS Rose Knot (T-AGM-14) was a World War II era United States Maritime Commission small cargo ship built in 1945 and delivered to the War Shipping Administration for operation through agent shipping companies and for periods by the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS). In 1957 the ship was transferred to the Air Force and converted into a missile range instrumentation ship which operated as USAFS Rose Knot on the U.S. Air Force's Eastern Test Range during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Rose Knot operated under an Air Force contract with Pan American Airways Guided Missile Range Division headquartered in Cocoa Beach, Florida. In July 1964, all Air Force tracking ships were transferred to MSTS for operation with the Air Force in operational control while the ships were at sea as tracking ships. Rose Knot had special facilities for supporting the human spaceflight program and supported the early crewed flights. The ship was owned by the U.S. government until sold for non-transportation use in 1977.

USS Somerset (AK-212) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed for the US Navy during the closing period of World War II. She was later acquired by the US Army in 1946 and the US Air Force in 1957 before being reacquired by the USN as the USNS Coastal Sentry (T-AGM-15), a missile range instrumentation ship.

USNS <i>Coastal Crusader</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USNS Coastal Crusader (AK-220/ORV-16/T-AGM-16/AGS-36) was an Alamosa-class cargo ship that was constructed for the US Navy during the closing period of World War II. She was later acquired by the US Army in 1946 and the US Air Force in 1957 before being reacquired by the USN in 1964 and as a missile range instrumentation ship.

USNS <i>Howard O. Lorenzen</i> Missile range instrumentation ship of the United States Navy

USNS Howard O. Lorenzen (T-AGM-25) is a Missile Range Instrumentation Ship built for the U.S. Navy by VT Halter Marine of Pascagoula, Mississippi. The keel was laid during a ceremony on August 13, 2008, and the vessel became operational in 2014. This ship carries a next-generation active electronically scanned array radar system named Cobra King. This system is the first use of a radar system that can be used to target, and then through phase change, overwhelm an adversary's electronic systems to force shut down.

References

  1. Soviet ship Kosmonavt Yuriy Gagarin
  2. military-today.com, Poincare [usurped]
  3. military-today.com, Monge [usurped]
  4. "INS Anvesh commissioning as seen in Indian Navy song". YouTube . 9 December 2022.
  5. "Pakistan gets spy ship from China to track ballistic missiles". 18 March 2024.
  6. "Military Sealift Command Fact Sheet" . Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  7. "Range Instrumentation Ship Photo Index" . Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  8. "Navy Accepts Delivery of USNS Howard O. Lorenzen". Navy.mil. 12 January 2012. No. NNS120112-16. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
  9. "SIU - Keel laid for future USNS Observation Island replacement (8/25)" . Retrieved 2009-04-04.