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39-581: Rose Knot was one of a series of smaller cargo vessels intended for coastal or short routes. The ship was a Maritime Commission (MC) type C1-M-AV1 cargo vessel built by the Pennsylvania Shipyard Inc., Beaumont, Texas as MC hull 2335, yard number 334, official number 247277, was completed and delivered to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) ON 5 May 1945. The C1-M-AV1 ships were named either for types of knots or with "Coastal" being

78-492: A large number built for lend-lease were also given two-word names, this time beginning with "Hickory". About 65 of this subtype were complete for the U.S. Navy , like the USS Gadsden built by Walter Butler Shipyard . Those ships were generally named after counties in the U.S. C1-M-AV1 ships are a Alamosa -class cargo ships . One C1-ME-AV6 (also called C1-M-AV7 ) subype was built, MS  Coastal Liberator . Instead of

117-827: A pleasure to operate and the workmanship outstanding. Converted to Troop Ships 4 Modified and redesignated (to United States Navy ) The Type C1-B ships were built in eight different yards, all but 15 in West Coast yards, all but 20 in California, the majority at Consolidated Steel Corporation in Wilmington, California . All but ten of the C1-B ships had steam turbine engines; the diesels were all built at Seattle-Tacoma SB Corp. , Tacoma, Washington and Western Pipe & Steel , San Francisco, California, with each producing five ships. The C1-B were full scantling ships with three decks in which

156-641: A primary tracking station (call sign RKV) off the coast of Peru. During Gemini 8 , with Neil Armstrong and David Scott practice-docking with an Agena target vehicle in tests for the Moon missions, the crewed capsule was closing with the Agena over the Pacific and was given the go through communications with Rose Knot . Docking was successful, but the Gemini had to separate and went into a dangerous uncontrolled spin. Armstrong brought

195-401: A reduction gear-box. They were manufactured by Nordberg Manufacturing Company . The engine speed was 220 rpm and the shaft 110 rpm. This configuration made maneuvering very easy when entering port, as one engine was run in reverse and the other ahead; change of direction was simply performed by energizing the appropriate magnetic coupling. All auxiliary equipment was electric. The engine room was

234-528: A significantly smaller and shallower draft vessel. This design evolved as an answer to the projected needs for military transport and supply of the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II . Type C1 ships under the control of the British Ministry of War Transport took an Empire name even if built with another name e.g. Cape Turner . The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an agency of

273-409: A single reduction gearset via magnetic couplings , in the same family as the system used on various C3 ships where four such engines were coupled to one gearset for a total of 8,000 hp. The C1-M variant used diesel propulsion exclusively, but only a single 2,000 hp range engine and without magnetic couplings. All turbines and diesel engines were sourced from a variety of manufacturers. With

312-484: A variable-pitch propeller. Only one ship was planned as this type, but five previously launched C1-M-AV1 ships were converted to this type for France. Modified and redesignated Many of these ships have been sold and scrapped but numerous examples are still in service with Non Governmental Organizations (NGO)s such as "Friend Ships". That organization used the ex " Pembina " built in Superior Wisconsin and renamed

351-451: A very light upper deck, the sides of which are open ports to the second or main deck. The first keels were laid in 1939. Two of the Pusey and Jones ships were converted to PT boat tenders before entering service, including USS  Cyrene . Some of the diesel vessels were powered by 2, 6-cylinder Nordberg 2-stroke engines (Sulzer type) driving the single shaft via magnetic couplings and

390-468: Is an example of a C1-M ship. The C1-M-AV1 subtype, a general cargo ship with one large diesel engine, was the most numerous. About 215 of this type were built in ten different shipyards. Consolidated Steel Corp., Ltd. of Wilmington, California built the largest number – about a quarter of all built. These ships were either named for knots , such as MS  Acorn Knot , or with a two-word name beginning with "Coastal", such as MS  Coastal Sentry ;

