Spy Ships

Almost from the first days of seafaring, men have used ships for “spying” and intelligence collection. Since early in the twentieth century, with the technological advancements of radio and radar, the U.S. Navy and other government agencies and many other navies have used increasingly specialized ships and submarines to ferret out the secrets of other nations.

This is the story of the last cruise of USS Belmont (AGTR-4), one of the American spy ships used in the 1960s. Half of the crew worked in signal intelligence while the other half ran the ship. The crazy things that happened during the last year of this ship’s life, made me wonder about that word, intelligence.

Unlike any other Century the last 100 years has provided filmed conflicts and adventures covering World Wars and many other sweeping military actions. All too often these huge conflicts have been taken at face value. The story has unfolded in newspapers and film clips in a way which has left historians to piece together the final jigsaw. But even now have their efforts given us the true picture?