USNS Timber Hitch

	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; [1];
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; [2];
Fate	Laid up in the James River Reserve Fleet, Lee Hall, Virginia, 5 May 1968 ; Sold for scrapping, 27 July 1977;
General characteristics [2]
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

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, 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.[1]

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.[3]

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.

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[FOOTNOTEMARCOM-1] MARCOM.

[FOOTNOTEPriolo2021-2] Priolo 2021.

[FOOTNOTEMARAD-3] MARAD.

Type C1-M ships
Type C1-M-AV1	Alamosa Alcona Acorn Knot / Sgt. George D Keathley Amador Anchor Bend Anchor Hitch Antrim Autauga Beaverhead Becket Bend / Private John F. Thorson Becket Hitch Bell Ringer / Captain Arlo L. Olson Beltrami Bight Knot Blackwall Hitch Blount Boatswain's Hitch Bowline Knot Brevard Bullock Buntline Hitch Cabell Cable Splice Caledonia Cape Somerset Cape Stanhope Capstan Knot Carrick Bend Cat's Paw Chain and Crown Charlevoix Chatham Check Knot / Sgt. Joseph E. Muller Chicot Cinch Knot Claiborne Clarion Clove Hitch Coastal Captain Coastal Charger Coastal Courser Coastal Crusader Coastal Guide / Sgt. George Peterson Coastal Mariner Coastal Monarch Coastal Monitor Coastal Rambler Coastal Ranger Coastal Telegrapher Codington Colquitt Craighead Crossing Hitch Crown and Diamond Crown Knot Diamond Hitch Diamond Knot Doddridge Double Loop Dragon Fly Duval Elmer J. Burr Emerald Knot Fairfield Faribault Fentress Fiador Knot Fisherman's Bend Flagler Flemish Knot Gadsden Glacier Grainger Grass Knot Gunner's Knot Gwinnett Habersham Half Hitch Half Knot Harold W. Roberts Hawser Bend Hawser Eye Hawser Splice Hennepin Herkimer Hickory Bay Hickory Beck Hickory Bourne Hickory Brae Hickory Brook Hickory Burn Hickory Cairn Hickory Cape Hickory Coll Hickory Crest Hickory Dale Hickory Dell Hickory Dyke Hickory Ghyll Hickory Glen Hickory Isle Hickory Knoll Hickory Lake Hickory Mount Hickory Stream Hickory Tarn Hickory Tor Hidalgo Honda Knot Hook Hitch Horseshoe Splice Jacob's Ladder Jumper Hitch Kenneth E. Gruennert / Grommet Reefer Kenosha Knob Knot Lancaster Lanyard Knot Leader Loop Lebanon Lehigh Lever's Bend Lewis Hall Link Splice / Sgt. Jonah E. Kelley Lock Knot Long Eye Long Splice / Private Frank J. Petrarca Loop Knot Magnus Hitch Maiden's Eye / Colonel William J. O'Brien Mainsheet Eye Manrope Knot Marengo Mariner's Splice Marline Hitch Marlingspike Hitch Masthead Knot Midland Minidoka Mooring Hitch Mooring Knot Muscatine Muskingum Nicollet Ocean Plat Pembina Pemiscot Phoebe Knot Pinellas Pipestone Pitkin Poinsett Pontotoc Reef Knot Reeving Eye Richland Rigger's Eye Ring Hitch Ring Knot Ring Splice Roband Hitch Rockdale Rolling Hitch Rose Knot Round Splice / Private Jose F. Valdez Running Knot Sailmaker's Splice Sailor's Splice Salmon Knot Sampan Hitch Schuyler Screven Sebastian Shamrock Knot Sheepshank Sheet Bend Shell Bar Short Splice Sinnet Snakehead Snug Hitch Somerset / Coastal Sentry Span Splice Spanish Bowline Spar Hitch Spindle Eye / Sgt. Curtis F. Shoup Spool Sinnet Square Knot Square Sinnet Star Knot Studding Sail Sussex Sword Knot Tag Knot Tapir Splice Tarrant Terminal Knot Thimble Eye Timber Hitch Tipton Traverse True Knot Tucked Bend Tulare Turk's Head Wall Knot Water Knot Westchester William G. Fournier William N. Nelson Yard Hitch
Type C1-M-AV7	Coastal Liberator
Type C1-M-AV8	Crossing Knot Flat Knot Marline Bend Persian Knot Single Hitch Solid Sinnet
Type C1-MT-BU1	Arizona Pine California Redwood Oregon Fir Washington Cedar