"Dutton" was operated by the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office for the U.S. Navy Office of Special Projects in support of the U.S. Navy Fleet Ballistic Missile Program. Three ships were converted for this purpose: "Dutton", and identical sister ships, and . "Dutton" participated in the recovery effort of the 1966 Palomares B-52 crash from January through April 1966.