429-447: Is the island's highest point at 346 m above sea level. The volcanic soil and tropical climate with abundant rainfall make the soil productive. The average temperature ranges from 19 to 24°C. The annual rainfall is 1,800 mm. Indigenous fauna consists of insects and lizards. Since their introduction, rats have become an invasive species . A large number of seabirds nest along the steep shorelines. As coral reefs are absent, fishing

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468-631: The Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida . Rose Knot operated in the intercontinental ballistic missile re-entry area near Ascension Island , and was home-ported out of Recife, Brazil . Rose Knot was placed in custody of the Suisun Bay reserve fleet on 26 March and permanently transferred 25 October 1968. The ship was sold to King Industrial Development Corporation for non-transportation use for $ 76,011 on 28 June 1977 with

507-845: The General Engineering & Dry Dock Company , the Tampa Shipbuilding and Engineering Company , the Newburgh Shipbuilding and Repair Company of New York, the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company , the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company . Bids (for either C1-A or C1-B in either steam of diesel variants) were opened on 11 July 1939. Pusey and Jones successfully bid on 2 C1-A ships. Contracts were awarded in September 1939. Two of these early-built ships joined

546-483: The Pitcairn Islands , in the southern Pacific Ocean , of which many inhabitants are descendants of mutineers of HMS Bounty . The island is of volcanic origin, with a rugged cliff coastline. Unlike many other South Pacific islands, it is not surrounded by coral reefs that protect the coast. The only access to the island is via a small pier on Bounty Bay . Adamstown is the sole settlement. Pawala Valley Ridge

585-402: The "Spirit of Grace" until she was removed in 2006 and scrapped in 2008. Several are sailing in merchant service around the world making port calls and delivering cargo. Note any ship in the control of the British Ministry of War Transport took an Empire name even if being built as another name e.g. Cape Turner Pitcairn Island Pitcairn Island is the only inhabited island of

624-565: The Liberty and Victory ships. The first C series vessels were designed prior to hostilities and were meant to be commercially viable ships to modernize the US Merchant Marine, and reduce the US reliance on foreign shipping. The Liberty ships were a throwback to late 19th century British designs with reciprocating steam engines, but were very cheap to build in large quantities; Victory ships evolved from

663-412: The Liberty ships but used modern turbine engines. The C series ships were more expensive to produce, but their economic viability lasted well into the late 1960s and early 1970s in military and merchant fleets. Several ships are still in operation. The Type C1-A and C1-B ships were similar in design, All had a rated top speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph). The primary difference between them

702-599: The Maritime Commission. For Seattle-Tacoma , the C1-B contract prompted the reopening (and rebuilding) of the Tacoma yard. Consolidated Steel entered the shipbuilding business in 1939. Timing makes these ship constructions interesting, as they were on slipways when the U.S. shipbuilding industry was going through the transition of 1940/1941 towards war time production and many ships, whether afloat or building, were reassigned to fulfill new duties. Unsuccessful bids were made by

741-659: The Olympia fleet. Title to the ship was transferred to the U.S. Air Force on 1 April 1957 and, after conversion, which operation as a range instrumentation ship under Commander, USAF Eastern Test Range (AFETR). The range and its facilities were operated by Pan American World Services and RCA under contract. On 1 July 1964 the USAF tracking ships were transferred to the custody of the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) for operation. MSTS had administrative control of

780-596: The United States government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 , passed by Congress on 29 June 1936 and replaced the U.S. Shipping Board which had existed since World War I . It was intended to formulate a merchant shipbuilding program to design and build five hundred modern merchant cargo ships to supplement and replace the World War I vintage vessels, including Hog Islander ships, that comprised

819-414: The bulk of the U.S. Merchant Marine . These old standardized ship designs ranged in size from 5,075dwt to 7,500dwt , 8,800dwt and 9,600dwt for the most common mass-produced types. They either had steam turbines or triple expansion engines, burning oil their boilers. None of the World War I standard designs had diesel engines. From 1939 through the end of World War II , MARCOM funded and administered

