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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USNS Sampan Hitch (T-AGM-18)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Tango - Papa - Alpha
 NTPA
Sampan Hitch Class Missile Range Instrumentation Ship: \
  • Laid down, date unknown, as a Maritime Commission type (C1-M-AV1) hull, under Maritime Commission contract (MC hull 2133) at Walter Butler Shipbuilding Inc., Superior, WI.
  • Launched, date unknown
  • Competed in August 1945 and delivered at Beaumont, TX. to the Maritime Commission
  • Chartered, 11 May 1945, under a General Agency Agreement to Prudential Steamship Corp.
  • Chartered, 18 July 1946, by New York Puerto Rico Steamship Co., at New York
  • Laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Wilmington, N.C., 21 January 1948
  • Withdrawn, 8 October 1958, from reserve, title transferred to US Air Force for conversion to a Range Instrumentation Ship
  • Commissioned USAFS Sampan Hitch, date unknown
  • Title transferred to the US Navy, 1 July 1964, assigned to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) as a "Special Mission Ship"
  • Placed in service, 1 July 1964 as USNS Sampan Hitch (T-AGM-18)
  • Placed out of service and laid up, 25 June 1968 in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay, Benecia, CA.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping, 23 April 1973, to Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., Ltd., South Korea (PD-X-957, dated 15 March 1973), for $79,054.00, withdrawn, 24 May 1973
    Specifications:
    Displacement 3,366 t.(lt) 6,090 t.(fl)
    Length 338' 9"
    Beam 50' 4"
    Draft 17' 7"
    Speed 11.5 kts.
    Armament none
    Propulsion diesel, single propeller
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Sampan Hitch
    09531802    		 7k
    Namesake
    Sampan Hitch - A knot commonly used in the Far East for tying up river boats.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Sampan Hitch 42k USNS Sampan Hitch (T-AGM-18) moored pierside at Port Canaveral, FL., 26 March 1959. Leon Lacy
    There is no DANFS history available for USNS Sampan Hitch (AGM-18) at NavSource
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 19 March 2021 Last Updated 20 November 2020