USNS Sgt. Joseph E. Muller (T-AG-171)

History

United States
Name:	Check Knot (1944) Sgt. Joseph E. Muller (1948)
Namesake:	Joseph E. Muller, who was awarded the Medal of Honor
Builder:	Southeastern Shipbuilding Corporation, Savannah, Georgia
Laid down:	December 1944, as M/V Check Knot, type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2485
Launched:	17 February 1945
Sponsored by:	Mrs. D. R. Williams
In service:	Check Knot (1945—46) USAT Sgt Joseph E. Muller (1948—50) USNS Sgt. Joseph E. Muller (1950—57, 1962—69)
Out of service:	1969
Refit:	as a Miscellaneous auxiliary (technical research ship) at Maryland Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Baltimore, Maryland, in October 1962
Struck:	25 October 1957 and on 16 September 1969
Identification:	U.S. Official Number: 247488^[1]
Fate:	transferred to MARAD, 13 November 1969; sold on 3 October 1972
General characteristics
Type:	C1-M-AV1
Tonnage:	3,805 GRT^[1]
Displacement:	6,090 tons^[2]
Length:	338 feet 9 inches (103.3 m)^[2]
Beam:	50 feet 4 inches (15.3 m)^[2]
Draft:	21 feet (6.4 m)^[2]
Propulsion:	diesel, single propeller
Speed:	11.5 knots
Troops:	101
Complement:	107 officers and enlisted^[2]
Armament:	none

USNS Sgt. Joseph E. Muller was a C1-M-AV1 cargo ship completed 9 June 1945 and delivered to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) as Check Knot. After operation by WSA's agent Waterman Steamship Company June 1945—November 1946 and being placed in reserve the ship was transferred to the U.S. Army and renamed USAT Sgt. Joseph E. Muller. She was transferred to the United States Navy in 1950 after the establishment of the Military Sea Transportation Service under Navy and assigned to Korean War supply and transport operations. She was again place back in service in 1962 as one of the civilian crewed, Auxiliary General (AG), technical research ships working on National Security Agency/Naval Security Group missions, based out of Florida.^[3] She was finally declared surplus to needs in 1969 and struck.^[2]

Construction and delivery

Sgt. Joseph E. Muller was laid down under U.S. Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 2485) as Check Knot on 30 December 1944 by the Southeastern Shipbuilding Corporation, Savannah, Georgia and launched on 17 February 1945 sponsored by Mrs. D. R. Williams.^[2] The ship was completed and delivered to the War Shipping Administration on 9 June 1945 for operation by the Waterman Steamship Company as its agent.^[1] Check Knot was placed in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet on 4 November 1946.^[1]

World War II-related U.S. Army service

Title was transferred to the U.S. War Department on 30 June 1948 for operation by the Army Transportation Service with the ship being renamed Sgt. Joseph E. Mutter.^[1] USAT Sgt. Joseph E. Mutter was operated in support of occupation forces in Japan and Korea.^[2]

Korean War service with the Navy

In late 1949, the Navy-operated Military Sea Transportation Service (now Military Sealift Command) was established; and, in July 1950, the ship was transferred to that organization and classified as the small coastal transport (APC), USNS Sgt. Joseph E. Mutter (T-APC-118).^[2]^[4] Through the Korean War, she continued to shuttle passengers and cargo—primarily to Japan and Korea, but with an occasional run to Okinawa, Taiwan, and the Philippines.^[2]

During the Korean War, Sgt. Joseph E. Muller operated during the following campaigns:^[5]^{[note 1]}

North Korean Aggression - 8 July to 38 October 1950
Communist China Aggression - 13 December 1950 to 24 January 1951
First UN Counter Offensive - 25 January to 12 April 1951
Communist China Spring Offensive - 26 April to 8 July 1951
UN Summer-Fall Offensive - 15 July to 27 November 1951
Second Korean Winter - 28 November 1951 to 8 April 1952
Korean Defense Summer-Fall 1952 - 16 July to 29 November 1952
Third Korean Winter - 1 December 1952 to 27 April 1953
Korean Summer-Fall 1953 - 1 May to 20 July 1952

In the spring of 1955, she sailed east, arriving in Hawaii for repairs in mid-May, and at New York City in late June for operations out of that port. Initially slated for Arctic resupply missions, she was transferred temporarily and in ready status to the Maritime Administration's National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF), Hudson River berthing area, on 7 December 1956, and, in September 1957, was declared surplus to the needs of the Navy.^[1]^[2] The following month, she was returned to the Navy and, on 25 October, was permanently transferred to the NDRF and laid up with the Hudson River unit.^[2]

Reactivated as a signals intelligence ship

Just under five years later, in August 1962, Sgt. Joseph E. Muller was designated for activation, conversion to a research support ship, a cover for signals intelligence operations, and redelivery to the Navy on 20 September 1962.^[1]^[2] On 1 October, reactivation and conversion was begun at the Maryland Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Baltimore, Maryland; on 30 October, she was reinstated on the Navy List as the miscellaneous auxiliary (AG), USNS Sgt. Joseph E. Muller (T-AG-171).^[2]^[4] A week later, the ship was towed to New Orleans, Louisiana, for further alterations.^[2] In April 1963, she arrived at Port Everglades, Florida, where she took up duties as one of three Military Sea Transportation Service operated technical research ships classed as Miscellaneous Auxiliary (AG), designated at the time simply "special project ships," for National Security Agency/Naval Security Group operating out of Port Everglades to the Caribbean under the general cover of oceanographic or atmospheric research operations.^[3]

