USCGC Dione

Last updated

USCGC Dione (WPC-107).png
USCGC Dione on 17 May 1945
History
Ensign of the United States Coast Guard.svgUnited States
NameDione
Namesake Greek Titaness Dione
Builder Manitowoc Shipbuilding Corporation
Laid down10 November 1933
Launched30 June 1934
Completed28 September 1934
Commissioned5 October 1934
Decommissioned23 July 1947
Recommissioned4 February 1951
Decommissioned8 February 1963
Cost US$258,000
Yard number
Recommissioned4 February 1951
In service
  • 1934–1947
  • 1952–1963
Homeport
Identification
FateSold by USCG on 24 February 1964
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
Name
  • Dione (1964–1967)
  • Delta I (1968–1969)
  • Big Trouble (1968; c. March 1971)
  • Al Rashid (1969–1971; 1971–1992)
Namesake
Owner
  • Palmer Decker Boat Company (until 1967)
  • Delta Boats, Inc. (1968–March 1969)
  • Sabik, Inc. (1969–1971; 1971–1992)
  • Big Trouble, Inc. (1968; c. March 1971)
OperatorMideast Trading Company (c. 1970)
Port of registry New Orleans, Louisiana (1969–1992)
In service1964–1992
Refit1969–1970
Homeport Port Arthur, Texas (c. 1968)
Identification
FateLast seen in 1992
General characteristics (1933 construction)
Class & type Thetis-class patrol boat
Displacement337 long tons (342  t)
Length
Beam25 ft 3 in (7.70 m)
Draft7 ft 8 in (2 m)
Decks2 (main deck and berth deck)
Installed power
  • 2 × Winton, 6-cyl, Model 158 diesels
  • 1,340 hp (1,000 kW)
Propulsion2 × three-bladed propellers
Speed16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) (maximum)
Range1,750 mi (2,820 km) (maximum sustained speed)
Boats & landing
craft carried		2 × 19 ft (5.8 m) dories.
Capacity7,700 US gal (29,000 L; 6,400 imp gal)
Complement5 officers, 39 ratings
Sensors &
processing systems		 Wireless telegraphy
Armament
  • 1933:
  • 1941:
    • 1 × 3-inch/23 gun
    • 2 × depth charge tracks
    • 1 × Y-gun
General characteristics (1945 refit)
Displacement350 tons
Draft10 ft (3 m)
Complement7 officers, 68 men
Sensors &
processing systems
Armament
General characteristics (in civilian use)
Type
Tonnage
Length154.3 ft (47 m)
Beam25.3 ft (7.7 m)
Draft11.3 ft (3.4 m)

USCGC Dione (WPC-107) was a Thetis-class patrol boat, designated a cutter, operated by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) between 1934 and 1963. She was laid down in November 1933 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and was then launched in June 1934 and commissioned in October that year. She was built to enforce prohibition, though it was repealed in 1933, about a year before Dione was completed. As a result, the cutter primarily served in search and rescue roles out of her station in Norfolk, Virginia.

Contents

Dione was heavily involved with anti-submarine warfare (ASW) during World War II; she was the only ship capable of opposing German U-boats at the beginning of the Second Happy Time in January 1942. The cutter operated in the waters off the Outer Banks of North Carolina, which were nicknamed "Torpedo Alley". During her service in Torpedo Alley, she rescued the survivors of several sunken ships, escorted Allied convoys, and hunted U-boats with the goal of sinking one—though the cutter had no success in the last capacity.

Dione was decommissioned in 1947 due to a lack of personnel, after operating in both maritime law enforcement and search and rescue roles. She was recommissioned in 1951 and assigned to Freeport, Texas. She operated there as a search and rescue vessel until being decommissioned in 1963; she was sold as a supply ship the next year.

She was operated out of the Gulf Coast region by several companies after 1964, and she would be known by three subsequent names aside from Dione. The ship caught fire in 1969 and was completely rebuilt—save for her hull—in 1970. She was last seen in service in 1992.

