U.S. Navy
Guardian Class . AGR-1 to AGR-16
Cold War CONTAIR Duty
1954–1965
Sixteen converted Liberty ships sent to patrol ocean stations in the Atlantic and Pacific as radar pickets. The Continental Air Defense mission. Miserable duty on small ships in open ocean, watching for Soviet bombers that never came. Replaced when over-the-horizon radar made them obsolete.
USS Guardian
Radar Picket Ship
1954
Commissioned
7,886
Tons
Liberty
Hull Type
Lead ship of the Guardian class. Converted from a Liberty ship to serve as a radar picket on ocean station duty. Spent years on lonely patrol stations in the open Atlantic, scanning for Soviet bombers as part of the CONTAIR early warning network.
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USS Lookout
Radar Picket Ship
1954
Commissioned
7,886
Tons
Liberty
Hull Type
Ocean station patrol ship. Spent her service on the radar picket line, rolling in North Atlantic swells while her crew maintained constant radar watch. The kind of duty that broke morale but kept the country safe.
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USS Skywatcher
Radar Picket Ship
1954
Commissioned
7,886
Tons
Liberty
Hull Type
Another converted Liberty ship watching the skies from mid-ocean. Maintained radar coverage of the Atlantic approaches as part of the DEW Line's seaward extension. Decommissioned when technology rendered ocean station ships obsolete.
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USS Searcher
Radar Picket Ship
1954
Commissioned
7,886
Tons
Liberty
Hull Type
Patrolled the ocean radar picket stations watching for inbound Soviet aircraft. Liberty ship hulls were never meant for this kind of extended open-ocean work. The crews endured brutal conditions for years.
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USS Scanner
Radar Picket Ship
1955
Commissioned
7,886
Tons
Liberty
Hull Type
Ocean station radar picket. Part of the continental air defense network that filled the gap between land-based radar stations. Monotonous, thankless duty that formed a critical piece of Cold War defense.
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USS Locator
Radar Picket Ship
1955
Commissioned
7,886
Tons
Liberty
Hull Type
Pacific-assigned radar picket ship. Patrolled ocean stations off the West Coast, providing early warning coverage against Soviet bomber approaches from across the Pacific.
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USS Picket
Radar Picket Ship
1955
Commissioned
7,886
Tons
Liberty
Hull Type
Named for exactly what she did. Stood picket duty on ocean stations, a floating radar post in the middle of the Pacific. The name left no illusions about the mission or the monotony.
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USS Interceptor
Radar Picket Ship
1955
Commissioned
7,886
Tons
Liberty
Hull Type
Pacific radar picket. Her name suggested action, but the reality was weeks of slow circles on station, watching radar screens for contacts that almost never materialized. Essential work, brutally boring.
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USS Investigator
Radar Picket Ship
1955
Commissioned
7,886
Tons
Liberty
Hull Type
Atlantic radar picket. Maintained her ocean station as part of the CONTAIR barrier, providing early warning and aircraft control for continental air defense. A cold, wet, thankless assignment.
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USS Outpost
Radar Picket Ship
1955
Commissioned
7,886
Tons
Liberty
Hull Type
Her name said it all. An outpost in the middle of the ocean. Converted Liberty ship hull, radar equipment bolted on, crew sent out to watch and wait. The furthest edge of continental defense.
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USS Protector
Radar Picket Ship
1955
Commissioned
7,886
Tons
Liberty
Hull Type
Pacific radar picket. Stood her watches on ocean station, scanning for threats that might come over the horizon. The crews who served on these ships rarely got recognition for what they endured.
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USS Vigil
Radar Picket Ship
1955
Commissioned
7,886
Tons
Liberty
Hull Type
Atlantic radar picket. Maintained constant vigil on her ocean station. The name perfectly captured the mission: watch, wait, report. Month after month in the open ocean.
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USS Interdictor
Radar Picket Ship
1955
Commissioned
7,886
Tons
Liberty
Hull Type
Pacific radar picket ship. Part of the seaward extension of the continental air defense radar network. Converted Liberty ship hull with surveillance radar, riding out Pacific swells on station.
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USS Interpreter
Radar Picket Ship
1955
Commissioned
7,886
Tons
Liberty
Hull Type
Atlantic radar picket. Interpreted radar returns on her ocean station, feeding contact data back to shore-based air defense controllers. The human link in the early warning chain.
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USS Interrupter
Radar Picket Ship
1955
Commissioned
7,886
Tons
Liberty
Hull Type
Pacific radar picket. Designed to interrupt any Soviet bomber approach by providing early detection and fighter direction. The whole class was retired when over-the-horizon radar made ocean station ships unnecessary.
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USS Watchman
Radar Picket Ship
1955
Commissioned
7,886
Tons
Liberty
Hull Type
Last of the Guardian-class radar picket ships. Stood watch on the Atlantic ocean stations alongside her sisters. When OTH radar came online, the entire class was decommissioned. The watchmen were no longer needed.
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16
Ships Converted
CONTAIR
Mission