The USS Lookout (YAGR/AGR-2) was a Guardian-class radar picket ship, originally constructed as a Liberty Ship named Claude Kitchin. Laid down on April 5, 1945, by J.A. Jones Construction in Panama City, Florida, she was launched on May 24, 1945, and delivered to the United Fruit Company on June 25, 1945. Initially, she served in the commercial sector before being placed into the National Defense Reserve Fleet. In 1954, the U.S. Navy acquired her, and she underwent conversion into a radar picket ship at the Charleston Navy Yard. Commissioned as USS Lookout (YAGR-2) on March 5, 1955, she was reconfigured to serve as part of the continental air defense system during the Cold War. Her primary role involved radar picket duty, providing early warning of potential air attacks by operating on the Atlantic Ocean perimeter of the U.S. defense net. After her shakedown off Newport, Rhode Island, she was assigned to the 1st Naval District. Between 1956 and 1965, USS Lookout operated on the Atlantic, conducting patrols typically lasting 20 to 30 days at sea, with inport replenishments at Davisville, Rhode Island. Her classification was changed from YAGR to AGR on September 28, 1958, reflecting her evolving role within the radar defense network. By 1965, after a decade of service, she had contributed significantly to the nation’s early warning defenses. She arrived at Bayonne, New Jersey, in June 1965 and was decommissioned in July of that year. Her name was struck from the Naval Register on September 1, 1965, and she was transferred to the Hudson River Reserve Fleet. The vessel remained in reserve until she was sold for scrap in 1970 to a Spanish scrapping firm. The USS Lookout served as an integral part of Cold War maritime defense, representing the evolution of auxiliary ships from wartime cargo carriers to vital components of national security infrastructure.

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