Development

Alongside her 17 sister ships, Dione and the rest of the Thetis class was designed to combat alcohol smuggling during Prohibition. The cutters were intended to be large and fast enough to intercept large smuggler ships that loitered off the American coast. These so-called "mother ships" were an issue, as they supplied alcohol to small boats that brought the drinks ashore. [1] : 108  The ships formed the outer ring of a newly built network of cutters intended to intercept smuggling. [1] : 89, 95, 99, 105  The Coast Guard required these purpose-built ships as its previous fleet was old, expensive to operate, and performed poorly. [2] The Thetis class was built as a direct consequence to the USCG's experiences during Prohibition; they were intended to counter improvements made by rum-runners in the effectiveness of trailing tactics that had been used by the earlier 125 feet (38 m)-ships. [3]

The USCG had a new plan on how to handle their enforcement of prohibition. While the Thetis and Active classes patrolled off the coast, a range of smaller cutters and boats patrolled closer to shore to create a continuous buffer of Prohibition enforcement that stretched from the open ocean to inner harbors. [1] : 89, 95, 99, 105 

The Eighteenth Amendment, which had instituted prohibition, was repealed in 1933 with the Twenty-first Amendment [4] —a little under a year before Dione was completed. [5] The cutter never operated in the capacity that she and her sisters were constructed for.

Design

General arrangement plans of a Thetis-class patrol boat. Depicted are the berth deck, main deck, and two layers of superstructure. Accommodation plans of USCGC Dione.png
General arrangement plans of a Thetis-class patrol boat. Depicted are the berth deck, main deck, and two layers of superstructure.

Throughout her career, Dione had an overall length of 165 feet (50 m), [6] a length between perpendiculars of 160 feet (49 m), [2] and had a beam of 25.25 feet (7.70 m). When she was constructed in 1933, the cutter had a draft of 7.67 feet (2.34 m). Her displacement was 337 long tons (342 tonnes ) while fully loaded. [6]

The Thetis-class patrol boats consisted of two decks: the main and berth deck. The berth deck was subdivided into compartments by six transverse watertight bulkheads. The most forward space was the chain locker and bosun's store (storage for paints and oils), which was situated in front of the shared enlisted quarters for 38 men. [2] Directly behind was four staterooms for officers, followed by the fuel tanks that were subdivided by two bulkheads with a fuel capacity of 7,700 U.S. gallons (29,000  L ). [2] [7] Behind the tanks was the engine room, followed by separate enlisted and officer messrooms in the aft. On the main deck was the superstructure, which consisted of the deck house and pilot house. The deck house held the heads, the radio room, and the captain's quarters. On top was the pilot house, an auxiliary diesel generator, [2] three 18 in (46 cm) searchlights —one of which was reportedly capable of throwing a beam of light a distance of about 3 miles (4.8 km) [8] —and 1 lb (0.45 kg) guns on either side of the pilot house. Mounted on the bow was a 3-inch/23-caliber gun supplied by a magazine located in the keel. Near the stern was the ship's boats, which consisted of two 19 ft (5.8 m) dories. [2]

The cutters were propelled by two Winton 6-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engines. Each piston had a 14 in (36 cm) bore and 16 in (41 cm) stroke that could produce 450 rotations per minute and 670 brake horsepower (500 kW), [2] for a total of 1,340 brake horsepower (1,000 kW). [9] The engines turned two three-bladed propellers. The cutter had a maximum speed of 16 knots (30  km/h ; 18  mph ), a maximum sustained speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph), a cruising speed of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph), and an economic speed of 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph). She had a range of 1,750 miles (2,820 km) while traveling at her maximum sustained speed, a range of 3,000 miles (4,800 km) while traveling at her cruising speed, and a range of 6,417 miles (10,327 km) while traveling at her economic speed. [6]

Construction

Dione (left) alongside her sister ships Electra and Pandora before their triple launching in 1934 USCGCs Dione, Electra, and Pandora.png
Dione (left) alongside her sister ships Electra and Pandora before their triple launching in 1934

Hull number 277 [5] was a Thetis-class patrol boat [6] built by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Corporation in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Her keel was laid on 10 November 1933, [7] and her contract was entered the same day. [10] The launching of the cutter was originally to occur on 23 June, but was postponed one week per an announcement by the chief government inspector and shipyard officials. [11] The cutter was launched alongside her sister ships Electra and Pandora [12] on 30 June 1934. [6] Dione was christened by Unita Risch, president of Wisconsin Department of the American Legion Auxiliary. [13] The cutter was delivered on 28 September [14] and was commissioned on 5 October. [6] [7]

