| Designation | Name/Hull Num | Class/Rig | Service | Comments | Pix | Model | Built |
| Famous Cutters | |||||||
| USRC | Surveyor | Unknown | 1807 - 1813 | Commanded by CAPT Samuel Travis with a crew of 15 Attacked by 50 man party from LT John Crerie's HMS Narcissus Captured by British after a fierce fight Crerie returned Travis's sword in honor of the fight the crew put up Commemorated in Semper Paratus Commemorated in Semper Paratus |
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| USRC | Eagle | Topsail schooner | 1809 - 1814 | Commanded by CAPT Fredrick Lee Escorted merchantmen around New York Attacked by 18 gun brig HMS Dispatch in 1814 Ran aground trying to escape Crew hauled cannons to top of a 160' cliff and took Dispatch under fire When all ammunition was expended the crew withdrew to safety British siezed the grounded cutter whose ultimate fate is unknown Commemorated in Semper Paratus |
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| USRC | Harriet Lane | Sidewheeler | 1857 - 1861 1863 - 1864 |
First successful steam cutter At Fort Sumpter, fired across the bow of merchantman Nashville First naval shot of Civil War Operated against Fort Clark and For Hatteras Supported actions against Vicksburg and at Mobile Bay Participated in capture of Galveston in October 1862 Captured when CSA retook Galveston in January 1863 Finished the war as a blockade runner named Livinia Returned to Federal service after the war Sold as unservicable in 1864 Became merchantman Elliott Richie Lost in a storm in 1887 |
CGH | Yes | Yes |
| USRC/USCGC | Bear | Sealer | 1885 - 1929 1941 - 1944 |
Built by Alexander Stephenin Dundee Scotland as a sealer in 1874 Taken into US Navy service in 1884 as part of the rescue fleet for the ill-fated Greeley Arctic expedition 1885: Taken into the Revenue Cutter Service to patrol Alaskan waters Most famous commanding office was Mike "Hell Roarin'" Healy Served 41 years in the ice Carried reindeer from Siberia to Alaska to feed natives Overland rescue of over 250 sealers stuck in the ice Decomissioned in 1929 and turned over to Oakland, CA Used as a set in filming of Jack London's "Sea Wolf" Acquired by Adm. Richard Byrd for his 1933 Antarctic Expedition Returned from the Byrd expedition in 1941 to Boston In WWII she was part of the Greenland Patrol Took part in the capture of the Norwegian supply ship Buskoe Decommissioned again in 1944 Sold to a Canadian sealing company - never operational Purchased by Alfred Johnston of Villanova, PA in 1948 To be used as a resteraunt museum in Philadelphia Sank while being towed to Philadelphia One of the most famous Cutters Coast Guard history The mascot of the CG Academy is a Bear in her honor |
CGH | ||
| USRC/USCGC | Hudson | Steam tug | 1893 - 1935 | First RC with steel hull and triple-expansion plating Rescued USS Winslow in Spanish American War CO, LT Frank Newcomb, not awarded Medal of Honor because RCS was not "military" A Fletcher Class DD was named for Newcomb Commemorated in Semper Paratus |
CGH | ||
| USRC/USCGC | Tampa (former Miami) |
190 Miami | 1916 - 1918 | Sunk by German U-boat Cited by RADM Niblack, Commander US Naval Forces Gibralter, for outstanding service CO, CAPT Charles Satterlee, had 2 Navy destroyers named for him Commemorated in Semper Paratus |
CGH NS |
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| USCGC | Northland WPG 49 |
1927 - 1946 | Built as a replacement for the venerable Bear Performed on Bering Sea Patrol doing "everything under the midnight sun" Transferred to Boston in 1938 in preparation for war Flagship of the Greenland Parol Siezed Norwegian sealer Buskoe - a German supply ship First siezure of the war - 12 Sep 1941 Sold to an American company working with the Israeli underground Renamed Jewish State, she ran refugees to Israel First warship of the Israeli Navy in 1948 - Renamed Matzpen Ended as an accomodations ship for Port Command Haifa Decommissioned and sold in 1962 |
