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SS Empire State Mariner (MSTS General Agency Agreement)
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CAPT. Vince Arkins (second from left), first master of SS Empire State Mariner. Photo was probably taken when the ship went into service with MSTS, 24 February 1954. CAPT Arkins was master of the US flagged freighter SS Lehigh, one of three ships the Germans sunk before the US entered World War II.
US Navy photo. |
Richard Leonhardt |
USS Observation Island (E-AG-154)
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09532330 |
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Namesake
Observation Island - An island in the southern section of Lake Okeechobee, FL.
Photo - By Lakes Online member
Map - iTouchMap.com |
Tommy Trampp |
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Observation Island (E-AG-154) nearing completion at the Naval Shipyard, Norfolk, VA. Observation Island is
a fast “Mariner” type cargo ship converted to carry all types of launching, fire control, and navigational devices called for by the testing program, 13
October 1958.
US Navy photo # 428-GX-USN 1038302 |
National Museum of the US Navy |
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USS Observation Island (E-AG-154) underway with USS Robert E Lee (SSBN 601), date and location unknown.
US Navy photo |
Tim Howard |
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USS Observation Island (E-AG-154) underway, date and location unknown.
US Navy photo. |
Tommy Trampp |
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USS Observation Island (E-AG-154) arriving at Cape Canaveral, circa 1959.
US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, September 1960. |
Robert Hurst and Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret. |
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USS Observation Island (E-AG-154) undergoing conversion at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in 1959 to accommodate testing of FBM weapons system. Note YD-73 alongside.
US Navy photos |
Mary Lou Lockhart |
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USS Observation Island (E-AG-154) getting underway after conversion at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in 1959 to accommodate testing of FBM weapons system. Note Ankachak (YTB-501) in the background. |
Mary Lou Lockhart |
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USS Observation Island (E-AG-154) during test launch of a 28-foot test version of the Polaris SLBM. The missile was forced 70 ft above the deck by compressed air after which its first stage engine ignited.
US Navy photo |
Robert Hurst |
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USS Observation Island (E-AG-154) under way circa 1963, probably off the coast of California.
US Navy photo courtesy Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum |
Darryl Baker |
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President Kennedy visits the USS Observation Island (E-AG-154) to observe the firing of a Polaris missile from
the fleet ballistic missile submarine USS Andrew Jackson (SSBN-619), 16 November 1963. |
Bob Haner YN1 USN Ret. USS John F. Kennedy |
09532316
KN-C30562 |
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During a visit aboard the United States Naval ship USS Observation Island (EAG-154), 16 November 1963, President John F. Kennedy (center left)
watches a demonstration of the firing of a Polaris A-2 missile from the submarine USS Andrew Jackson
(SSBN-619), at sea off the coast of Florida.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, MA., Accession Numbers KN-C30562 and KN-C30560 by Robert Knudsen. White House Photographer |
Bob Canchola |
09532325
KN-C30560 |
226k |
09532326 |
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President John F. Kennedy (center left, wearing sunglasses) walks with Military Aide to the President, General Chester V.
Clifton, toward a United States Marine Corps helicopter prior to his departure from the United States Naval ship USS Observation Island (EAG-154), at sea
off the coast of Florida; sailors (flanking both sides) salute President Kennedy.
Also pictured: White House Secret Service agent, Floyd Boring; Deputy Commander of the Submarine Force of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Rear Admiral Vernon L. Lowrance;
Senator George A. Smathers (Florida); Commanding Officer of the USS Observation Island, Captain Roderick O. Middleton; and Naval Aide to the President, Captain Tazewell
T. Shepard, Jr.
The President (wearing a windbreaker bearing the insignias of the USS Observation Island and the submarine
USS Andrew Jackson (SSBN-619), presented as a gift from the crews of both ships) visited
Observation Island to view a Polaris A-2 missile launch demonstration from the submarine.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, MA., Accession Number ST-C407-1-63 by Cecil Stoughton. White House Photographer |
Bob Canchola |
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USS Observation Island (E-AG-154) firing a Polaris Missile off Cape Canaveral, FL., date unknown.
US Navy photos from the collections of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum. |
Darryl Baker |
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USS Observation Island (E-AG-154) moored pierside at Naval Station Pearl Harbor forward of the Destroyer Escort USS John R. Perry (DE-1034), date unknown.
Photo by Michael Longseth |
Ron Reeves |
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USS Observation Island (E-AG-154) under way, circa 1967, location unknown.
US Navy photo 1967-68 edition of "Jane's Fighting Ships" |
Robert Hurst |
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USS Observation Island (E-AG-154) under way, date and location unknown. |
Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. |
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USS Observation Island (E-AG-154) under way, date and location unknown.
US navy photo from "Janes Fighting Ships, 1971-72" |
Robert Hurst |
09532327 |
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USS Observation Island (E-AG-154) moored at Port Canaveral, FL., in the distance. In the foreground is an unidentified US Army Corps of Engineers dredge.
date unknown.
| Nicholas Tiberio |
09532328 |
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USS Observation Island (E-AG-154) outbound to sea from San Diego, CA., date unknown
©George Barber
| Nicholas Tiberio |
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USS Observation Island (E-AG-154) launching a Poseidon C3 missile in 1970. |
David Campbell |
USNS Observation Island (T-AGM-23)
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09661011 |
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USNS Observation Island (T-AGM-23) and USNS Invincible (T-AGM-24) (left),
two MSC missile range instrumentation ships, moored next to each other
at Sasebo, Japan, March 2002. This is a rare coincidence, as the two ships spend much of their time at sea. Observation Island was there for voyage repairs, and Invincible
was there for a port visit.
U.S. Navy photo | .
Robert Hurst |
09532329 |
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A starboard quarter view of USNS Observation Island (T-AGM-23) underway, 28 March 1981, during exercise Cobra Judy, an exercise to test the ship's
seaworthiness. Observation Island, which has been undergoing modifications, is now equipped with a phased-array radar turret on its stern.
defenseimagery |
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USNS Observation Island (T-AGM-23) underway, 6 July 2006. Observation Island operates worldwide, monitoring compliance with strategic arms treaties and supporting U.S. military weapons test programs. Observation Island carries an Air Force ship-borne phased-array radar system for collecting data on missile tests. The ship is operated by Military Sealift Command for the US Air Force Technical Applications Center at Patrick Air Force Base, FL.
US Navy photo # 060706-N-0000X-001 |
MSC web site |
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USNS Observation Island (T-AGM-23) underway, date and location unknown. Photo from a postcard. |
Tommy Trampp |
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USNS Observation Island (T-AGM-23) underway, date and location unknown. Note she is fitted with a phased-array radar turret aft.
US Navy photo |
Richard Miller BMCS USNR Ret. |
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The de-activated USNS Observation Island (T-AGM-23) departing Hampton Roads for the last time while under tow by USNS Grapple (T-ARS-53), 25 March 2014, enroute to lay up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, TX. |
Lee Wahler |
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Ex-USNS Observation Island (T-AGM-23) with ex-USNS Sumner (T-AGS-61) alongside moored in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, TX., 2 November 2014. Note /USNS Flint (T-AE-32) moored to the left and ST Chesapeake (AOT-5084) moored to the right. |
Photo by Chris Holley |
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Ex-USNS Observation Island (T-AGM-23) with USNS Sumner
(T-AGS-61) alongside moored in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, TX., 2 November 2014. Note
MV Cape Lambert (AKR-5077) moored forward of Observation Island and Sumner. |
Photo by Chris Holley |