She was named for Dione, a Titaness and the mother of the goddess Aphrodite in Greek mythology. The cutter cost US$285,000 to construct. [6] Dione's building number was P-13 [10] [15] and her signal letters were NRGV. [16] She bore the prefix "USCGC," indicating that the USCG considered her a "United States Coast Guard Cutter". [17] It was estimated, as of 1936, that the cutter's operating cost would be US$66,170. [14]

Service history

Pre-war

Dione departed Manitowoc the same day she was commissioned—5 October 1934. [18] During the trip from Manitowoc, the cutter's oil purifier broke. She docked in Ogdensburg, New York for repairs on 15 October. [8] Dione stopped in Philadelphia on 30 October to be outfitted with her weaponry, [19] and docked at the Coast Guard Base on the Elizabeth River on 1 November in order to take on food and provisions. [20] She was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. [6] [21]

The cutter primarily operated in a search and rescue capacity, responding to vessels that had signaled that they were in distress, [22] [23] carrying injured seamen to Norfolk, [24] [25] and locating the wreckage of downed planes. [26] She also operated in miscellaneous capacities, such as breaking through ice to allow ships access to the Smith and Tangier Islands in February 1936 [27] and accompanying vessels participating in a Hampton One-Design race in August 1941. [28] In November 1937, Dione joined the search for survivors of the sunken cargo ship Tzenny Chandris, which had sunk in a storm off Hatteras, North Carolina, on the night of 12–13 November. Multiple lifeboats were found empty, but 15 survivors were eventually found clinging to wreckage by the cutter Mendota and were subsequently taken to Norfolk. [29] [30]

World War II

On 1 November 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order that transferred control of the Coast Guard from the Department of the Treasury to the United States Navy (USN) “for the duration of the emergency.” [31] : 16  In December 1941, the cutter's two 1 lb (0.45 kg) guns were removed. Installed were two racks to hold depth charges and a Y-gun depth charge launcher, [6] which was designed to throw depth charges over the sides of the cutter and into the water. [32]

After the American entry into World War II, Dione was assigned to both the Fifth Naval District —the USN command responsible for defending American coastal waters off southeastern Virginia and North Carolina [33] —and the Eastern Sea Frontier, a USN operational command. [6] She was based out of Naval Operating Base Norfolk. [34] : 25 Dione was assigned to patrol duty of the waters between Norfolk and Morehead City, North Carolina, covering the shipping lanes that passed by the Outer Banks and going as far out as the Gulf Stream. She also traveled to the lightships that operated off the Outer Banks to deliver and receive mail. [34] : 25 

Second Happy Time

Dione deploying depth charges, 1942 Dione depth charges.png
Dione deploying depth charges, 1942

The waters off the Outer Banks of North Carolina are nicknamed the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" due to the high amount of ships lost at sea off the coast. The sandbars shift due to rough waves and unpredictable weather. [34] : 25  During World War II, this region also earned the additional nickname "Torpedo Alley" (alternatively Torpedo Junction) due to the high number of U-boats patrolling off the Outer Banks. A total of 397 Allied ships were sunk by U-boats between January and June 1942, [33] during the time period that was referred to as the "Second Happy Time" by Kriegsmarine officers as well as Karl Dönitz — Admiral of the Kriegsmarine. [35]

Andolphus Andrews, the USN Admiral in charge of the Eastern Sea Frontier, compiled a group of twenty ships to help defend the East Coast of the United States. This consisted of Dione, six 125-foot coast guard cutters, four 110-foot cruiser submarines, three Eagle-class subchasers, two gunboats from 1905, and four large yachts that had been converted for military service. [36] : 461–462 Dione was the only vessel of these that was large and capable enough of opposing the U-boats that operated in Torpedo Alley. [21] [34] : 25 

Dione was under the command of Lieutenant Nelson McCormick in January 1942, at the beginning of the Second Happy Time. McCormick came to the conclusion that Dione tended to be too far away from vessels when they issued distress signals, so he ordered more aggressive and offensive patrols. After determining that U-boats generally attacked at night, McCormick decided to abandon his usual routine in favor of grid-searching the waters off the Outer Banks for U-boats. The cutter's searches would often utilize sonar and other sound-detection gear. [34] : 27  [37]

Sometime at the end of January, Dione dropped six depth charges after her sonar man reported an "underwater object" 20 miles (32 km) off Oregon Inlet. Two airplanes made several runs on a rapidly spreading patch of oil. They reported to McCormick that they saw something long and narrow. An oar and a boat hook eventually surfaced, and when brought aboard were found to have been from the oil tanker Francis E. Powell. The tanker had been sunk by U-130 on 27 January. [34] : 27 

