USNS Timber Hitch

USNS Timber Hitch (T-AGM-17) was a US Navy missile range instrumentation ship which earlier operated as the US Air Force Ocean Range Vessel USAFS Timber Hitch (ORV-17) on the US Air Force's Eastern Test Range during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Timber Hitch operated under an Air Force contract with Pan American Airways Guided Missile Range Division headquartered in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

Timber Hitch receiving fresh water from the USAS American Mariner, Clarence Bay, Ascension Island, in December 1961.
History
United States
Name	Timber Hitch
Namesake	Timber hitch
Owner	War Shipping Administration (WSA)
Operator	Grace Line Inc.
Ordered	as a type (C1-M-AV1) hull, MC hull 2315
Awarded	17 February 1944
Builder	Consolidated Steel Corporation, Ltd., Wilmington, California
Cost	$1,205,427.45
Yard number	1220
Way number	2
Laid down	26 August 1944
Launched	12 October 1944
Sponsored by	Mrs. W. F. Pruden
Completed	19 January 1945
Identification	Call sign: ANAL
Fate	Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Astoria, Oregon, 12 September 1949 Laid up in National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olympia, Washington, 23 November 1956 Transferred to the United States Air Force, 2 April 1957
United States
Name	Timber Hitch
Owner	United States Air Force
Reclassified	Ocean Range Vessel
Identification	ORV-17
Fate	Transferred to the United States Navy, 1 July 1964
United States
Name	Timber Hitch
Owner	United States Navy
Operator	Military Sea Transportation Service
In service	1 July 1964
Out of service	1968
Reclassified	Missile Range Instrumentation Ship
Stricken	9 October 1969
Identification	Hull symbol: T-AGM-17 Call sign: NTIY
Fate	Laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 5 May 1968 Sold for scrapping, 27 July 1977
General characteristics
Class and type	Alamosa-class Cargo Ship Timber Hitch-class Missile Range Instrumentation Ship
Type	C1-M-AV1
Displacement	3,366 long tons (3,420 t) (light) 6,090 long tons (6,190 t) (full load)
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 kn (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph)
Endurance	30 days at sea
Sensors and processing systems	telemetry
Armament	none

Timber 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.

Timber Hitch operated in the intercontinental ballistic missile re-entry area near Ascension Island, and was home-ported out of Recife, Brazil.

Construction

SS Timber Hitch was laid down 26 August 1944, under a Maritime Commission (MARCOM) contract, MC hull 2315, by the Consolidated Steel Corporation, Ltd., Wilmington, California; she was sponsored by Mrs. Paul N. Mulvany, the wife of the assistant chief of the Construction & Inspection section at the regional office of MARCOM, and was launched on 10 October 1944.

Acquisition by the Navy

Timber Hitch was acquired from the US Air Force by the US Navy, on 1 July 1964.

Operational data

Operational data while on US Navy service during post-1964 period on this vessel is lacking.

Inactivation

Timber Hitch was struck from the Navy List 9 October 1969. She was sold for scrapping, 27 July 1977, along with three other ships, for $309,999. She was withdrawn from the fleet on 21 October 1977.

See also

• Missile Range Instrumentation Ship
• List of ships of the United States Air Force
• Eastern Test Range
• Pan American Airways Guided Missile Range Division
• Missile Test Project

Bibliography

• Priolo, Gary P. (26 February 2021). "USNS Timber Hitch". www.navsource.org. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
• Maritime Administration. "Timber Hitch". Ship History Database Vessel Status Card. U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
• "SS Timber Hitch". Retrieved 10 January 2022.