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858-680: The capsule under control, and an emergency recovery was made off Okinawa . An example of the ship's command control function was seen during Gemini 9 when commands sent from the ship disarmed a bus inadvertently left on after the capsule lost signal with the Hawaii ground control station. Rose Knot , assigned to the South Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean area, provided the Air Force with metric data on intercontinental ballistic missiles launched from

897-615: The diesel engine direct drive of the AV1 subtypes, it used diesel-electric drive. The diesel engine powered a generator to produce electricity, and an electric motor with 2,200 horsepower (1,600 kW) actually powered the vessel. Four of the C1-MT-BU1 subtype were built as lumber carriers, with twin screws. The lumber carriers were given U.S. State-and-tree names, such as MS  California Redwood . Built by Albina Engine & Machine Works , Portland, Oregon. The final subtype, C1-M-AV8 , had

936-679: The exception of ships built for specific shipping lines before the war, the majority of the C1-A and C1-B ships were given two-word names beginning with "Cape", such as SS  Cape Hatteras . Forty-six Type C1-A ships were built at Pennsylvania Shipyards, Inc. in Beaumont, Texas , with another 19 being built by Pusey and Jones in Wilmington, Delaware (not to be confused with Consolidated Steel 's Wilmington, California location). The majority were built with diesel motors, though 19 were built with steam turbine engines. These were shelter deck ships, having

975-459: The first part of the name. Rose Knot is a type of decorative knot. As built the standard C1-M-AV1 cargo ship was 338 ft 8 in (103.2 m) length overall, 50 ft (15.2 m) molded beam, with a molded depth of 20 ft (6.1 m). The vessel was 3,800  GRT , 5,100  DWT with 21 ft (6.4 m) loaded draft. A 1,700 shaft horsepower diesel gave a design speed of 10.5 kn (12.1 mph; 19.4 km/h). The ship

1014-599: The frames hold the same dimensions as the upper deck. Full scantling ships have deck gear sufficient to completely unload their cargoes. A C1-B example and perhaps the most well-known was the SS ; Flying Enterprise . In 1939, under the Long Range Shipbuilding Program , contracts for 38 ships in batches of 2 to 5 vessels were awarded after one round of competitive bidding. Bethlehem San Francisco and Bethlehem Staten Island only produced on this occasion for

1053-473: The largest and most successful merchant shipbuilding effort in world history, producing thousands of ships, including Liberty ships , Victory ships , and others, notably type C1 ships, type C2 ships , type C3 ships , type C4 ships , T2 tankers , Landing Ship Tank (LST)s and patrol frigates . By the end of the war, U.S. shipyards working under MARCOM contracts had built a total of 5,777 oceangoing merchant and naval ships. The C series of ships differed from

1092-518: The same type of agreement. On 17 June 1947, now under the Maritime Commission , the ship was under bareboat charter. Pacific-Atlantic Steamship Company began operating the ship 10 December 1948 again under a general agency agreement until the ship was laid up in the Astoria, Oregon reserve fleet on 3 January 1949. Pacific Atlantic again operated the ship from 19 November 1951 to 11 February 1954 when

1131-465: The ship again went into the Astoria reserve fleet. On 11 May 1955, the ship came out of reserve for brief operation by the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) through a general agency agreement by West Coast Trans-Oceanic Steamship until 27 October when the ship entered the Olympia, Washington reserve fleet. Rose Knot was briefly back in service under MSTS agreement with West Coast Steamship Company on 18 June through 8 August 1956 when it reentered

1170-581: The ship delivered to the buyer 4 August. The MARAD vessel status card has a note dated 2 December 1987 that MARAD approved the sale of Rose Knot by Shipowners, Inc., Bainbridge, Washington for scrapping in China. Type C1 ship#C1-M Type C1 was a designation for cargo ships built for the United States Maritime Commission before and during World War II . Total production was 493 ships built from 1940 to 1945. The first C1 types were

