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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Patch at left contributed by Mike Smolinski, patch at right by Bill Valashinas

USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10)
ex
 USAFS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (1961 - 1964)
 USNS General Harry Taylor (T-AP-145) (1950 - 1957)
 USAT General Harry Taylor (1946 - 1950)
 USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145) (1944 - 1946)

USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Juliet - Hotel - Bravo
NJHB
USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10)
International Radio Call Sign:
November - Bravo - Bravo - Papa
 NBBP
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal
General G. O. Squier Class Transport
  • Laid down, date unknown, as a Maritime Commission type (C4-S-A1) hull, under a Maritime Commission contract, at Kaiser Co. Inc., Yard No. 3, Richmond, CA.
  • Launched, 10 October 1943
  • Acquired by the Navy, 29 March 1944
  • Commissioned USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145), 8 May 1944, CAPT. J. L. Wyatt in command
  • Decommissioned, 13 June 1946, at Baltimore, MD.
  • Struck from the Naval Register (date unknown)
  • Transferred to the US Army Transport Service and placed in commission as USAT General Harry Taylor
  • Reacquired by the Navy, and assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), 1 March 1950
  • Placed in service as USNS General Harry Taylor (T-AP-145)
  • Placed out of service, 19 September 1957
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 10 July 1958, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, TX.
  • Withdrawn from the Reserve Fleet and transferred to the US Air Force, 15 July 1961
  • Converted to a Missile Range Instrumentation Ship and renamed General Hoyt S. Vandenberg
  • Reacquired by the Navy, 13 July 1964, and placed in service by the Military Sealift Command (MSC) as USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10)
  • Placed out of service, date unknown
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 29 April 1993
  • Title transferred to the Maritime Administration (MARAD), 1 May 1999, for lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, James River, Lee Hall, VA.
  • Transfer Agreement with the State of Florida signed 26 January 2007. for reefing in the Florida Keys
  • Withdrawn from the James River Reserve Fleet, 4 April 2006, for clean up and preparation at Colonna Shipyard Norfolk, VA. prior to sinking as an artificial reef
    AP Specifications:
    Displacement 9,950 t(lt) 17,250 t.(fl)
    Length 522' 10"
    Beam 71' 6"
    Draft 26' 6"
    Speed 18 kts.
    Complement 494
    Troop Accommodations 4,766
    Cargo Capacity 100,000 cu. ft.
    Armament
    four single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mounts (replaced by four twin 40mm gun mounts)
    fifteen twin 20mm AA gun mounts
    Propulsiongeared turbine, single shaft, 8,500hp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145)
    General Harry Taylor 12k
    Namesake

    Harry Taylor -- born on 26 June 1862 in Tilton, N.H. -- graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1884, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on 15 June 1884. In the years that followed, Taylor served in the field on various projects, including East Coast defenses and the Columbia River project. By 1916, he was Assistant Chief of Engineers in charge of the River and Harbor Division. At the start of America's participation in World War I, he sailed for France as Chief Engineer Officer, American Expeditionary Force. In this capacity he supervised the construction of railways, barracks, wharves, and shelters throughout France. Awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Taylor returned to Washington and was named Major General, Chief of Engineers, on 19 June 1924. He retired on 26 June 1926 and died of pneumonia on 27 January 1930 in Washington, D.C.
    Photo from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers    		 Bill Gonyo
    General Harry Taylor 51k USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145), date and location unknown. Dan Kovalchik
    USNS General Harry Taylor (T-AP-145)
    General Harry Taylor 58k USNS General Harry Taylor (T-AP-145), date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Bill Valashinas
    General Harry Taylor 85k Watercolor of USNS General Harry Taylor (T-AP-145) Bill Valashinas
    USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10)
    General Hoyt S Vandenberg 129k USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10), date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 William Zarkas, Retired MSC Boatswain
    President, MSC Retiree Association
    General Hoyt S Vandenberg 76k USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10), date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo Sealift Magazine, October 1968    		 Bill Valashinas
    General Hoyt S. Vandenberg 81k USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10),date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Bill Valashinas
    General Hoyt S Vandenberg 32k USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10), date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 J Copp
    General Hoyt S Vandenberg 208k USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10), date and location unknown.
    US Navy photo.    		 Dan Kovalchik
    General Hoyt S Vandenberg 46k Ex-USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10) while under tow to Colonna Shipyard, Norfolk, VA. 4 April 2007. Photo by Mabel Clark
    General Hoyt S Vandenberg 97k Ex-USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10) moored at Colonna Shipyard, Norfolk, VA., 4 April 2007. Ex-Vandenberg will undergo a seven month, six million dollar clean-up at Colonna Shipyard prior to being sunk as an artificial reef off the Florida coast. Note the Cyrillic lettering on the port side aft, a left over from the filming a few years ago of the motion picture "Virus". Curtis A. Smith
    View the USS General Harry Taylor (AP-145) / USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg (T-AGM-10)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Artificial Reefs of the Keys, Key West Florida
    Artificial Reefs of the Keys, Media page
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 27 June 2008