USS Searcher

	USS Searcher (AGR-4), underway, 9 September 1960, location unknown.
History
United States
Name	James W. Wheeler
Namesake	James W. Wheeler
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Calmar Steamship Company
Ordered	as type (EC2-S-C5) hull, MC hull 2338
Builder	J.A. Jones Construction, Panama City, Florida
Cost	$1,127,547
Yard number	79
Way number	1
Laid down	11 December 1944
Launched	23 January 1945
Sponsored by	Mrs. R. D. Turnage
Completed	5 February 1945
Identification	Call sign: ANFD; ;
Fate	Placed in the, James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 29 October 1945; Withdrawn from reserve fleet and leased to Grace Lines Inc., 4 February 1947;
Fate	Placed in the, National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, North Carolina, 1 October 1947; Acquired by US Navy, 15 September 1954;
United States
Name	Searcher
Commissioned	2 April 1955
Decommissioned	1 July 1965
Reclassified	Guardian-class radar picket ship
Refit	Charleston Naval Shipyard, Charleston, South Carolina
Stricken	1 July 1965
Identification	Hull symbol: YAGR-4 (1956–1958); Hull symbol: AGR-4 (1958–1970);
Fate	Placed in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Hudson River Reserve Fleet, Jones Point, New York; Sold for scrapping, delivered, 31 May 1970;
General characteristics
Class & type	Liberty ship; type EC2-S-C5, boxed aircraft transport;
Tonnage	10,600 LT DWT; 7,200 GRT;
Displacement	3,380 long tons (3,434 t) (light); 14,245 long tons (14,474 t) (max);
Length	441 feet 6 inches (135 m) oa; 416 feet (127 m) pp; 427 feet (130 m) lwl;
Beam	57 feet (17 m)
Draft	27 ft 9.25 in (8.4646 m)
Installed power	2 × Oil fired 450 °F (232 °C) boilers, operating at 220 psi (1,500 kPa); 2,500 hp (1,900 kW);
Propulsion	1 × triple-expansion steam engine, (manufactured by Joshua Hendy Iron Works, Sunnyvale, California); 1 × screw propeller;
Speed	11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Capacity	490,000 cubic feet (13,875 m3) (bale)
Complement	38–62 USMM; 21–40 USNAG;
Armament	Varied by ship; Bow-mounted 3-inch (76 mm)/50-caliber gun; Stern-mounted 4-inch (102 mm)/50-caliber gun; 2–8 × single 20-millimeter (0.79 in) Oerlikon anti-aircraft (AA) cannons and/or,; 2–8 × 37-millimeter (1.46 in) M1 AA guns;
General characteristics (US Navy refit)
Class & type	Guardian-class radar picket ship
Capacity	443,646 US gallons (1,679,383 L; 369,413 imp gal) (fuel oil); 68,267 US gallons (258,419 L; 56,844 imp gal) (diesel); 15,082 US gallons (57,092 L; 12,558 imp gal) (fresh water); 1,326,657 US gallons (5,021,943 L; 1,104,673 imp gal) (fresh water ballast);
Complement	13 officers; 138 enlisted;
Armament	2 × 3 inches (76 mm)/50 caliber guns

USS Searcher (YAGR/AGR-4) was a Guardian-class radar picket ship, converted from a Liberty Ship, acquired by the US Navy in 1954. She was obtained from the National Defense Reserve Fleet and reconfigured as a radar picket ship and assigned to radar picket duty in the North Atlantic Ocean as part of the Distant Early Warning Line.