Tanner (AGS 15) - Naval Cruise Book

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CAPTAIN ROBERT P. SMYTH

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USS NNER The USS TANNER was confmissioned a hydrographic survey ship in September 1946. At that time she began her ex- tensive task of charting the world's oceans. From her commissioning until :July 1966, TANNER operated in the At.. lantic and Mediterranean, surveying such areas as the coasts of South Amer.. ica, Greenland, Labrador, Greece, Tur- key, Bahama Islands, and the Persian Gulf. In July 1966 TANNER transited the Pananm Canal to her new homeport of Pearl Harbor,l-lawaii. Since her ar.. rival in the Pacific, she has had two deployments to the Western Pacific, both to survey Vietnamese waters. TANNER executes her primary mis.. sion of gathering hydrographic and geo- detic data for navigational charts by use of on board complex electronic equipment, and four sounding boats, equipped similarly, but on a smaller scale, for s,hallow'areas'. QTANNER es- tablishes and supplies beach camps which emit radio signals to provide the precise navigation required- in such survey operations. During this cruise,the Task Unit, consisting of USS TANNER, USS TOWHEE, and USS Sl-lELORAKE,surveyed over 45,000 mi les to establish a new survey record for any task unit.

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Captain Robert P. SMYTH born in Yonkers, New York is a graduate of the University of Calif- ornia with a Bachelor degree in International Relations. Entering the U.S. Navy in 1942 as an aviation cadet, he received his Ensign com- mission and was designated a naval aviator in October 1943. Immediately after being commissioned Captain SMYTH was selected as an advanced flight inst- ructor at Pensacola, was later assigned to Air Transport Squadron THIRTEEN,and wasstationed in the Philippines at the end of W0r1d War II. Since then he has served tours of duty in var- ious squadrons and ships, including Patrol Squadron THREE, CIC Officer, USS BENNINGTON CCVS-203, Staff Officer on Carrier Division THREE where he acted as Air Defense Officer of Task Force 77. In 1959 after a tour of duty in England with FASRON CSpecialJ 200. Captain SMYTH was assigned to the Electronic Warfare Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. Follow- ing this tour in Washington, he served as Exec- utive Officer and Commanding Officer of PHITOI Squadron FIVE. He was Executive Officer of the aircraft carrier USS RANDOLPH CCVS-151 prior to his recently completed tour of duty in Washing- ton as Executive Deputy Chief of Legislative Affairs, Navy Department. Captain SMYTH, is married to the former Loyce Ivey Slocum of Pensacola, Florida, currently residing with their four childreni11 Honolulu, Hawaii. E Q , .-.vvss--.S . -.sn 3 . 2 1