In early February, Dione was ordered to Little Creek Section Base to pick up a new master, Lieutenant James Alger. McCormick was kept aboard Dione as an executive officer, and to command the cutter when intricate maneuvers were required. On Alger's first day, Dione's sonar operator called out an echo. Nothing was found, but a second echo later in the afternoon caused the cutter's new master to order depth charges dropped. After a spew of oil came to the surface, two life rafts were dispatched to collect samples. It was discovered that Dione had dropped depth charges on another sunken oil tanker. [34] : 28, 33 

On 12 February, the cutter's sonar operator reported a periscope off Dione's port side. Alger ordered general quarters and had depth charges dropped from both the Y-gun and the racks; some went off at 100 feet (30 m) while others went off at 50 feet (15 m). Dione's lights and equipment abruptly went dead after her propellers came out of the water. The cutter's engines were stopped, and her electrical power was later restored. No U-boat was ever spotted. [34] : 41 

Later that same month, on 19 February, the cutter towed the minesweeper USS Paramount to Morehead City after she had been grounded at the entrance to Ocracoke Inlet. [34] : 46  [38] Dione set off for Cape Henry late at night on 27 February to assist the torpedoed freighter North Sea. The freighter was found by Dione early the next morning with shell holes dotted across her hull. Reportedly, a U-boat's attack on North Sea had been halted due to a storm that had tossed the U-boat about, preventing it from accurately aiming its deck gun. Dione towed the damaged freighter to Little Creek, as North Sea had lost her steering capabilities in the attack, and arrived by the end of the day. [34] : 50 

Sometime in February 1942, the Thetis-class patrol boats were issued alpha-numeric designations, that began with WPC. [a] Dione was designated WPC-107. [31] : 18 

On 15 March, Dione received a distress signal from the tanker Australia. The tanker had been torpedoed by U-332 about 20 miles (32 km) away from the cutter. Dione spotted Australia a little after an hour, and the cutter's sonar operator had picked up an echo from the submarine within two. Dione launched depth charges but had no success. [39]

Crewmembers aboard Dione rescuing the crew of a torpedoed ship, 1942 Dione rescue.png
Crewmembers aboard Dione rescuing the crew of a torpedoed ship, 1942

On 17 March, Dione rescued the crew of the damaged storage tanker Acme, which had been torpedoed by the German submarine U-124 one nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) west of the Diamond Shoals Light Buoy. [40] That same day, she picked up the crew of a Greek vessel, Kassandra Louloudis, and took her survivors on as well and delivered everyone to Norfolk. [41] On 20 March, Dione made contact with a U-boat. A USCG airplane from the Elizabeth City Air Station dropped two depth charges with unknown results. [6] On 23 March, she responded to the distress signals of the oil tanker Naeco , torpedoed by U-124. The cutter rescued at least ten survivors from a lifeboat and two more from the water, all of whom were taken to Norfolk. [34] : 96–98  [42]

Three days later, on 26 March, Dione spotted flames from the sinking oil tanker Dixie Arrow and headed to investigate. The tanker's survivors had already been rescued by the destroyer USS Tarbell, and the cutter encountered nothing but debris. The cutter then headed south to the waters off Hatteras, North Carolina. [34] : 102  On 5 April, Dione responded to the torpedoed oil tanker Byron D. Benson, and pulled one survivor from the water. [6] [34] : 123 

Dione rendezvoused with USS Dickerson on 14 April, near the Diamond Shoals Light Buoy, to escort a convoy. Lieutenant Dick Bacchus had taken over as the cutter's navigator and executive officer, though McCormick remained aboard. The convoy was later joined by another cutter, and escorted two freighters north past North Carolina. After Dickerson relieved both cutters of duty, Dione headed back south for a nightly patrol. At morning on 15 April, Dione met up with Dickerson once more to escort a convoy, this time consisting of two British trawlers, two American tankers, and an American freighter. The tankers were quicker than Dione, and the cutter had issues keeping up. Alger chose to be aggressive despite supposed to be close by the convoy, ranging out and dropping depth charges on any suspected echos to "keep the U-boat[s] off balance." [34] : 164–166 

