USNS Sands (T-AGOR-6)

For other ships of the same name, see USS Sands.

AlternateTextHere USNS Sands pierside, outboard of USNS Lynch (T-AGOR-7)
Career (United States)
Name:	USS Sands
Namesake:	Rear Admiral Benjamin F. Sands and his son Rear Admiral James H. Sands
Builder:	Marietta Manufacturing. Company, Point Pleasant, West Virginia
Laid down:	23 August 1962
Launched:	14 September 1963
Sponsored by:	Miss Priscilla G. Sands
Acquired:	by the Navy, 2 February 1965
In service:	2 February 1965 as USNS Sands (T-AGOR-6)
Out of service:	1973
Fate:	transferred to Brazil, 5 December 1990
Career (Brazil)
Name:	Almirante Camara (H41)
Acquired:	5 December 1990
General characteristics
Type:	Robert D. Conrad-class oceanographic research ship
Tonnage:	1,200 tons
Tons burthen:	1,370 tons
Length:	209'
Beam:	40'
Draft:	16'
Propulsion:	diesel-electric, single propeller, 2,500shp, retractable azimuth-compensating bow thruster
Speed:	12 knots
Complement:	23 civilian mariners, 38 scientists
Armament:	none

USS Sands (T-AGOR-6) a Robert D. Conrad-class oceanographic research ship that served the U.S. Navy from 1965 to 1973. During that period she provided valuable ocean-bottom information and underwater test data to the U.S. Navy and other U.S. agencies.

Built at Point Pleasant, West Virginia

The second ship to be so named by the Navy, Sands (AGOR-6) was laid down on 23 August 1962 by the Marietta Manufacturing Co., Point Pleasant, West Virginia; launched on 14 September 1963; sponsored by Miss Priscilla G. Sands; and accepted by the Navy and placed in service under Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) control on 2 February 1965, Capt. George W. Fladerer, Master.

Navy oceanographic service

Manned by a Civil Service crew, the United States Naval Ship Sands was operated in the Atlantic Ocean by the Military Sealift Command (formerly MSTS) for the Naval Oceanographic Office.

Until being placed out of service, in reserve, in April 1973, Sands performed oceanographic and marine geophysical research and conducted experiments in underwater sound propagation.

Inactivation and transfer to Brazil

In 1973, Sands was placed out of service. She was struck from the Navy list on an unknown date, and, on 5 December 1990, she was transferred to Brazil and was renamed Almirante Camara (H-41).

See also

• United States Navy

References

• This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - T-AGOR-6 Sands