The USNS Huntsville (T-AGM-7) was a Watertown-class missile range instrumentation ship that served the United States Navy from 1960 until her decommissioning in 1974. Originally constructed as the SS Knox Victory, a Victory-class cargo ship built under a U.S. Maritime Commission contract, she was laid down on March 2, 1945, by Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation in Portland, Oregon. Launched on April 13, 1945, and sponsored by Mrs. Charles B. Gilbert, she was delivered to the War Shipping Administration on May 11, 1945, and operated as a merchant vessel under charter to the Olympic Steamship Company during World War II and afterward. In 1958, Knox Victory entered the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Washington. The U.S. Navy acquired her from the Maritime Administration on August 11, 1960, and she was renamed Huntsville, designated T-AGM-7, and assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service. Following conversion into a missile range instrumentation ship by Triple "A" Machine Shop, Inc., in San Francisco, she began her service in 1961 as a Pacific-based range tracking vessel, operating out of Port Hueneme, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii. Throughout her operational life, Huntsville conducted patrols across the Central Pacific, supporting America's space and missile programs, including tracking during the Apollo lunar missions. After a significant conversion at Avondale Shipyards from June 1965 to October 1966, she emerged as an improved sea-based tracking station, providing critical communication support during the Apollo program. Her missions extended to monitoring nuclear testing in the South Pacific, notably near Mururoa Atoll in 1974, where she spent approximately 90 days. Huntsville was struck from the Navy List on November 8, 1974, and placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. She was eventually sold in 1995, though her subsequent fate remains unknown. Her service highlights her crucial role in space exploration support, missile tracking, and nuclear test monitoring during a pivotal era of US maritime and space history.

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