S P Lee II AGS-31

S. P. Lee II

(AGS-31: dp. 1,297; 1. 208'4"; b. 39'; dr. 14'2"; s. 12
k.; cpl. 41; cl. Kellar)

The second S. P. Lee was laid down on 27 June 1966 by the Defoe Shipbuilding Co., Bay City, Mich.Launched on 19 October 1967, sponsored by Mrs. David Scull, great granddaughter of Admiral Lee; and was delivered to the Navy on 2 December 1968.

Although she had originally been intended to operate under the Oceanographer of the Navy, on 10 September 1968, S. P. Lee was placed under sponsorship of the Naval Underwater Research and Development Center, San Diego, Calif. Commanded by Capt. Paul L. Sinski, Master, the ship sailed to the Mediterranean and operated out of Naples conducting environmental acoustics tests for the 6th Fleet. For the next four years, but for a period in ready reserve status (7 April to 14 August 1972), she continued to conduct hydrographic operations for the Navy in both the Atlantic and Pacific. On 25 September 1970, the ship was reclassified AG-192. S. P. Lee was placed back in ready reserve status on 29 January 1973, and transferred to the United States Geological Survey on 27 February 1974.