1209-561: The ship launching parade of the Liberty Fleet Day on 27 September 1941. after the Emergency Shipbuilding Program picked up momentum, Consolidated Steel remained the only manufacturer of the C1-B type. Converted to Troop Ships (all steam turbine driven) 7 Modified and redesignated (to United States Navy ) (all steam turbine driven) The C1-S-AY1 subtype of thirteen ships built by Consolidated Steel Corporation

USNS Rose Knot - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-721: The ships and operational control when the ships were in port. AFETR had operational control when the ships were at sea. At the time of the transfer USNS Rose Knot and USNS  Coastal Sentry were to be assigned to Project Gemini . The ship was one of six C1-M-AV1 type vessels joining six converted U.S. Army Freight and Supply (FS) type vessels already supporting missile tests, at the time largely jet-propelled subsonic cruise missiles. The FS tracking ships, also known as Ocean Range Vessels (ORV), were nameless, only having their Army FS numeric designations, and had been given phonetic names. In keeping with that practice USAF Rose Knot , designated E-45-1850 beginning conversion during May 1960,

1287-502: The ships were launched as and by which name they were known to the Maritime Commission . The diesel (M for Motor) powered C1-M Type ships were a separate design from the C1-A and C1-B, meant for shorter runs and shallow harbors, either along the coasts, or for "island hopping" in the Pacific . These ships were shorter, narrower, and had less draft than the earlier C1 designs, and were rated at only 11 knots (20 km/h). USS  Alamosa

1326-416: The smallest of the three original Maritime Commission designs, meant for shorter routes where high speed and capacity were less important. Only a handful were delivered prior to Pearl Harbor . But many C1-A and C1-B ships were already in the works and were delivered during 1942. Many were converted to military purposes including troop transports during the war. The Type C1-M ship was a separate design, for

1365-406: Was given the range call sign 'Victor" and is sometimes seen as Rose Knot Victor , abbreviated as RKV, in range and NASA documents. Rose Knot was one of two ships, the other being Coastal Sentry , assigned to Project Mercury specifically converted to include the tracking equipment and a command transmitter to support human spaceflight as a part of the surface Mercury tracking network. The ship

1404-529: Was modified from the C1-B design for use as troopships by Great Britain under lend-lease called Landing Ship Infantry, Large and they were originally ordered as troopships. These ships were all given two-word names beginning with "Empire", such as SS Empire Spearhead . Empire Broadsword was lost at the Normandy Invasion , to a mine. Empire Javelin was sunk by a torpedo from a German U-boat on 28 December 1944. The original Cape names are what

1443-450: Was owned by the U.S. government and operated by government agencies or their agents until sold for non-transportation use 21 June 1977. Rose Knot was placed in operation by the War Shipping Administration for operation by commercial entities under agreement or charter from 5 May 1945 until 11 May 1955. Lykes Brothers operated the ship under a general agency agreement until 22 April 1946 when Alaska Steamship Company began operation under

1482-681: Was that C1-A ships were shelter deck ships, while C1-B ships were full scantling ships. The C1-M was the type with the largest production; it was a significant variation from the original C1 design in size, performance and profile; these were shorter, narrower, slower and the superstructure was farther toward the stern. The C-1 (A and B variants) employed two kind of propulsion systems. One group comprising 19 C1-A, 85 C1-B and all 13 C1-S-AY1 used 4,000 hp compound turbines (one high pressure and one low pressure turbine) and turbo-electric generators for auxiliary power. The other group of 46 C1-A and 10 C1-B used two 2,000 hp diesel engines connected to

1521-552: Was usually stationed in the Atlantic but also operated in the Pacific. The ship functioned as a telemetry station located off the coast of Africa at 5N 10W for Mercury-Atlas 6 , the February 20, 1962, mission in which John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth. For Gordon Cooper 's May 15–16, 1963, Mercury-Atlas 9 orbital mission, the ship was stationed in the Pacific near Pitcairn Island . For Project Gemini , it served as

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