Tucumcari 1968
|
Names |
PGH2 Tucumcari |
|
Builders |
Boeing, Seattle: PGH2 Tucumcari |
|
Commissioned |
3/1968: PGH2 Tucumcari |
|
Losses |
PGH2 Tucumcari (16.11.1972) |
|
Transfers |
none |
|
Discarding |
none |
|
Displacement standard, t |
57 |
|
Displacement full, t |
58 |
|
Length, m |
21.9 |
|
Breadth, m |
5.90 |
|
Draught, m |
4.20 (foils extended) / 1.40 (foils retracted) |
|
No of shafts |
2 water-jets (for foil-borne) / 1 shaft (for hull-borne) |
|
Machinery |
CODOG: 1 Bristol Siddeley Marine Proteus gas turbine (foil-borne) / 1 diesel (hull-borne) |
|
Power, h. p. |
3040 / 160 |
|
Max speed, kts |
40 / 6 |
|
Fuel, t |
diesel oil |
|
Endurance, nm(kts) |
|
|
Armament |
1 x 1 - 40/60 Mk 3, 2 x 2 - 20/70 Mk 24, 1 x 1 - 81/12 M29 mortar |
|
Electronic equipment |
radar |
|
Complement |
13 |
Project history: By the early 1960s interest had shifted towards the fast gunboat role, and it appeared that a relatively small hydrofoil could duplicate many of the qualities of the larger Asheville class fast gunboat. Two competitive prototypes were built under the FY66 (SCB 252) programme; the Grumman Flagstaff and the Boeing Tucumcari. At one time a follow-on class of thirty-four hydrofoils was planned, with features borrowed from both. They differed largely in propulsion, Grumman using a geared propeller with the main lifting surface forward; Boeing, water-jets with the main foil surfaces aft. Both were tested in Vietnam, returning home in 1970. Originally armed with 40mm gun forward.
Modernizations: 1971: - 1 x 1 - 81/12 mortar; + 1 x 2 - 20/70 Mk 24
Naval service: Tucumcari ran aground on a coral reef at Caballo Blanco (Vieques Island, Puerto Rico) 16.11.1972 and wrecked, plans for her repair were dropped due to high costs.
© Ivan Gogin, 2015