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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

SP-159 Corsair / PG-85 Natchez /
AGS-3 Oceanographer

Corsair (SP-159) Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons
Oceanographer (AGS-3) Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
  • Built in 1899 as the yacht Corsair II by W. & A. Fletcher Co., Hoboken, N.J. for J. Pierpont Morgan
  • Acquired by the Navy, 15 May 1917
  • Commissioned USS Corsair (SP 159) the same day
  • Returned to her owner, J. P. Morgan, 9 June 1919
  • Acquired by the Coast and Geodetic Survey, circa 1930, renamed USC&GS Oceanographer (OSS-26)
  • Reacquired by the Navy, 7 April 1942, from the Coast and Geodetic Survey at Norfolk, VA.
  • Renamed USS Natchez (PG-85), 15 April 1942
  • Rerigged and outfitted at Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. as a Survey Ship
  • Commissioned USS Oceanographer (AGS-3), 15 August 1942
  • Decommissioned, 22 September 1944, at San Pedro, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 14 October 1944
  • Final Disposition, broken up for scrap
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,136 t. (gross)
    Length 304 (oa)
    Beam 33.5'
    Draft 16'
    Speed 19 kts.
    Complement 146
    Armament two 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Yacht Corsair
    Corsair 561k The yacht Corsair. circa 1899. Jim Rogers
    Corsair 61k The yacht Corsair. circa 1916. Eastman Kodak
    USS Corsair (SP-159)
    Oceanographer 54k USS Corsair (SP-159) fitting out for WW I service, circa May 1917. Ship outboard is USS Harvard (SP-209).
    US Navy photo # NH 85734 Courtesy of Alfred Cellier, 1977. From the collections of US Naval Historical Center.    		 US Navy Historical Center
    Oceanographer 74k USS Corsair (SP-159) underway, date unknown. US Navy photo from "All Hands magazine, November 1967 issue. Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    USC&GS Oceanographer (OSS-26)
    Corsair 76k USC&GS Oceanographer (OSS-26) underway, circa 1934, place unknown. Jim Rogers
    Oceanographer 45k USC&GS Oceanographer (OSS-26) underway, date and place unknown.
    US Navy photo from DANFS.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    USS Oceanographer (AG-3)
    Oceanographer 78k USS Oceanographer (AGS-3) moored pierside, circa 1943, place unknown.
    US Navy photo    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Oceanographer 47k USS Oceanographer (AGS-3) moored pierside at San Pedro, circa 1944
    US Navy photo    		 NOAA web site
    Oceanographer 165k USS Oceanographer (AGS-3) moored pierside at San Pedro, circa 1944
    US Navy photo    		 NOAA web site
    View the Corsair (SP-159) / Oceanographer (AGS-3)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center web site
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    NOAA Photo Library
    Navy Survey Ships (AGS) Designator Listing
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    This page created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 10 February 2006