CGH | |||
| USCGC | Escanaba WPG 77 |
165A Algonquin | 1932 - 1943 | Commissioned 17 September 1932 - stationed in Grand Haven, MI Operated entirely in the Great Lakes Esablished close ties with Grand Haven - Coast Guard City, USA The city always celebrated the 4 August birthday of the Coast Guard Transferred to the Greenland Patrol in 1942 It was noted that survivors were too cold to hold rescue lines LT Robert Prouse, Escanaba XO, developed a rubber suit that rescuers could wear into the water to pick up survivors Suits were used to rescue 133 men from the torpedoed Dorchester Widely used by other ships throughout the war 13 June 1942 - Escanaba exploded and sank Final cause was never established All but 2 of her 103 man crew were lost 4 August 1943 over 20,000 people in Grand Haven attended memorial services for Escanaba Grand Haven is still Coast Guard City, USA and still marks Coast Guard Day with a grand celebration |
CGH | Yes | IS - 1942 |
| USCGC | Storis WAGL/WAG/ WAGB/WMEC 38 |
1942 - 2007 | Built as a supply cutter for the Greenland patrol Basically a stretched 180' buoy tender with an Duck on the fantail Stationed in Boston after the war 1 July 1957 Set out with CGCs Spar and Bramble to find a deep water channel through the Arctic Ocean This transit ended the 450 year search for the Northwest Passage Returned to Greenland via the passage and then transited to Alaska via the Panama Canal becoming the first cutter to circumnavigate the North American Continent Performed ice breaking duty until 1972 Converted to Medium Endurance Cutter Decommissioned in 2007 Known as the Galloping Coast of the Alaskan Coast Queen of the Fleet 1991 to 2007 |
CGH | |||
| USCGC | Eastwind WAGB 279 |
269 Wind | 1944 - 1968 | Built for combat operations in Greenland First American ship class capable of arctic ice breaking operations Only One of the original 4 Wind Class to not go to Russia Primary cutter in the Externstein siezure Several Operation Deep Freeze deployments after the war 19 January 1949: Collided with tanker Gulfstream First Wind Class decommissioned |
CGH | Yes | Yes |
| USCGC | Eagle WIX 295 |
295 Barque | 1946 - Active | Built in 1936 and named Horst Wessel a stormtrooper who wrote the Nazi party anthem and died fighting German Communists in 1930 Traing ship in the German Navy Siezed as a war prize in 1946 Commissioned into the Coast Guard as the Academy training cutter Only sailing vessel in commissioned US service America's Tall Ship |
CGH | Yes | |
| USCGC | Tamaroa WAT/WATF WMEC 166 (ex USS Zuni ATF 66) |
205' Apache Class Fleet Tug (ATF) |
1946 - 1994 | Commissioned in 1943 as USS Zuni Acquired by the Coast Guard in 1946 Served in NY until 1985, then in New Castle, NH 14 March 1963 - Became the first Coast Guard submarine In drydock when discruntled crewman opened the seacocks sinking both the drydock and the Tam Famous for participating in the "No Name Storm of Halloween 1991" Made famous by the book and movie Perfect Storm The cutter in the movie was digital The producers chose to depict Tam as a sleek cutter with a flight deck even though she was a matronly old tug boat The last of the post-war Navy acquisitions to de decommissioned Currently a museum ship in Richmond, VA |
CGH | Yes | |
| USCGC | Acushnet WAT/WMEC 167 (ex USS Shackel) |
213' Diver Class Rescue Ship (ARS) |
1946 - 2011 | Commissioned in 1944 as USS Shackle (ARS 9) Transferred to the Coast Guard in 1946 Served in Boston Took part in the Two Tankers Rescue in 1952 and on International Ice Patrol cruises 1968 to 1971: Oceanographic Research Cutter (WAGO) Attached to Office of Naval Research and Scripps Oceanographic Institute as part of the NOAA National Data Buoy Project Became known as NOAA's Ark 1978: desiganted a Medium Endurance Cutter 1990: transferred to Eureka, CA and operated in Alaskan waters 1998: Transferred to Ketchikan, AK Queen of the Fleet from 2007 to 2011 |
