USS Jamestown ( AGTR - 3 ) USS " Jamestown " ( AGTR - 3 / AG - 166 ) was an " Oxford " - class technical research ship acquired by the U . S . Navy for the task of conducting research in the reception of electromagnetic propagations . The third ship to be named " Jamestown " by the Navy , " AG - 166 " , a converted Liberty ship , was launched as J . Howland Gardner under Maritime Commission contract by New England Shipbuilding Corp . , South Portland , Maine , 10 July 1945 ; and sponsored by Mrs . George W . Elkins of Newport , Rhode Island . " Jamestown " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s commercial life at sea . The liberty ship was completed on 14 August and chartered under general agency agreement by Waterman Steamship Co . , until 17 June 1946 when she went into the Maritime Reserve Fleet . She was chartered by U . S . Navigation Co . , 3 February 1947 , and by South Atlantic Steamship Lines , 20 October 1948 . Acquired by the Navy as a technical research ship . " J . Howland Gardner " returned to Maritime Reserve Fleet at Beaumont , Texas . She was acquired there by the Navy 10 August 1962 : renamed " Jamestown " and designated " AG - 166 " on 6 March 1963 ; and commissioned 13 December at Norfolk Navy Yard , Comdr . Alan J . Kaplan in command . The technical research ship was assigned to Service Squadron 8 , Service Force , Atlantic Fleet , with Norfolk , Virginia , her home port . Her mission is " to conduct technical research operations in support of U . S . Navy electronic research projects , which include electromagnetic propagation studies and advanced communications systems such as satellite communications . " In actuality , from 1965 both the Jamestown and the USS " Oxford " had begun to undertake Signals Intelligence tasks in the waters off South Vietnam following a United States Intelligence Board decision in April , 1965 . The Oxford arriving in May , 1965 and the Jamestown in December . Until they were decommissioned in December , 1969 , these ships continued to act in that capacity , supplementing land based radio - intelligence monitoring of North and South Vietnamese and Cambodian VHF and HF communication nets . It can be extrapolated that communications from Thailand , Laos and China were also monitored where possible . This information was recently released under the Freedom of Information Act in the previously Top Secret NSA book " Cryptologic History Series , Southeast Asia , Focus on Cambodia " , January 1974 at Part One , page 59 . Preparing to evacuate personnel at Guantanamo . After fitting out at Norfolk , " Jamestown " departed 20 January 1964 for Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , where she underwent 2 weeks of intensive shakedown training . She was there when Cuban Fidel Castro shut off all fresh water to that base , and stood by ready to evacuate American families . Upon completion of shakedown training , she made brief visits to Kingston , Jamaica , and Key West , Florida , before returning to Norfolk 27 February . Exercising her " sea legs " . " Jamestown " was redesignated " AGTR - 3 " on 1 April and 8 days later departed on her first deployment visiting Gibraltar ; Valletta , Malta ; Aden ; Cape Town ; and Freetown , Sierra Leone , before returning Norfolk 17 August . The ensuing weeks were devoted to preparation for deployment off the African coast . She stood out of Norfolk 2 November for Dakar , Senegal , Cape Town , South Africa , and further service acquiring new knowledge in the vital field of electronic communications . " Jamestown " then returned to Norfolk 6 February 1965 . After operation in the Caribbean in the spring , she transited the Panama Canal for a cruise along the Pacific Coast of South America reaching Valparaíso , Chile , 9 June . She celebrated the Fourth of July at Callao . Peru , and then transited the Panama Canal , returning to Norfolk 23 July . Vietnam operations . Exactly 3 months later " Jamestown " got underway for the Far East and reached Subic Bay in the Philippines 29 December . She operated in the South China Sea gathering valuable information for the Navy ' s ships fighting to protect the independence of South Vietnam while adding to the long Navy tradition of serving the field of scientific research . She continued operating in the Far East , often operating in the Vietnam war zone , through mid - 1969 . " Jamestown " was decommissioned ( date unknown ) and scrapped in 1970 . Military awards and honors . Much of " Jamestown ' s " mission was classified and not reported in unclassified Navy journals . However , she and her crew earned nine battle star s for their efforts during the Vietnam crisis . The USS Jamestown was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation along with the USS Oxford ( AGTR - 1 ) . The citation reads ( in part ) " For meritorious service from 1 November 1965 to 30 June 1969 while participating in combat support operations in Southeast Asia . Through research and the compilation of extremely valuable technical data , USS Jamestown and USS Oxford contributed most significantly to the overall security of the United States and other Free World forces operating in support of the Republic of Vietnam . Signed E . R . Zumwalt , Admiral , USN , Chief of Naval Operations