CHARLES H DAVIS T-AGOR 5

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Robert D. Conrad Class Oceanographic Research Ship Keel Laid 15 June 1961 - Launched 30 June 1962 Delivered to the Navy 25 January 1963 USNS CHARLES H. DAVIS T-AGOR-5 Placed in service 25 January 1963 Placed out of service in the mid-1960s HMNZS TUI A-2 (New Zealand Naval Service) Transferred (Loaned) 28 July 1970 to New Zealand & renamed HMNZS TUI A-5 (New Zealand Naval Service) Renumbered A-5 (Date Unknown) Struck from the Naval Register 1 October 1997 Decommissioned by the New Zealand Navy 18 February 1998 Sunk as an artificial reef for recreational diving 20 February 1999 off Tutukaka NZ

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

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1. USNS Charles H. Davis T-AGOR-5 Covers Page 1     (DATE RANGE)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

USPO Machine Postmark Pago Pago, Samoa

1969-03-18

Ship had no postal facilities.

 

Other Information

NAMESAKE - Rear Admiral Charles Henry Davis, USN (January 16, 1807 – February 18, 1877)
        Davis served primarily during the American Civil War and with the United States Coast Survey. He was commissioned as a Midshipman on August 12, 1823. Between 1827 and 1828, he served on board the frigate the USS United States, in the Pacific. In 1829, he was promoted to Passed Midshipman. From 1830 to 1833, he served on the sloop the USS Ontario. In 1834, he was promoted to Lieutenant and assigned to the USS Vincennes. In 1840 to 1841, he served on board the USS Independence. From 1846 to 1849, he worked in the United States Coast Survey on board the USS Nantucket, where he discovered a previously unknown shoal that had caused shipwrecks off the coast of New York. During his service to the Survey, he was also responsible for researching tides and currents and acted as an inspector on a number of naval shipyards. In 1854, he was promoted to Commander and given the command of the USS St. Mary's. In 1859, while commanding the St. Mary's, Davis was ordered to go to Baker's Island to obtain samples of guano, becoming perhaps the first American to set foot there since it was annexed by the United States in 1857. The guano was necessary as fertilizer. Commodore William Mervine had previously been sent, but he did not land and believed the island to be inaccessible. (From evidence that was later found on the island, it had been visited prior to 1857 by whalers.)
        In 1861, he was promoted to Captain. In the American Civil War, he was given command of the Mississippi Flotilla and fought a short battle with Confederate ships near Fort Pillow on May 11, 1862. Three of their eight attacking ships were disabled with only minor damage to one of the defending Union ships. On June 8, he fought in the Battle of Memphis, resulting in Davis delivering the demand to surrender (which was accepted) to the troops there. In July, he fought in the Battle of Vicksburg, but was forced to withdraw. (At this time, he was also promoted to Commodore.) In August, he proceeded up the Yazoo River and successfully seized Confederate supplies and munitions there. After this excursion, he was made Chief of the Bureau of Navigation and returned to Washington, D.C.. On February 7, 1863, he was promoted to Rear Admiral. From 1865 to 1867, he was the Superintendent of the United States Naval Observatory. In 1867, he was given command of the South Atlantic squadron and was given the USS Guerriere as his flagship. In 1869, he returned home and served both on the Lighthouse Board as well as in the Naval Observatory.

Four ships of the US Navy are named in his honor - USS Davis TB-12, USS Davis DD-65, USS Davis DD-395 and USNS Charles H. Davis T-AGOR-5.

 

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