HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - USNS Sampan Hitch (T-AGM-18)
OR:
USNS Sampan Hitch (T-AGM-18) on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

USNS ''Sampan Hitch'' (T-AGM-18) was a
missile range instrumentation ship A tracking ship, also called a missile range instrumentation ship or range ship, is a ship equipped with antennas and electronics to support the launching and tracking of missiles and rockets. Since many missile ranges launch over ocean areas for ...
which earlier operated as the
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
''Ocean Range Vessel'' USAFS ''Sampan Hitch'' (ORV-1836) on the U.S. Air Force's
Eastern Test Range The Eastern Range (ER) is an American rocket range ( Spaceport) that supports missile and rocket launches from the two major launch heads located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. The range h ...
during the late 1950s and early 1960s. ''Sampan Hitch'' operated under an Air Force contract with
Pan American Airways Guided Missile Range Division Pan American Airways Guided Missile Range Division (PAA GMRD) was a distinct division of Pan American World Airways in the period 1950-1980, responsible as prime contractor of the U.S. Air Force Eastern Test Range, based out of Patrick Air Force Bas ...
headquartered in
Cocoa Beach, Florida Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,539 at the 2018 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The first non-native ...
. ''Sampan Hitch'', assigned to the South Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean area, provided the Air Force with metric data on
intercontinental ballistic missiles An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...
launched from the
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida. Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the statio ...
(CCAFS) in
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. ''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

''Sampan Hitch'' was acquired from the U.S. Air Force by the U.S. Navy in 1964.


Operational data

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


Inactivation

''Sampan Hitch'' was struck from the
Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...
at an unknown date, and was sold for scrapping 23 April 1973 to Dongkuk Steel Mill Company, Ltd.,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
. Her subsequent fate is not known.


See also

*
Missile Range Instrumentation Ship A tracking ship, also called a missile range instrumentation ship or range ship, is a ship equipped with antennas and electronics to support the launching and tracking of missiles and rockets. Since many missile ranges launch over ocean areas for ...
*
List of ships of the United States Air Force Starting in 1957 the US Air Force began operating a small fleet of Missile Range Instrumentation Ships to support missile test ranges. They were designated "ORV" for Ocean Range Vessel. They used the ship name prefix "USAF" (''e.g.'': USAF ''Co ...
*
Eastern Test Range The Eastern Range (ER) is an American rocket range ( Spaceport) that supports missile and rocket launches from the two major launch heads located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. The range h ...
*
Pan American Airways Guided Missile Range Division Pan American Airways Guided Missile Range Division (PAA GMRD) was a distinct division of Pan American World Airways in the period 1950-1980, responsible as prime contractor of the U.S. Air Force Eastern Test Range, based out of Patrick Air Force Bas ...
*
Missile Test Project {{Use dmy dates, date=May 2022 The Missile Test Project (MTP) was a U.S. Air Force program operated by RCA Service Company ( RCAS) from Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, under the direction of prime contractor Pan American Guided Missiles Research Di ...


References


NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - T-AGM-18 Sampan Hitch
Type C1-M ships Ships built in Superior, Wisconsin 1945 ships World War II merchant ships of the United States Type C1-M ships of the United States Air Force Type C1-M ships of the United States Navy Cold War auxiliary ships of the United States Signals intelligence Missile range instrumentation ships of the United States Navy Research vessels of the United States Navy {{US-mil-ship-stub