Martime Trivia

Photo Credit: Great Lakes Marine Collection of the Milwaukee Public Library and Wisconsin Marine Historical Society

I have blogged about this tid-bit before.

On this day in history; April 16, 1944, Kewaunee Shipbuilding and Engineering Corporation launched a small coastal freighter at its yard in Kewaunee, Wisconsin. 

Built for the Army Transportation Corps, she was originally designated FP-344, but that was later changed to FS-344. In 1966 FS-344 was transferred to the Navy and renamed USS PUEBLO. 

At the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard she was crammed with sophisticated electronic gear and converted to an Auxiliary General Environmental Research (AGER) vessel – a class recognized by few naval officers. PUEBLO (AGER-2) was a signals intelligence collector – a spy ship. Jointly operated by the National Security Agency and Naval Intelligence, she carried a crew of 83, 30 of which were communication technicians.