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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS H. H. Hess (T-AGS-38)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Uniform - Victor - Delta
 NUVD
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
Navy Battle "E" Ribbon (4) - National Defense Service Medal
H. H. Hess Class Hydrographic Survey Ship:
  • Laid down, 10 August 1963, for the American Mail Steam Ship Co. as SS Canada Mail a Maritime Administration type (C4-S-1sa) hull, at National Steel and Shipbuilding Co., San Diego, CA, under Maritime Administration contract (MA hull 154)
  • Launched, 30 May 1964
  • Delivered to the Maritime Commission, 12 March 1965, and placed in service by American Mail Lines
  • Returned to the Maritime Commission for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, 5 April 1974
  • Acquired by the US Navy, 3 March 1977
  • Placed in service in 1978 with the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) as USNS H. H. Hess (T-AGS-38)
  • Placed out of service, 16 January 1992, at Port Canaveral, FL.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 5 February 1992
  • Transferred, 21 February 1992, to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Final Disposition, sold, 29 December 2010, to Esco Marine, of Brownsville, TX. for dismantling. Scrapping complete, 1 September 2011
    Specifications:
    Displacement 16,828 t.(fl)
    Length 563' 6"
    Beam 76'; Draft 27'
    Speed 20 kts.
    Armament none
    Crew
    30 CIVMAR
    74 Navy
    Propulsion
    two Foster Wheeler boilers
    one steam turbine
    single propeller, 19,250shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Merchant Service American Mail SS Co.
    H. H. Hess 315k SS Canada Mail under way, in harbor with tugs alongside, date and location unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    H. H. Hess 214k SS Canada Mail working cargo while moored pierside, date and location unknown. Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret.
    USNS H. H.l Hess (T-AGS-38)
    H. H. Hess
    09103812    		 243k USNS H. H. Hess (T-AGS-38) underway off San Diego, CA., date unknown.
    ©George Barber    		 Nicholas Tiberio
    H. H. Hess 72k USNS H. H. Hess (T-AGS-38) under way in Elliott Bay in Puget Sound, date unknown. Note the Seattle skyline in the background including the Space Needle. Carl R. Friberg Jr.
    H. H. Hess 83k USNS H. H. Hess (T-AGS-38) moored pierside, Pearl Harbor, HI., 18 November 1980. Photo by Gerhard Mueller-Debus
    H. H. Hess 2073k USNS H. H. Hess (T-AGS-38) under way, date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Bennett Scharf
    H. H. Hess 94k USNS H. H. Hess (T-AGS-38) passing through the Panama Canal, circa 1982. Photos by Bennett Scharf
    H. H. Hess 483k
    H. H. Hess 1321k Ex-USNS H. H. Hess (T-AGS-38) being dismantled at Brownsville, TX., August 2011.
    Photo courtesy Captain United    		 Ron Reeves
    There is no DANFS History available for H. H. Hess (T-AGS-38) at Navsource
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    The TAGS ship
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 2 September 2022