View source for USNS Thomas G. Thompson (T-AGOR-9)

{{other ships|USNS Thomas G. Thompson}}
{{use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= RV Thomas G. Thompson (AGOR-9).jpg
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country        = United States
|Ship flag           = {{USN flag|1945}}
|Ship name           = ''Thomas G. Thompson''
|Ship namesake       = [[Thomas Gordon Thompson]]
|Ship owner          = 
|Ship operator       = 
|Ship registry       = 
|Ship route          = 
|Ship ordered        = 
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|Ship builder        = Marinette Marine, [[Marinette, Wisconsin]]
|Ship original cost  = 
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|Ship laid down      = 12 September 1963
|Ship launched       = 18 July 1964
|Ship sponsor        = Mrs. Isabel Thompson, the widow of Professor Thompson
|Ship christened     = 
|Ship completed      = 
|Ship acquired       = By the Navy, 1 August 1965, as R/V ''Thomas G. Thompson'' (AGOR-9)
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|Ship in service     = On lease to the [[University of Washington]], 21 September 1965
|Ship out of service = date not known
|Ship renamed        = R/V ''Gosport'' (IX-517), 7 May 1997, a multi-purpose [[research vessel]]
|Ship reclassified   = ''Unclassified Miscellaneous'', 11 December 1989;  R/V ''Pacific Escort (II)'' (IX-517) a general research (date unknown);
|Ship refit          = 
|Ship struck         = 27 February 2004
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|Ship identification = {{IMO Number|7742152}}
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|Ship fate           = Sunk, 14 November 2004 as part of a [[NATO]] exercise
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship class               = 
|Ship type                = ''Robert D. Conrad''-class [[oceanographic research ship]]
|Ship tonnage             = 
|Ship displacement        = 1,200 tons light, 1,370 tons full load
|Ship length              = {{cvt|209|ft}}
|Ship beam                = {{cvt|40|ft}}
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|Ship draught             = 
|Ship draft               = {{cvt|16|ft}}
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|Ship propulsion          = [[diesel-electric]], three propeller shafts, (low speed [[diesel engine]] driving cycloidal propellers, fwd & aft), 2,500shp
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|Ship speed               = 12 knots
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|Ship complement          = 14 civilian mariners; up to 30 scientific party
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|Ship armament            = none
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'''''Thomas G. Thompson'' (T-AGOR-9)''' was a [[Robert D. Conrad-class oceanographic research ship|''Robert D. Conrad''-class]] [[oceanographic research ship]] acquired by the [[U.S. Navy]] in 1965. The ship was transferred to the [[University of Washington]] for operation as part of the [[University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System]] (UNOLS) fleet on 21 September 1965. In 1988 the ship went out of UNOLS service. The ship, retaining the previous name, was designated by the Navy as IX-517 assigned to the [[Mare Island Naval Shipyard]] for general naval research. ''Thomas G. Thompson'' was later renamed ''Pacific Escort II'' with the same designation. On 7 May 1997 the Navy renamed the ship ''Gosport'' and transferred the ship to the [[Norfolk Naval Shipyard]] available for hire as a multi purpose platform from the shipyard. The ship, placed out of service and struck from the register on 27 February 2004, was sunk as part of a [[NATO]] exercise 14 November 2004.

==Construction==
''Thomas G. Thompson'' (AGOR-9), specially designed for oceanographic research work, was laid down on 12 September 1963 at [[Marinette, Wisconsin]], by the Marinette Marine Corp.; launched on 18 July 1964; sponsored by Mrs. Isabel Thompson, the widow of Professor Thompson; and delivered to the Navy on 4 September 1965.<ref name=DANFS>{{cite DANFS |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/t/thomas-g-thompson.html |title=Thomas G. Thompson |author=Naval History And Heritage Command |work=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships |publisher=Naval History And Heritage Command |access-date=11 September 2019}}</ref>

==University of Washington service==
From the ceremonial transfer to the [[University of Washington]] at the [[Boston Naval Shipyard]] on 21 September 1965 until 1988 the ship was assigned to the university as part of the [[University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System]] (UNOLS) fleet of Navy owned ships. ''Thomas G. Thompson'' was one of three such ships operated by academic institutions as parts of the academic fleet; the others being [[USNS Robert D. Conrad (T-AGOR-3)|R/V ''obert D. Conrad'']] operated by the [[Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory]] of [[Columbia University]] and [[USNS Thomas Washington (T-AGOR-10)|R/V ''Thomas Washington'']] operated by the [[Scripps Institution of Oceanography]]. The Navy owned ships operated under the general control of the Oceanographer of the Navy, but were managed by the institutions, with civilian crews, conducting research experiments in support of the national oceanographic programs of the [[United States]].<ref name=DANFS/><ref name=HLV>{{cite web |title=Historical List of all UNOLS Vessels |publisher=University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System |url=https://www.unols.org/ships-facilities/unols-vessels/historical-list-all-unols-vessels |access-date=11 September 2019}}</ref>

On 5 June 1987 the [[Office of Naval Research]] (ONR) solicited bids from UNOLS institutions for operation of a new, more capable, class of research vessels. The initial vessel to be designated AGOR-23 was to "replace at least one existing AGOR 3 class ship in the Navy portion of the UNOLS academic fleet" with a part of the requirement being "a practical plan for return to the Navy of at least one AGOR 3 Class ship now chartered from ONR must be included in the proposal." Operator representatives observed that only three such ships existed at three institutions thus seemingly limiting bidding to those institutions. The University of Washington's bid resulted in the old ''Thomas Washington'' being returned to the Navy in 1991 to be replaced by the new [[RV Thomas G. Thompson (T-AGOR-23)|AGOR-23 to also be named ''Thomas G. Thompson'']] operated by the university on 8 July 1991.<ref>{{cite report |title=UNOLS Research Vessel Operators Council: Summary Report of the 1987 Annual Meeting |publisher=University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System |year=1987 |pages=Appendices III & C |url=https://www.unols.org/sites/default/files/198710rvoanu_searchable_lo_res.pdf |access-date=12 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Pittenger |first=Richard F. |title=Replacing the Fleet |magazine=Oceanus |publisher=Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |date=April 1, 1997 |url=https://www.whoi.edu/cms/files/dfino/2005/4/v40n1-pittengerReplacing_2182.pdf |access-date=12 September 2019}}</ref>

==Naval designations and further use==
After retirement from the UNOLS service with the University of Washington the ship was placed in service at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard under the designation (IX-517) available for general research. The ship was renamed '''''Pacific Escort II''''' in 1990. Renamed '''''Gosport''''' and transferred to the Atlantic and the Norfolk Naval Shipyard the ship operated as a multi-purpose research ship available for hire from the shipyard. ''Gosport'' was retired, struck from the register 27 February 2004, and sunk in a NATO exercise on 14 November 2004.<ref name=NAVSO>{{cite web |title=R/V Gosport (IX-517) |publisher=NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive |date= 12 January 2018 |url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/57/5709.htm |access-date=11 September 2019}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{DANFS}}

==External links==
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/tagor-9.htm  Global Security description of R/V Gosport IX-519]
* [https://www.unols.org/what-unols/history-unols History of UNOLS]

{{Robert D. Conrad class oceanographic research ships}}
{{2004 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas G. Thompson (T-AGOR-9)}}
[[Category:Robert D. Conrad-class oceanographic research ships]]
[[Category:University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System research vessels]]
[[Category:Ships built by Marinette Marine]]
[[Category:1964 ships]]
[[Category:University of Washington]]
[[Category:Ships sunk as targets]]