USNS Sampan Hitch (T-AGM-18) was a missile range instrumentation ship which earlier operated as the U.S. Air Force Ocean Range Vessel USAFS Sampan Hitch (ORV-1836) on the U.S. Air Force's Eastern Test Range during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Sampan Hitch operated under an Air Force contract with Pan American Airways Guided Missile Range Division headquartered in Cocoa Beach, Florida.
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Sampan Hitch |
| Namesake | A name retained |
| Builder | Walter Butler Shipbuilding Inc., Superior, Wisconsin |
| Laid down | date unknown, as a type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2133 |
| Launched | 12 July 1945 |
| Completed | August 1945 |
| Acquired | by the U.S. Navy in 1964 |
| In service | c. 1958 |
| Out of service | date unknown |
| Stricken | date unknown |
| Fate | sold for scrapping 23 April 1973 to a South Korean steel firm |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | missile range instrumentation ship |
| Displacement |
|
| Length | 338 ft 9 in (103.25 m) |
| Beam | 50 ft 4 in (15.34 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft 7 in (5.36 m) |
| Propulsion | Diesel, single propeller |
| Speed | 11.5 knots |
| Endurance | 30 days at sea |
| Complement | unknown |
| Sensors and processing systems | telemetry |
| Armament | none |
Sampan Hitch, assigned to the South Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean area, provided the Air Force with metric data on intercontinental ballistic missiles launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida.
Sampan Hitch operated in the intercontinental ballistic missile re-entry area near Ascension Island, and was home-ported out of South Atlantic Fleet Hqtrs, Chagaramus (Port of Spain) Trinidad, BWI.
Acquisition by the Navy
editSampan Hitch was acquired from the U.S. Air Force by the U.S. Navy in 1964.
Operational data
editOperational data while on U.S. Navy service during post-1964 period on this vessel is lacking.
Inactivation
editSampan Hitch was struck from the Navy List at an unknown date, and was sold for scrapping 23 April 1973 to Dongkuk Steel Mill Company, Ltd., South Korea. Her subsequent fate is not known.
See also
editReferences
edit
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