USS George Eastman ( YAG - 39 ) USS " George Eastman " ( YAG - 39 ) , a " Liberty - type " cargo ship , was laid down under Maritime Commission contract on 24 March 1943 by Permanente Metals Corp . , Yard 2 , Richmond , California ; launched on 20 April 1943 ; sponsored by Mrs . Ann Troutman ; and delivered under charter from War Shipping Administration to Pacific - Atlantic Steamship Co . , Vancouver , Washington , on 5 May 1943 . Merchant Cargo Carrier . She operated as a merchant cargo carrier until placed in the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay , California , on 24 June 1948 . Later taken out of reserve , she was chartered to Pacific Far East Line , Inc . , San Francisco , California , on 24 December 1951 and operated as a merchantman in the Far East during the Korean War . On 2 June 1952 she was transferred by the Maritime Administration to the custody of the U . S . Navy at Suisun Bay , California . Conversion to YAG - 39 . Acquired by the U . S . Navy on 2 April 1953 , she was designated YAG - 39 the following month . She was then fitted out with numerous scientific instruments , including nuclear detection and measurement devices , which enabled her to conduct contamination and fallout measurement tests after nuclear explosions . Manned by an experimental crew in a specially protected control cubicle , she also was fitted with electronic remote control gear that enabled her to serve as a robot ship . Supporting atomic testing in the Pacific . Following extensive conversion , YAG - 39 was placed in service at San Francisco , California , on 20 October 1953 , with Lt . Comdr . Hugh W . Anglin in command . Assigned to Joint Task Force 7 , she steamed to Eniwetok , Marshall Islands , where from March through May 1954 she participated in atomic tests at the Pacific Proving Grounds . During " Operation Castle " , a nuclear underwater test , she gathered fallout data and carried out experimental ship protection studies . After returning to San Francisco , California , she was placed out of service from June until February 1955 . In May , YAG - 39 again served with Joint Task Force 7 during " Operation Wigwam " , the deep underwater nuclear test carried out in the Eastern $ 3 . During the next 10 months she operated between the West Coast and Hawaii , and conducted various experimental tests before returning to Eniwetok on 8 April 1956 to participate in additional nuclear tests . From 21 May to 23 July she took part in four nuclear - proving tests and gathered scientific data to advance knowledge of the atom and the effects of nuclear fission . Departing Eniwetok on 28 July , YAG - 39 steamed via Pearl Harbor to San Francisco , California , where she arrived on 16 August . After receiving additional scientific equipment , she departed San Francisco on 6 February 1957 to resume experimental operations off the California coast . During the next few months she steamed with while testing advanced weapons and ship protection systems . Towed to San Diego , California , 21 October for inactivation , she was placed out of service on 1 November and assigned to the Pacific Reserve Fleet at San Diego . Project 112 and Project SHAD . Reactivated in 1962 , YAG - 39 commissioned at San Francisco , California , on 20 October , with Lt . Comdr . William G . Sternberg in command . With her sister ship , YAG - 40 , she departed San Francisco , California , on 15 November for Pearl Harbor , where she arrived 24 November for underway training . Assigned to Service Squadron 5 , she operated off Hawaii and carried out extensive experimental tests in the fields of ship protection systems and scientific warfare analysis . On 3 July 1963 she was assigned her former merchant name , " George Eastman " . From 1963 , USS " George Eastman " operated as a research ship between the Hawaiian Sea Frontier and the equatorial area of the mid - Pacific , providing valuable support for various scientific research and defense projects of the Department of Defense . She sailed to the West Coast in April 1966 for a three - month overhaul ; and , following her return to Pearl Harbor on 18 August , she resumed research cruises in Hawaiian waters . Her support activities continued through 1966 into 1967 . This ship participated in the U . S . Navy ' s Top Secret biological and chemical warfare testing program . Project SHAD , an acronym for Shipboard Hazard and Defense , was part of a larger effort called Project 112 , which was conducted during the 1960s . Project SHAD encompassed tests designed to identify U . S . warships ' vulnerabilities to attacks with chemical or biological warfare agents and to develop procedures to respond to such attacks while maintaining a war - fighting capability . from 1962 until 1972 when President Nixon officially discontinued the program . The USS " George Eastman " s sister ship , the also participated as a floating laboratory and administrative command ship in Project SHAD along with 5 L . T . Tugboats , a submarine and aircraft . Sarin and VX nerve gas were sprayed on the USS George Eastman by the tugs and aircraft as well as ecoli , simulants for biological and chemical agents such as anthrax and a number of other diseases , tracers and mosquitoes . USS " George Eastman " directly participated in the following Project 112 / Project SHAD tests : Decommissioning . USS " George Eastman " was decommissioned ( date unknown ) ; struck From the Naval Register ( date unknown ) ; disposed of by MARAD sale , on 1 July 1976 ; and , final disposition , scrapped in 1977 .