| Banner-class environmental research ship | |
|---|---|
| Class overview | |
| Name: | Banner-class Environmental Research Ship |
| Operators: |
 United States Navy |
| Subclasses: | None |
| Built: | 1944 |
| In service: | 1945-1969 |
| Completed: | 3 |
| Active: | 0 |
| Lost: | 1 |
| Retired: | 1 |
| Preserved: | 1 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type: |
(As Built) Army Freight and Supply (FS) (Initial Navy) Camano-class Light Cargo Ship (AKL) (As Converted) Banner-class Enviromental Research Ship |
| Type: | Spy Ship |
| Displacement: | 550 tons light, 895 tons full, 345 tons dead |
| Length: | 177 ft (54 m) |
| Beam: | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Draft: | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
| Propulsion: | Two 500hp GM Cleveland Division 6-278A 6-cyl V6 Diesel engines |
| Speed: | 12.7 knots (23.5 km/h) |
| Complement: | 83 as AGER |
| Armament: | 2 × M2 Browning .50-caliber machine guns,small arms |
| Armor: | None |
| Aircraft carried: | None |
| Aviation facilities: | None |
The Banner-class Electronic Research Ships were converted Camano-class Light Cargo Ships of the Late-WW2 Era. Originally U.S. Army Vessels, a total of three were converted as Electronic Research vessels, or, AGER's. Although officially named "Enviromental Research Ships", in reality, they were converted as SIGINT Communication Intel-Gathering Vessels as part of the AGER Program in the 1960's.
Notable Ships[]
On 23 January 1968,USS Pueblo (AGER-2) was attacked, boarded, and seized by North Korean forces while in, according to U.S. officials, International Waters. As of 2015, Pueblo is a tourist attraction in Pyongyang, North Korea since being moved to the Taedong River.[30] Pueblo used to be anchored at the spot where it is believed the General Sherman incident took place in 1866. In late November 2012 Pueblo was moved from the Taedong river dock to a casement on the Botong river next to the new Fatherland War of Liberation Museum. The ship was renovated and made open to tourists with an accompanying video of the North Korean perspective in late July 2013. To commemorate the anniversary of the Korean War, the ship had a new layer of paint added and was put on display at a museum.[31] The ship is currently located at 38°59.4683 N 125°43.5173 E.
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