USNS Twin Falls ( T - AGM - 11 ) SS " Twin Falls Victory , named after Twin Falls , Idaho , was a Victory ship built for World War II . Converted to a Missile Range Instrumentation Ship , she was initially operated by the US Air Force as USAF " Twin Falls Victory , before coming under US Navy control and being named USNS " Twin Falls " ( T - AGM - 11 / T - AGS - 37 ) . She later had a third career as the training ship SS " John W . Brown II " . History . " Twin Falls Victory " was laid down under a Maritime Commission contract ( MCV hull 167 ) on 27 December 1944 at Portland , Oregon , by the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation ; launched on 6 February 1945 ; sponsored by Mrs . J . B . Pfietor ; and delivered to Pope & Talbot , Inc . , of Portland , Oreg . , the first of several companies to operate her under contract with the War Shipping Administration . Korean War . From 1950 - 1953 , " Twin Falls Victory " was operated by States Marine Corporation . During the Korean War she participated in the Inchon Landing s and Hungnam Evacuation , making her merchant marine crew eligible for the Korean Service Medal and the United Nations Service Medal . By April 1958 , she was out of service and laid up with the National Defense Reserve Fleet at its berthing area on the James River in Virginia . Missile range instrumentation ship . On 24 March 1960 " Twin Falls Victory " was withdrawn from James River and delivered to the Air Force . She was converted to a missile range instrumentation ship and served as part of the Eastern Test Range The U . S . Army had funded the purchase under the Pershing Missile Project for the Atlantic Missile Range to prove the aiming accuracy of the Pershing missile . The ship was modified by equipping it with special navigation systems , AN / FPS - 16 monopulse missile tracking radar , telemetry receiving equipment , AN / SPN - 8 splash detection radar , AN / GMD - 1A Rawinsonde tracking equipment and a balloon hangar , to house a Kytoon tethered blimp and as a weather balloon inflation shelter . The ship eventually was delivered to the Atlantic Missile Range and operated by merchant marine crewmen and contractor technical staff . Pan American World Airways and its subcontractor RCA MTP operated the radar , telemetry , navigation and weather instrumentation aboard the ship . The ship was operated under the name USAF Twin Falls Victory until turned over to MSTS on 1 July 1964 at which time the ship was redesignated T - AGM - 11 " Twin Falls " and continued to serve as a mobile tracking platform for recording data on missile s and satellites that were out of range of land - based tracking station s . On 15 May 1963 , she was positioned approximately 350 miles ( 560 km ) ESE of Savannah , Georgia ( near ) as part of Project Mercury , to track Gordon Cooper ' s extended MA - 9 mission . In October 1969 , the Air Force determined that " Twin Falls " was no longer necessary to its mission . Placed in custody of the Maritime Administration ( MARAD ) on 22 May 1970 , she was slated for disposal . On 26 April 1971 , the Navy recalled her for " possible use as a survey ship " . Presumably this was when she was redesignated T - AGS - 37 . Her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 6 November 1972 . Training ship . Ex - " Twin Falls " was returned to MARAD on 2 November for " simultaneous transfer " to the New York City Board of Education on 6 November . Renamed SS " John W . Brown II " , she served as a training facility for that city ' s Food and Maritime Trade High School . She was returned to MARAD on 8 June 1982 . Fate . " Twin Falls " was withdrawn from MARAD on 30 June 1982 by Union Minerals & Alloys Corporation . She was scrapped in 1983 . Her builders plate remains in MARAD ' s artifact collection .