The USNS Sagitta (T-AK-87), originally constructed as the Maritime Commission type N3-M-A1 cargo vessel MV Moses Pike, is a vessel with a notable service history, though it was never formally commissioned into the U.S. Navy. Launched on July 9, 1944, at the Penn-Jersey Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, New Jersey, the ship was sponsored by Mrs. Frank L. Hare. Shortly after launch, she was transferred to the U.S. Army for conversion into an Engineer Port Repair Ship, named Marvin Lyle Thomas, to assist in rehabilitating war-damaged ports during and after World War II. However, as one of the last ships converted for this purpose, she was operational too late to significantly participate in postwar port repairs. The vessel was transferred from the Army to Navy supervision on April 26, 1952, and operated as a civilian-crewed, unarmed USNS Sagitta under the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS). During her MSTS service from 1952 to 1959, she primarily functioned as a summer resupply ship supporting the Distant Early Warning (DEW) line outposts in Newfoundland, Labrador, Greenland, and the Northwest Territories. Her voyages included regular trips to St. Johns, Argentia, Goose Bay, Makkovick, Resolution Island, and Narsarsauk, as well as occasional transatlantic visits to Greece and Morocco. During the winter months, she transported cargo to Bermuda, Puerto Rico, the Panama Canal Zone, and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. On February 23, 1960, the Sagitta was transferred to the Maritime Administration and placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. In 1966, she was returned to the Army, serving as a training vessel at Fort Eustis, Virginia, and later at Bayboro Harbor, St. Petersburg, Florida, as USAV Resource, providing stevedore training. Ultimately, she was scrapped in 1976. Despite her limited combat role, Sagitta's service as a resupply and training vessel highlights her maritime significance during the Cold War era.

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