Thetis-class patrol boat

Last updated
USCGC Argo (WPC-100) underway during World War II.jpg
USCGC Argo (WPC-100) underway during World War II, circa 1944.
Class overview
NameThetis class
OperatorsFlag of the United States Coast Guard.svg  United States Coast Guard
Built1931–1934
In commission1931–1967
Completed18
Preserved1
General characteristics
Type Patrol boat [1]
Displacement
  • 337 long tons (342 t) (1933)
  • 350 long tons (360 t) (1945)
Length165 ft (50 m)
Beam25 ft 3 in (7.70 m)
Draft
  • 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m) (1933)
  • 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m) (1945)
Installed power1,340 bhp
Propulsion2 × Winton Model 158 6-cylinder diesels 1,340 bhp (1,000 kW)
Speed
  • 11  kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) cruising
  • 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) maximum
Range
  • 1,750 statute miles (14 knots)
  • 3,000 statute miles (11 knots)
  • 6,417 statute miles (6 knots)
Complement
  • 44 (1933)
  • 75 (1945)
Sensors &
processing systems
  • None (1933
  • SF radar (1945)
  • QCO sonar (1945)
Armament

Thetis-class patrol boats, also called the Argo-class patrol boats, were a class of 18 steel-hulled cutters of the United States Coast Guard built from 1931 to 1934. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Development

On 17 January 1920, the Volsted Act went into force in the United States. The law enforced the Eighteenth Amendment, which banned the "manufacture, sale, or transportation" of most alcohol and began the period of Prohibition. [5] [6] : 11  The Volsted Act, in turn, was enforced by police departments, the Bureau of Prohibition, the Customs Service, the Treasury Department, and the USCG. [6] : 11  The USCG's role was to prevent seaborn alcohol smuggling, a role initially deemed small and manageable. By 1924, the service was overwhelmed by the volume of smugglers and struggled to intercept 5% of violators. Aside from normal duties, it shifted to impose a blockade along 5,000 miles (8,000 km) of American coastline. For the new role, new cutters, patrol boats, and ex-USN destroyers joined the fleet to patrol at sea as Prohibition enforcement became the first priority for the USCG. [6] : 161-164  While the ships helped fill gaps off the coast, they were expensive to operate and performed poorly. In the 1930s, the USCG began to build purpose-build patrol boats to take over enforcement. [7] : 382–383  These new ships varied in size and capability, and were used to create a continuous buffer of Prohibition enforcement that stretched from the open ocean to inner harbors. [8] : 89, 95, 99, 105 

A common tactic by smugglers was to use large, seagoing, "mother ships" that loitered off the coast and supplied alcohol to smaller boats that then brought the drinks ashore. [8] : 108  The USCG built the 125 ft (38 m)-long Active class cutters to trail and intercept mother ships, and the experience was used to develop the next class of sea-going cutters. [9] : 166  The resulting 165-foot "B"-class, [10] [9] : 166  named for the cutters' overall length [10] and also known as the Argo and Thetis-class, resulted. [9] : 166  The design was intended to balance and exceed in speed, seaworthiness, range, radio equipment, and armament. [11] : 100  Eighteen cutters were built, and they were large and fast enough to intercept the mother ships. [8] : 108 

Ships

References

  1. ↑ "USCGC Atalanta". naval-history.net. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  2. ↑ Dropkin, Les (January 2002). "The Thetis Class Coast Guard Patrol Boats" (PDF). Potomac Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 11, 2019.
  3. ↑ Clancey, Patrick. "Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945 Coast Guard Cutters & Craft". HyperWar Foundation via Ibiblio . Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  4. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Argo class Patrol vessels - Allied Warships of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
  5. ↑ "Constitutional Amendments – Amendment 18 – "The Beginning of Prohibition" | Ronald Reagan". Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum . Retrieved 2025-11-17.
  6. 1 2 3 Willoughby, Malcolm Francis (1964). Rum War at Sea. U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN   9781589631052 – via Google Books.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  7. ↑ "United States Coast Guard Patrol Boats". Marine Engineering and Shipping Age. 37. 1932.
  8. 1 2 3 Canney, Donald L. (1995). U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue cutters, 1790-1935. Annapolis, Md: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   978-1-55750-101-1.
  9. 1 2 3 Chesneau, Roger (1980). "United States". Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922–1946. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN   9780851771465 . Retrieved 29 October 2025– via Internet Archive.
  10. 1 2 "Dione, 1934". United States Coast Guard. 28 December 2020. Archived from the original on 10 March 2025. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  11. ↑ Hunnewell, Frederick (1937). "United States Coast Guard Cutters". Transactions of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. 45.
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