USS ''High Point'' (PCH-1) was a ''High Point''-class patrol craft of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in commission from 1963 to 1975. She subsequently was in commission in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

briefly in 1975.

Construction and commissioning

''High Point'' was the first of a series of hydrofoil 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 like a more conventional ship. ''High Point'' was launched on 17 August 1962 by J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corporation in Tacoma,

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as a sub-contractor to

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, Washington, at a cost of $2.08 million, together with Vickers, Inc. Marine and Ordnance Department in

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 202 ...

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, which provided

hydraulic Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counte ...

components and controls. Electronic equipment aboard, including automatic stabilization equipment and a

dead reckoning In navigation, dead reckoning is the process of calculating current position of some moving object by using a previously determined position, or fix, and then incorporating estimates of speed, heading direction, and course over elapsed time. ...

navigation system A navigation system is a computing system that aids in navigation. Navigation systems may be entirely on board the vehicle or vessel that the system is controlling (for example, on the ship's bridge) or located elsewhere, making use of radio or othe ...

, was developed and manufactured by the

United Aircraft Corporation , former_name = OJSC United Aircraft Corporation (2006–2015) , type = Public, PJSC , traded_as = , industry = Aerospace, defense , predecessor = Ilyushin, Irkut, Mikoyan, Sukhoi, Tupolev, Yakovlev , founded = , founder = Vladimir P ...

Hamilton Standard Hamilton Standard was an American aircraft propeller parts supplier. It was formed in 1929 when United Aircraft and Transport Corporation consolidated Hamilton Aero Manufacturing and Standard Steel Propeller into the Hamilton Standard Propeller C ...

Division. She was commissioned on 15 August 1963 with

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H. G. Billerbeck in charge. She was named after High Point,

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Service history

U.S. Navy

''Hugh Point'' carried out tests in

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

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 ty ...

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

, which acquired her to evaluate hydrofoil characteristics for use in

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, search and rescue, and marine

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missions. After a first round of tests in Puget Sound, the Coast Guard transferred her to

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. While she was attempting to moor at

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in San Francisco Bay, her

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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 The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

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 Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

, 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

* * *

External links

* * * (2002 website of past owner) * * {{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