CGH | Yes | |
| USCGC | Courier WAGR/WTR 176 |
338 C1-M-AV1 Cargo Ship |
1952 - 1972 | Built in 1945 as the Coastal Messanger Transferred to the Department of State in 1952 Converted to communications vessel for use in Operation Vagabond The idea was to broadcast the Voice of America to countries behind the Iron Curtain The ship could easily move from hot spot to hot spot as needed For political reasons, the Navy could not operate the vessel So the Coast Guard acquired a new mission 22 August 1952 - On station off Rhodes Greece Originally used a barrage baloon to hold the antenna aloft After a few baloons sailed over Turkey, the antenna was attached to the forward mast July 1964 - operations moved ashore - Courier ordered home Longest USCGC deployment in history Served as a Port Security training cutter till 1972 |
CGH Link Link |
Yes | |
| USCGC | CG 36500 | 36' Motor Life Boat | 1952 - 1972 | On 18 February 1952 a nor'easter was blowing hard off New England The tankers Fort Mercer and Pendleton both broke in half BM1 Bernard Webber, Station Chatham, took CG36500 out Crew: Andrew Fitzgerald, Richard Livesey, Ervin Maske Webber saved 33 out of 34 men on the stern of Pendleton All 4 Coastguardsmen were awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal CG 36500 is now berthed at Rock Harbor in Orleans, MA Added to the National Historic Register in 2005 |
CGH CGP |
Yes | |
| USCGC | Alex Haley WMEC 39 (ex USS Edenten ATS-1) |
282 Edenton Class Salvage and Rescue Ship (ATS) |
2000 - Active | Commissioned in 1971 as USS Edenton Acquired by the Coast Guard in 1999 Named for author Alex Haley Serves in Alaska Alex Haley joined the Coast Guard in 1939 as a Steward He developed his writing skills during the Pacific war After the war he petitioned the Coast Guard to creat a photojournalist rate Haley was the first Coast Guard PJ and the first PJ Chief Petty Officer Haley retired from the Coast Guard in 1959 He worked as an interviewer for Playboy and had an impressive list of interviewees His first book was The Autobiography on Malcolm X In 1976 he published Roots Haley died in 1992 |
CGH NS |
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| Firsts/Lasts/ Largest/Longest |
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| USRC | Dolly | Brig | 1805 - 1807 | Most heavily armed RC (14 6 pounders) But too large for revenue work |
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| USLHT | Pharos | Unknown | 1854 - 1907 | Last sailing tender in service | |||
| USRC | Mahoning/ Levi Woodbury |
Pawtuxet | 1863 - 1915 | Longest serving Revenue Cutter Sold into merchant service and lost in 1932 |
Wik | ||
| USRC/USCGC | Windham (later (Comanche) |
1896 - 1930 | The RCS 1897 Annual report noted that Windom was the first attempt to build a "modern" cutter Windom was completed in 1896 Fully watertight hull, longitudinal and transverse bulkheads and triple expansion steam plant capable of 15 kts Fought in the Spanish-American War and WWI Renamed Commanche in 1914 |
CGH | |||
| USRC/USCGC | McCullouch | Steam barkentine | 1897 - 1917 | Largest RC (219') Steam Barkentine Assigned to Commodore Dewey's Asiatic Fleet and fought at Manila Bay The first Cutter to transit the Suez Canal and Indian Ocean Lost in a collision on 13 June 1917 |
CGH | ||
| USRC/USCGC | Pamlico 158' WPR 50 |
1907 - 1946 | Designed with a shallow draft for inland cruising Stationed in New Bern, NC and became a fixture in the community Transported many Congressional and press parties to New Bern Naval Reserve training ship in WWI Classified a WPR in 1939 and served through WWII One of her crewmen from 1940 to 1943 was Steward's Mate Alex Haley When informed of her pending decommissioning, New Bern had their Congressman intercede with the Commandant to save the ship Finally decommissioned on 6 September 1946 after 40 years of service A plaque commemorating her service was dedicated on 28 April 1990 Alex Haley helped in the dedication |
