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Photo # NH 97873-KN: USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs passing commercial piers during the 1960s.

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1), 1958-1971.
Previously USS San Carlos (AVP-51)

USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs, a 2,800-ton oceanographic research ship, was originally commissioned in March 1944 as the small seaplane tender San Carlos (AVP-51). In 1958 she was taken out of reserve and converted at Mobile, Alabama, to an oceanographic research ship. She was reclassified T-AGOR-1 in December 1958 and renamed Josiah Willard Gibbs after a highly respected professor of mathematical physics at Yale (1839-1903) whose work was much used by oceanographers. During the same month she was placed in service with the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS).

For the next decade, MSTS operated Josiah Willard Gibbs as the principal research vessel for the Hudson Laboratories of Columbia University, one of a number of universities and private organizations which carried out oceanographic research for the Navy under contract with the Office of Naval Research. She was dedicated primarily to research in the physics of the ocean, particularly the propogation of sound, as part of ONR's efforts to improve the Navy's submarine and anti-submarine warfare capabilities. Her relatively large size allowed her to handle heavier weights at greater depths and provide greater stability for delicate scientific measurements than any oceanographic research vessel then in use. Her large deep-sea winch and auxiliary propeller gave her the capability to investigate even the deep ocean trenches scattered throughout the world.

In December 1971 Josiah Willard Gibbs was deactivated and transferred to Greece as the torpedo boat tender Hifaistos. She was stricken from the Greek navy list in April 1976.

This page features, or provides links to, most of our views of USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1), and also provides a link to views of her when she was USS San Carlos (AVP-51).

For additional views relating to USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs, see:

  • USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1) -- On Board and Close Up.

    For images of this ship while she was still the small seaplane tenderSan Carlos, see:

  • USS San Carlos (AVP-51).


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

    Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

    Photo #: NH 79123

    USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1)

    Off Fort Richmond, Staten Island in around the early 1960s.
    The ship was operated by MSTS for the Hudson Laboratories of Columbia University, located at Dobbs Ferry on the Hudson River in New York.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 117KB; 740 x 610 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 97860

    USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1)

    Underway in coastal waters in around the early 1960s.
    The ship was operated by MSTS for the Hudson Laboratories of Columbia University, located at Dobbs Ferry on the Hudson River in New York.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, from the Military Sealift Command Collection.

    Online Image: 107KB; 740 x 615 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 97873-KN (Color)

    USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1)

    Passing commercial piers during the 1960s.
    The ship was operated by MSTS for the Hudson Laboratories of Columbia University, located at Dobbs Ferry on the Hudson River in New York.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, from the Military Sealift Command Collection.

    Online Image: 84KB; 740 x 615 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 97861

    USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1)

    Underway during the 1960s.
    The A-frame on the starboard side just aft of the superstructure is for her auxiliary research winch, which had 5,000 feet of cable and a 10,000 pound maximum load.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, from the Military Sealift Command Collection.

    Online Image: 85KB; 740 x 605 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 97862

    USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1)

    Underway during the 1960s, viewed from directly overhead.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, from the Military Sealift Command Collection.

    Online Image: 79KB; 740 x 615 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 97871

    USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1)

    Pierside during the 1960s.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, from the Military Sealift Command Collection.

    Online Image: 60KB; 590 x 765 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 97872

    USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1)

    Viewed from directly astern during the 1960s.
    The "O" frame on her stern is for her 40,000-pound capacity deep-sea winch.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph, from the Military Sealift Command Collection.

    Online Image: 49KB; 595 x 765 pixels

     

    For additional views relating to USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs, see:

  • USNS Josiah Willard Gibbs (T-AGOR-1) -- On Board and Close Up.

    For images of this ship while she was still the small seaplane tender San Carlos, see:

  • USS San Carlos (AVP-51).


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


    Return to Naval Historical Center home page.

    Page made 24 February 2002