The USS Georgetown (AGTR-2/AG-165) was an Oxford-class technical research vessel originally built as a Liberty-type cargo ship named SS Robert W. Hart. Laid down on May 4, 1945, by the New England Shipbuilding Corporation in South Portland, Maine, she was launched on July 10, 1945, and delivered to the War Shipping Administration for commercial service in August of that year. Initially serving in the merchant navy, she was part of the post-World War II effort, including a period as a livestock ship known as a "cowboy ship." During this time, she transported horses, mules, heifers, chicks, rabbits, and goats to war-torn countries as part of relief efforts by organizations like the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and the Church of the Brethren, with about 360 trips across the Atlantic. In 1962, the vessel was acquired by the U.S. Navy and taken to Newport News Shipbuilding for conversion into a specialized electronic eavesdropping platform. She was renamed USS Georgetown (AG-165) in March 1963 and commissioned in November of that year. Her conversion included installing advanced electronic listening devices, enabling her to serve as a seaborne intelligence-gathering platform on behalf of the NSA, with a crew of over 250 security-cleared personnel. The vessel’s operational career began in early 1964, with shakedown training at Guantanamo Bay. She was reclassified as AGTR-2 in April 1964 and operated predominantly in the Caribbean, South America, and the Southeast Pacific, including off the coast of Chile. Her missions involved extensive communications intelligence gathering, including near Havana, Cuba, where she performed clandestine eavesdropping operations. Notably, she was equipped with a Communication Moon Relay System, allowing instant transmission of intelligence to NSA headquarters. Throughout 1964 and 1965, Georgetown undertook multiple deployments, conducted rescue operations for Cuban refugees, transited the Panama Canal multiple times, and weathered a hurricane. Her service was recognized with the Battle Efficiency "E." In 1970, she was sold to a Dutch firm and subsequently scrapped. The USS Georgetown played a significant role in Cold War maritime intelligence operations, utilizing her converted merchant ship hull for covert electronic surveillance.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.