USC&GS Hilgard

USC&GS Hilgard (ASV 82).[1] was a survey ship that served in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1942 to 1967.

USC&GS Hilgard (ASV 82)
History
United States
Name	USC&GS Hilgard (ASV 82)
Namesake	Julius Erasmus Hilgard (1825-1890), fifth superintendent of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (1881-1885)
Builder	Robinson Marine, Benton Harbor, Michigan
Completed	1942
In service	1942
Out of service	1967
General characteristics
Type	Survey ship
Length	66 ft (20 m)
Beam	14 ft 8 in (4.47 m)
Draft	3 ft 5 in (1.04 m)
Propulsion	Twin diesel engines

Hilgard was built as an "auxiliary survey vessel" (ASV) for the Coast and Geodetic Survey by Robinson Marine at Benton Harbor, Michigan, in 1942.

A United States Coast and Geodetic Survey diagram of ca. 1920 of wire-drag hydrographic survey operations as carried out by Hilgard and her sister ship USC&GS Wainwright (ASV 83). The basic principle is to drag a wire attached to two vessels; if the wire encounters an obstruction it will come taut and form a "V."

Hilgard and her sister ship USC&GS Wainwright (ASV 83) conducted wire-drag hydrographic survey operations together along the United States East Coast until 1967, when they were replaced by USC&GS Rude (ASV 90), which later became NOAAS Rude (S 590), and USC&GS Heck (ASV 91), which later became NOAAS Heck (S 591).