USNS Watertown

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USNS Watertown (T-AGM-6) started life as SS Niantic Victory, a WWII Victory ship built in Portland, Oregon. Niantic Victory was laid down on February 12, 1944, launched on April 25, 1944, and completed on May 18, 1944. She carried cargo for the war effort and later for postwar programs before being placed in reserve in 1948.

In 1960, she was transferred to the U.S. Navy and converted into a missile range instrumentation ship. Renamed USNS Watertown (T-AGM-6), she was the lead ship of the Watertown class and served for 11 years in the Pacific, helping track missiles and space missions for NASA and the U.S. Air Force's Western Missile Test Range.

Watertown was taken out of service in 1971 and struck from the Navy List in early 1971 (with some records noting 1972). She was sold for scrap in 1974 and sent to Pusan, South Korea, for dismantling.

Key facts:
- Class/type: Watertown-class missile range instrumentation ship (VC2-S-AP2)
- Built: Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation, Portland
- Original name: Niantic Victory
- Length: about 455 ft 3 in overall
- Beam: about 62 ft
- Draft: about 28 ft
- Power: 2 oil-fired boilers, 2 steam turbines
- Speed: 15 knots
- Role: Mobile tracking station for missiles and NASA spacecraft
- Service as Watertown: 1960–1971
- Fate: Scrapped in 1974 in South Korea