The Highpoint (PCH-1) was a 110 foot submarine chaser that used propellers. It was a fast, highly maneuverable, all-weather testbed that Boeing developed and launched in 1962 to utilize jet airplane systems in a marine environment. The Tucumcari was a 71 foot, 57 ton patrol gunboat that was launched in 1967. It was the first hydrofoil to use waterjets instead of propellers. The Tucumcari could fly over the water, using surface piercing foils, at more than 55 mph in all kinds of weather. The Tucumcari was effectively used during the Vietnam conflict and led to development of the missile-carrying Patrol Hydrofoil Missileship (PHM) for NATO, first launched Nov. 9, 1974.Boeing Marine Systems (BMS) was formed as a separate operating division of The Boeing Company in January 1976 and performed 17 years of hydrofoil research and manufacture.