Dione escorting a convoy, 1942; her Y-gun can be seen behind the sailor in the foreground Dione convoy escort.png
Dione escorting a convoy, 1942; her Y-gun can be seen behind the sailor in the foreground

Dione and Dickerson both continued escort duty. The cutter would conduct escort duty during the day and would patrol the waters for U-boats during the night. The convoys were nicknamed "bucket brigades" after the old-fashioned method of transporting buckets during a fire. No ships were lost to U-boats near Cape Hatteras or Cape Lookout after the establishment of the convoys. [34] : 167  On 18 April, Dione was observed dropping depth charges on an unknown submarine, with no visible results. [6]

On 19 April, Dione led a convoy of nine civilian vessels alongside another by an 88-foot cutter. The convoy passed Cape Hatteras without incident. A USN aircraft then spotted an incoming torpedo; Alger ordered evasive maneuvers. The torpedo missed Dione but struck the tanker Axtell J. Byles at 2000 hours, which sank some time thereafter. Dione dropped depth charges in response to the attack. The charges hit something, but no kill was confirmed. Following this incident, it was decided that the convoys should run at night to reduce the risk of casualties. [34] : 167–169 

Dione began patrolling around the Wimble Shoals Buoy after her escort missions were finished, beginning demolition exercises on Axtell J. Byles' wreck on April 25. Her crew dropped depth charges on the wreck all day, hoping to discover what they had hit. On 29 April, Dione was ordered back to Little Creek for repairs and rearmament. The repairs were finished on 13 May. [34] : 178, 231 

On 18 May, Dione left Norfolk to join a convoy heading to Key West, Florida. On 20 May, it was discovered that the cutter's port engine was "acting up". It was decided that she would continue on the convoy running on one engine while her other one was repaired. Dione traveled in the starboard quarter of the convoy and occasionally traveled further away from the convoy to listen for sonar pings. The cutter was eventually forced to fall to the rear position after a ship began lagging behind. The convoy reached Florida on 23 May. [34] : 233–235 

Sometime in May, Dione met up with USS Ellis, a destroyer of the same class as Dickerson. The two ships completed support missions and responded to USCG aircraft reports. On one occasion, the ships steamed to the location of two allegedly damaged and submerged U-boats roughly 50 miles (80 km) off the coast of New Jersey and dropped depth charges. [21]

On 15 June, a convoy Dione was escorting formed a single-file line in preparation to enter the Chesapeake Bay. The fifth tanker in line, Robert C. Tuttle, struck a mine and began to sink within view of vacationers in Virginia Beach. [34] : 254–255  The tanker Esso Augusta broke the formation after her crew believed that Robert C. Tuttle had been torpedoed, and Esso Augusta ended up striking a mine. Dione dropped a spread of eight depth charges, and her ninth caused another explosion to occur. Eyewitnesses claimed to have seen a U-boat, but naval officials concluded that the incident was due to mines laid in the Thimble Shoal Channel between Virginia Beach and Virginia's eastern shore. [43]

On 24 June, at 1900 hours, the cutter made an underwater contact [6] while escorting a northbound eleven-ship [36] : 607  convoy. Five minutes later, Dione dropped one depth charge with no results. At 1910 hours [6] and after sunset, [36] : 607  two other ships in the convoy, Nordland and Manuela, were torpedoed [6] by U-404 . [36] : 607 Dione made a sweeping search for the submarine, which seemed to be on the convoy's starboard side. Nordland proceeded to catch fire and sink, and her survivors were rescued by Norwich City. [6] The submarine attempted a second attack, but was stopped by Dione and an ASW aircraft. [36] : 607 

Dione made another contact with a U-boat the next day, 25 June, dropping five depth charges. As a result, large amounts of oil bubbled to the surface. A doubtful contact was made just two days later, on 27 June, at 1054 hours. The cutter dropped four depth charges but yielded no results. [6] Dione was taken to Norfolk for repairs to her starboard engine at the end of the month. They lasted a week, and the cutter was back into action at the beginning of July. She continued her convoy escort duties into July and August, [34] : 290  though the U-boat threat off the Outer Banks had become almost non-existent by then. [44] Following the end of the Second Happy Time, the crew of Dione began to refer to the time period as the "Battle of Torpedo Junction." [34] : 19 

1945

Dione (center) escorts the German submarine U-1228 to Portsmouth, New Hampshire; 17 May 1945 German submarine U-1228 surrenders at Portsmouth NH in May 1945.jpg
Dione (center) escorts the German submarine U-1228 to Portsmouth, New Hampshire; 17 May 1945