Final inactivation

On 16 September 1969, the ship was again declared surplus; and, on 13 November, she was transferred back to the NDRF for berthing in the James River. Her name was struck from the Navy List on the same date.^[1]^[2] The ship was sold to Union Minerals and Alloys Corporation on 3 October 1972 with delivery for non transportation use on 7 December 1972.^[1]

Footnotes

↑ DANFS makes no such mention as Navy does not typically award "battle stars" to non combatant, civilian crewed MSTS/MSC ships.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Maritime Administration. "Check Knot". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Naval History and Heritage Command. "Sgt. Joseph E. Muller". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
1 2 Al Grobmeier. "The "Special Project Fleet" 1961-69, 1985-89". America's Cold War Infrastructure. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
1 2 Naval History And Heritage Command. "Ship Abbreviations and Symbols". Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
↑ NavSource Online. "USNS Sgt. Joseph E. Muller (T-AG-171) – ex - USNS Sgt. Joseph E. Muller (T-APC-118) (1950 - 1957) - USAT Sgt. Joseph E. Muller (1948 - 1950)". NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive. NavSource. Retrieved 12 May 2015.

Type C1-M ships

Type C1-M-AV1	Alamosa Alcona Acorn Knot / Sgt. George D Keathley Amador Anchor Bend Anchor Hitch Antrim Autauga Beaverhead Becket Bend / Private John F. Thorson Becket Hitch Bell Ringer / Captain Arlo L. Olson Beltrami Bight Knot Blackwall Hitch Blount Boatswain's Hitch Bowline Knot Brevard Bullock Buntline Hitch Cabell Cable Splice Caledonia Cape Somerset Cape Stanhope Capstan Knot Carrick Bend Cat's Paw Chain and Crown Charlevoix Chatham Check Knot / Sgt. Joseph E. Muller Chicot Cinch Knot Claiborne Clarion Clove Hitch Coastal Captain Coastal Charger Coastal Courser Coastal Crusader Coastal Guide / Sgt. George Peterson Coastal Mariner Coastal Monarch Coastal Monitor Coastal Rambler Coastal Ranger Coastal Telegrapher Codington Colquitt Craighead Crossing Hitch Crown and Diamond Crown Knot Diamond Hitch Diamond Knot Doddridge Double Loop Dragon Fly Duval Elmer J. Burr Emerald Knot Fairfield Faribault Fentress Fiador Knot Fisherman's Bend Flagler Flemish Knot Gadsden Glacier Grainger Grass Knot Gunner's Knot Gwinnett Habersham Half Hitch Half Knot Harold W. Roberts Hawser Bend Hawser Eye Hawser Splice Hennepin Herkimer Hickory Bay Hickory Beck Hickory Bourne Hickory Brae Hickory Brook Hickory Burn Hickory Cairn Hickory Cape Hickory Coll Hickory Crest Hickory Dale Hickory Dell Hickory Dyke Hickory Ghyll Hickory Glen Hickory Isle Hickory Knoll Hickory Lake Hickory Mount Hickory Stream Hickory Tarn Hickory Tor Hidalgo Honda Knot Hook Hitch Horseshoe Splice Jacob's Ladder Jumper Hitch Kenneth E. Gruennert / Grommet Reefer Kenosha Knob Knot Lancaster Lanyard Knot Leader Loop Lebanon Lehigh Lever's Bend Lewis Hall Link Splice / Sgt. Jonah E. Kelley Lock Knot Long Eye Long Splice / Private Frank J. Petrarca Loop Knot Magnus Hitch Maiden's Eye / Colonel William J. O'Brien Mainsheet Eye Manrope Knot Marengo Mariner's Splice Marline Hitch Marlingspike Hitch Masthead Knot Midland Minidoka Mooring Hitch Mooring Knot Muscatine Muskingum Nicollet Ocean Plat Pembina Pemiscot Phoebe Knot Pinellas Pipestone Pitkin Poinsett Pontotoc Reef Knot Reeving Eye Richland Rigger's Eye Ring Hitch Ring Knot Ring Splice Roband Hitch Rockdale Rolling Hitch Rose Knot Round Splice / Private Jose F. Valdez Running Knot Sailmaker's Splice Sailor's Splice Salmon Knot Sampan Hitch Schuyler Screven Sebastian Shamrock Knot Sheepshank Sheet Bend Shell Bar Short Splice Sinnet Snakehead Snug Hitch Somerset / Coastal Sentry Span Splice Spanish Bowline Spar Hitch Spindle Eye / Sgt. Curtis F. Shoup Spool Sinnet Square Knot Square Sinnet Star Knot Studding Sail Sussex Sword Knot Tag Knot Tapir Splice Tarrant Terminal Knot Thimble Eye Timber Hitch Tipton Traverse True Knot Tucked Bend Tulare Turk's Head Wall Knot Water Knot Westchester William G. Fournier William N. Nelson Yard Hitch

Type C1-M-AV7	Coastal Liberator

Type C1-M-AV8	Crossing Knot Flat Knot Marline Bend Persian Knot Single Hitch Solid Sinnet

Type C1-MT-BU1	Arizona Pine California Redwood Oregon Fir Washington Cedar

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