CGH | |||
| USRC/USCGC | Androscoggin | 1908 - 1921 | Largest wooden RC (210') Built specifically as an icebreaker Show piece of the service for many years Hosted several diplomats and conferences Last wooden hulled Cutter in service |
CGH | |||
| USLHT/USCGC | Cedar WAGL 207 |
1917 - 1950 | Largest tender ever built for the LHS (1,970 tons) First tender equipped with a radio |
Yes | |||
| USLHT/USCGC | Acacia 172' WAGL 200 (ex USAMP Gen John F. Story |
Speedwell Class MP Ilex Class Tender |
1927 - 1942 | Only buoy tender sunk by a u-boat | CGH | ||
| USLHT/USCGC | Juniper 177' WAGL 224 |
1940 - 1975 | Last vessel designed by USLHS | ||||
| USCGC | Muskeget WAG 48 |
1942 - 1942 | Only OWS vessel sunk by a u-boat | CGH | Yes | ||
| USCGC | Cobb (ex Governor Cobb) WPG 181 |
1943 - 1946 | 1906 - First turbine propelled commercial ship in US Training ship in WWIEASRSEAFRON in WWII Stationed in Boston after the war 1944 - Converted to a helicopter carrier Instrumental in proving the concept of helo ops from ships Recognized as the first helicopter carrier |
Wiki Wiki |
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| USCGC | Nantucket Lightship WLV |
1986 | Last lightship station decommissioned | CGH CGP |
Yes | ||
| USCGC | Taney WHEC |
1986 | Last US ship to man an ocean weather station | CGH | Yes | ||
| Famous Vessels That Were Cutters |
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| USRC | Henrietta | Schooner | 1861 - 1862 | James Gordon Bennet's personal yacht He commanded her while in USRCS service Later belonged to New York Yacht Club Won Great Ocean Transatlantic Race in 1866 |
CGH | USRC | Naugatuck (aka EA Stevens, Ironside) |
Steamship | 1861 - 1870 | Built in 1844 by H. R. Durham Acquired by Edwin Stevens Stevens intended to develop a semi-sumersible ironclad It would present a difficult target in the submerged state Converted Naugatuck into a prototype "Stevens Battery" Turned over to the RCS for trials Used by the Navy in the Civil War to some success But not enough to fund further development Served the RCS until 1870 Ultimate fate unknown |
CGH |
| USRC/USCGC | Apache (former Galveston aka Frank Galveston) |
Twin Screw Tug | 1900 - 1937 | Commissioned in 1891 as Galveston Renamed Apache in 1900 Decommissioned in 1937 and transferred to the Army Used as radio transmission ship General Douglas MacArthur's "I have returned" speech was broadcasted from her deck |
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| USCGC | Electra WPC 187 |
165B Thetis | 1934 - 1936 | 1936 - Decommissioned 1936 - 1945 USS Potomac (AG-25) - President Roosevelt's yacht 1945 - Recommissioned as CGC Electra 1946 - Maryland Tidewater Fisheries Commission 1960 - Privately owned 1980 - Siezed as a drug runner Currently owned by the Potomac Association in Oakland |
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| USCGC | Joseph Conrad WIX |
1939 - 1942 | Built in 1882 as the Danish traing vessel Georg Stage Acquired by Coast Guard in 1939 Used in merchant marine training Sailed in the 1941 Havava Yacht Race Decommissioned in 1942 Donated to Mystic Seaport as a museum ship |
Mystic | |||
| USS/USCGC | Nourmahal WPG 72 |
1940 - 1946 | William Vincent Astor's personal yacht Voluntaruily turned over to the Coast Guard in 1940 Transferred to the Navy in 1943 with Coast Guard crew Transferred back to Coast Guard in 1944 Served as OWS vessel, Flagship of EASTSEAFRON and as a harbor tow vessel at Coast Guard Yard Returned to Astor in 1946 |
NS | |||
| USCGC | Delta Queen WIX |
1941 - 1943 | Yes, THAT Delta Queen Began life as a in 1926 as excursion boat on the Sacramento River Used by CG for merchant marine training from 1941 to 1943 Used by the Navy in WWII Moved to the Missippi River in 1946 Listed on National Registry of Historic Places in 1970 Declared National Historic Landmark in 1989 Ceased operations in 2008 Currently a a hotel/resteraunt in Chattanooga |
