USNS Coastal Crusader ( T - AGM - 16 ) USNS " Coastal Crusader " ( T - AGM - 16 ) was acquired by the United States Navy as a missile range instrumentation ship in 1964 . Originally , she was constructed at the end of World War II as USS " Wexford " ( AK - 220 ) and then renamed " Coastal Crusader " , but she was found to be excess - to - needs , and was sold for commercial use . She was later acquired by the U . S . Army which used her as Army transport USAT " Private Joe R . Hastings " . The ship was later acquired by the U . S . Air Force , and redesignated " Ocean Range Vessel " USAFS " Coastal Crusader " ( ORV - 16 ) . And , in 1964 , she was reacquired by the United States Navy and redesignated USNS " Coastal Crusader " ( T - AGM - 16 ) , a missile range instrumentation ship . The ship — eventually maintaining the name " Coastal Crusader " — had the distinction of serving the U . S . Army , the U . S . Air Force , and the U . S . Navy , as well as serving with her commercial sisters . Built in Wisconsin . " Coastal Crusader " — a C1 - M - AV1 cargo vessel — was laid down under a U . S . Maritime Commission contract ( MC hull 2174 ) on 12 April 1945 at Sturgeon Bay , Wisconsin , by the Leathern D . Smith Shipbuilding Co . ; launched on 24 June 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs . DeForrest Colburn ; and completed on 26 July 1945 . On 25 February 1945 , the Navy had assigned the name " Wexford " and the designation " AK - 220 " to the projected ship ; but the contract for her acquisition by the Navy was cancelled in August 1945 because of the cessation of hostilities in the Pacific Ocean and the surrender of Japan . " Coastal Crusader " thus entered mercantile service , never having borne the name " Wexford " . Service with the U . S . Army . The vessel was placed in service ( date unknown ) by the U . S . Army Transportation Service as USAT " Private Joe R . Hastings " . Service with the U . S . Air Force . " Coastal Sentry " was acquired by the U . S . Air Force which redesignated her " Ocean Range Vessel " USAFS " Coastal Crusader " ( ORV - 16 ) . She was used as a missile range instrumentation ship which operated on the U . S . Air Force ' s Eastern Test Range during the late 1950s and early 1960s . " Coastal Crusader " operated under an Air Force contract with Pan American Airways Guided Missile Range Division headquartered in Cocoa Beach , Florida . " Coastal Crusader " was assigned to the South Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean area , and provided the Air Force with metric data on intercontinental ballistic missile s launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station ( CCAFS ) in Florida . " Coastal Crusader " operated in the intercontinental ballistic missile re - entry area near Ascension Island , and was home - ported out of Recife , Brazil . Service with the U . S . Navy . When " Coastal Crusader " was acquired from the U . S . Air Force in 1964 , the Navy redesignated the ship as USNS " Coastal Crusader " ( T - AGM - 16 ) . Operational data while on U . S . Navy service during this period of the vessel ' s history is lacking . However , Navy records indicate " Coastal Crusader " was redesignated " Survey Ship " USS " Coastal Crusader " ( AGS - 36 ) in 1969 , and finally struck from the Navy List on 30 April 1976 . Inactivation . " Coastal Crusader " was subsequently sold by MARAD on 12 April 1977 . Her ultimate fate is not known .