HS Denison

HS Denison was an experimental hydrofoil research ship built for the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) and launched by Grumman on 5 June 1962 at Oyster Bay, Long Island, with sea trials beginning four days later. It was named in memory of Charles R. Denison, the MARAD research coordinator whose enthusiasm for the commercial potential of hydrofoils started the program and who died before the design got beyond its early stage. The ship was 104.6 feet long overall, with a maximum hull beam of 23 feet, and carried 85 percent of its weight on forward surface-piercing foils and the rest on a single fully submerged tail foil. Foilborne power came from a General Electric gas turbine of about 14,000 horsepower, a marine version of the J79 jet engine, driving a supercavitating propeller through a right-angle bevel gear. Trials at 50 to 60 knots showed it stable and maneuverable, including in rough, freezing weather. The Navy then chose its own FRESH-1 research craft and MARAD ended the program.