USS ''High Point'' (PCH-1) was a ''High Point''-class patrol craft of the
United States Navy in commission from 1963 to 1975. She subsequently was in commission in the
United States Coast Guard briefly in 1975.
Construction and commissioning
''High Point'' was the first of a series of
hydrofoil
A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains sp ...
craft designed to evaluate the performance of hydrofoils for the U.S. Navy. The design of ''High Point'' began in April 1958 under project
SCB 202. She had three submerged foils containing propulsion nacelles and propellers, and was also capable of riding on her
hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
like a more conventional ship.
''High Point'' was
launched on 17 August 1962 by
J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corporation in
Tacoma,
Washington as a sub-contractor to
Boeing in
Seattle, Washington, at a cost of $2.08 million,
together with Vickers, Inc. Marine and Ordnance Department in
Waterbury,
Connecticut, which provided
hydraulic components and controls. Electronic equipment aboard, including
automatic stabilization In macroeconomics, automatic stabilizers are features of the structure of modern government budgets, particularly income taxes and welfare spending, that act to damp out fluctuations in real GDP.
The size of the government budget deficit tends t ...
equipment and a
dead reckoning navigation system, was developed and manufactured by the
United Aircraft Corporation Hamilton Standard Division. She was
commissioned on 15 August 1963 with
Lieutenant H. G. Billerbeck in charge. She was named after
High Point,
North Carolina.
Service history
U.S. Navy
''Hugh Point'' carried out tests in
Puget Sound from 1963 to 1967.
On her foils, she obtained very high speeds, and the U.S. Navy evaluated her for mobility and flexibility as an
antisubmarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typic ...
vessel. The U.S. Navy
decommissioned her in March 1975.
U.S. Coast Guard
On 4 April 1975, the U.S. Navy transferred ''High Point'' to the
United States Coast Guard, which acquired her to evaluate hydrofoil characteristics for use in
law enforcement,
search and rescue
Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
, and marine
environmental protection missions. After a first round of tests in Puget Sound, the Coast Guard transferred her to
San Francisco,
California. While she was attempting to moor at
Naval Station Treasure Island in
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.
San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
, her
turbine exploded. The $300,000 cost of repair was not in the Coast Guard budget, so the Coast Guard decommissioned her on 5 May 1975 and transferred her back to the U.S. Navy.
Later disposition
''High Point'' was stricken from the
Naval Vessel Register sometime in 1980. A private owner intent on restoring her purchased her in 2002, but the effort did not succeed. In 2005 Terence Orme purchased her to save her from being scrapped. By 2009, she was moored at Tongue Point near
Astoria,
Oregon, where volunteers were restoring the vessel for use as a museum. These efforts were abandoned.
In 2021, a private individual purchased ''High Point'' and began to restore her at Astoria with the goal of making her seaworthy once again.
It was fully scrapped in August of 2023
References
Notes
Sources
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External links
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* (2002 website of past owner)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:High Point (PCH-1)
Cold War patrol vessels of the United States
Boeing hydrofoils
Ships built in Tacoma, Washington
Ships of the United States Coast Guard
1962 ships
Hydrofoils of the United States