USS Plainview (AGEH-1)

USS Plainview (AGEH–1) was, in its time, the world's largest hydrofoil.[1] Named for the cities of Plainview, New York and Plainview, Texas.[2] She was also the United States Navy's first hydrofoil research ship. Plainview was laid down 8 May 1964 by the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, Seattle, Washington; launched 28 June 1965; sponsored by Mrs. John T. Hayward; and placed in service on 3 March 1969. She cost $21 million to construct.[1]

USS Plainview
History
United States
Name: USS Plainview
Builder: Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, Seattle, Washington
Laid down: 8 May 1964
Launched: 28 June 1965
Commissioned: 3 March 1969
Decommissioned: 22 September 1978
Stricken: 30 September 1978
Homeport: Bremerton, Washington
Fate: Partially scrapped, hull still extant
General characteristics
Type: Hydrofoil
Displacement: 310 long tons (315 t)
Length: 220 ft 6 in (67.21 m)
Beam: 40 ft 5 in (12.32 m)
Draft: 24 ft 4 in (7.42 m)
Propulsion:
Speed: 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph)
Complement: 20
Armament: None

Propulsion consisted of two General Electric LM1500 free-turbine turboshaft engines, derivatives of the J79 turbojets used in the F-4 Phantom aircraft, but during conventional operations she was driven by two diesel engines. Her homeport was Bremerton, Washington. Plainview carried out long range experimental programs to evaluate the design principles of hydrofoils and to develop and evaluate tactics and doctrine for hydrofoils, particularly in anti-submarine warfare, and helped to determine the feasibility of hydrofoil operations in high seas.

Plainview was decommissioned at 10:30 am, 22 September 1978, at Pier 7, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 September 1978, Plainview was sold for scrapping by the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service (DRMS) on 1 July 1979 to General Metals (now Schnitzer Metals) on the Hylebos Waterway, Tacoma, Washington. She was partially scrapped in 2004.[1] As of 10 April 2019, she lies abandoned on mudflats, on private property, near Astoria, Oregon. In 2019, the Washington Department of Natural Resources expressed concerns about Plainview's derelict hull leaking pollutants into the environment.

Plainview traveled on her foils for a total of 268 hours, over her entire lifetime.[2]

See also

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

  1. Luke Whittaker (10 April 2019). "Once a marvel, USS Plainview now a pollution concern: Former Navy ship left in the mudflats". Daily Astorian. Hungry Harbor, Washington. Retrieved 13 May 2019. Launched in 1965, the USS Plainview was the Navy’s biggest and fastest hydrofoil, a 210-foot, 320-ton prototype built by Lockheed in Seattle. The sleek aluminum vessel was powered by twin turbo fan jet engines, capable of speeds exceeding 50 knots as it rose 10 feet above the water on three struts.
  2. John R. Meyer, Jr. "A Brief History of PLAINVIEW (AGEH-1)". Archived from the original on 25 May 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019. The keel was laid on 8 May 1964, and the ship was launched on 28 June 1965. It was christened PLAINVIEW in honor of Plainview, New York and Texas. The ship made its first foilborne flight of 11-1/2 minutes on 21 March 1968, but it was nearly a year later, on 3 February 1969, that it began Preliminary Acceptance Trials.
  • "Plainview". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Retrieved 5 January 2007.
  • "Plainview". Service Ship Photo Archive. Retrieved 5 January 2007.

Further reading
  • December 1968 Popular Mechanics page 88-90-91 "The Biggest Fastest Flying Boat Yet" words by Bob Zimmerman ; Technical Art Concept (cut away labeled) Fred Wolff available via Google Books.
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