Wiki | |||
| USCGC | Atlantic WIX 271 |
185 Gaff Rigged Racing Schooner |
1941 - 1947 | Launched in 1903 as a three masted gaff rigged racing schooner 1905 Won Kaiser's Cup with an Atlantic crossing of 12 days, 4 hrs, 1 min, 19 sec Record stood for 75 years before being broken by a trimaran Record stood for a mono-hull until 2002 WWI - Submarine mother ship Served as an Academy training cutter in WWII Scrapped in 1982 Full sixe replica built in 2010 |
Link | Yes | |
| USCGC | Danmark WIX 283 |
295 Barque | 1942 - 1945 | Danish Navy cadet training ship commanded by Captain Knud Hansen Sailing in US waters when Germany invaded Denmark Hansen sailed into Jacksonville and sought asylum When US entered the war, Hansen volunteered his ship and crew as a training ship For the duration of the war Danmark was the UCSGA training cutter Returned to Denmark after the war |
Wiki | Yes | |
| USCGC | Vema (ex Hussar) WIX |
182 Yacht | 1941 - 1942 | Built in 1923 as E. F. Hutten's yacht Hussar Norwegian shipping magnate Unger Vetlesen renamed her Vema Donated to the American war effort by Vetlesen's wife Originally used in coastal patrol then in merchant marine training Became a Lamont-Doherty oceanographic research vessel Vema Seamount and Vema Channel are named for her 1982 - operated by Windjammer Barefoot Cruises as Mandalay Laid up in 2008 when Windjammer went out of business |
LD | ||
| USCGC | Gertrude L. Thebaud WYPc 386 |
Gloucester Fishing Schooner | 1942 - 1945 |
Financed by Louis Thebaud and named for his wife Built in Gloucester, MA in 1930 Last if the Glouster-built Grand Banks fishing schooners Designed and built specifically to capture the International Fisherman's Trophy from the Nova Scotian fleet 1931: Lost two straigt races to the Canadian schooner Bluenose 1933: Carried a delgation to Washngton on behahalf of the fishing industry - FDR toured the ship at that time 1933: Part of the Chicago World's Fair 1937: Part of the Donald McMillan Arctic Expedition to Frobisher Bay 1938: Lost 3 out of 5 races to Bluenose Last year the competition was held - Blunose retired undefeated Served the Coast Guard in WWII - EASTSEAFRON 20 May 1945: Left Gloucester for the Caribbean trade February 1948: Driven onto a breakwater in Venezuela and broke up |
Link | Yes | |
| USCGC | Sea Cloud WPG/WIX 284 |
316 OWS Yacht | 1942 - 1944 | Built in 1931 as E. F. Hutton's 4 masted luxury yacht Hussar II Bought by Joseph Davis, US Ambasador to Russia Acquired by the Navy in 1942 for OWS duty CO, LT Carlton Skinner, received permission to train minorities in rates other tha steward Eventually 50 black enlisted and 2 officers served aboard Sea Cloud Skinner reported no loss in proficiency in this first experiment in integration at sea Returned to owner after the war | CGH | Yes | |
| USCGC | Mayflower (ex USS Butte) WPG 183 |
1943 - 1946 | Built in 1896 as a luxury yacht for Ogden Goelet and named for him Acquired by the Navy in 1898 as USS Mayflower Served in the Spanish America War Served as Commodore Dewey's Flagship in the Asiatic Fleet Served as Presidential yacht from 1906 to 1929 Treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War was negotiated on board Decommissioned by Hoover as an economic savings Series of commercial owners through the Great Depression Acquired by the Navy in 1942 as USS Butte Recommissioned CGC Mayflower in 1943 EASTSEAFRON Involved in smuggling Jews into Israel in 1948 Ultimate fate unknown |
NS | Yes | ||
| USCGC | East Breeze (ex SNS Externstein) WIX |
1944 - 1944 | German supply ship in Greenland Captured by CGC Eastwind on 15 October 1944 The only German surface ship captured in WWII Taken into Service as USCGC East Breeze Turned over to the Navy on 24 January 1945 as USS Callao |
NS |