In early 1945, Dione was rearmed with two 3-inch/50-caliber guns, two 20 mm/80 cannons, two "Mousetrap" anti-submarine rocket launchers, and another Y-gun. Her wireless system was replaced with an SF radar system and a QCN-1 sonar system. [7] The cutter's displacement was increased to 350 long tons (360 t) and her draft was increased to 10 feet (3 m). [6]

The cutter was selected as one of six vessels to serve as the USN's "Surrender Group" for the First Naval District off New England, alongside her sister ships Argo and Nemesis. The role of the Surrender Group was to help escort surrendered Axis vessels to American ports, where they would then be acquired by the government. Dönitz, who was now serving as President of Germany and as Adolf Hitler's successor, had broadcast an order for all German U-boats to surrender to Allied ports on 5 May. [45] [46]

On 17 May, Dione rendezvoused with U-1228, a U-boat that had fled to Allied waters following the German Instrument of Surrender on 8 May. The crew of the submarine surrendered it to the Allies, and the cutter was ordered to escort the U-boat to an American port. She guided U-1228 to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. [47] In June, Dione was sent back to the Fifth Naval District, where she was assigned to air-sea rescue duty. [6]

Post-war

Dione in Freeport, Texas, June 1952 USCGC Dione Freeport.jpg
Dione in Freeport, Texas, June 1952

On 1 January 1946, jurisdiction of the Coast Guard was given back to the Department of the Treasury via an executive order. [31] : 21 

Between 1945 and 1947, Dione was used by the USCG for both law enforcement and search and rescue. She was eventually decommissioned on 23 July 1947, in Cape May, New Jersey, [48] where she spent several years laid up [49] in storage due to a lack of personnel. [6] The cutter was recommissioned on 4 February 1951, in Curtis Bay, Maryland, [50] after a shakedown cruise in the Caribbean. [51] Dione was stationed in Freeport, Texas, [b] starting in 1952, [51] and was the first cutter to be based in the city. [48] Reportedly, Freeport competed with the city of Corpus Christi to be the location where Dione was stationed. [52]

The cutter originally scheduled to arrive on 13 March 1952, but was delayed until 19 March due to rough weather on her shakedown cruise. [53] She was met with a yacht escort upon her arrival in Freeport that day. Local schools were closed so students could visit Dione, and an enlisted men's dance and officer's dinner was held. [48] [50] The day was officially proclaimed "Coast Guard Day" by the cities of Freeport, Velasco, Clute, and Lake Jackson. [48] Dione was based at the Freeport Lifeboat Station. [48] [52]

Dione operated in a similar capacity as she had in Norfolk, that being search and rescue. Among other incidents, cutter responded to the distress signal of a Mexican motor vessel in 1956, [54] towed the buoy tender Iris in 1957, [6] [55] helped put out a fire that had started aboard the Freeport sulfur barge FS-20 in 1959, [56] and towed a fishing vessel after a false emergency signal in 1962. [57]

In 1953, per international rules, the cutter was required to install a forward masthead light 16 feet (4.9 m) above the hull, and install an after range light—the horizontal distance had to be 18 feet (5.5 m). [58] She was also the first of five 165 feet (50 m)-long [c] cutters to undergo repairs to her hull in 1960. It was discovered that her insides had corroded and were hidden by insulation and furniture, her C strake [d] had several leaks, and attempts to use welding arcs to fix the latter issue ended up "burning through the basic plate" and resulted in Dione's entire strake needing to be replaced. [59]

Dione remained in Freeport until the end of her service in 1963, was decommissioned on 8 February of that year, [6] and was placed in mothballs. [60] She was sold as a supply ship on 24 February 1964. [6] [7]

Commercial service

Delta I underway on 27 March 1970, after her rebuild in Tampa, Florida MV Delta I, post-refit, 1970.png
Delta I underway on 27 March 1970, after her rebuild in Tampa, Florida

The former Coast Guard cutter became a merchant vessel after being sold. She was initially known under the name Dione, but was given three new names over the course of her commercial service: Delta I, Big Trouble, and Al Rashid. [61] She carried the official number 297193 [61] [62] [63] and the call sign WD4627. [63] [64]

In 1967, Dione was owned by the Palmer Decker Boat Company and based in Port Arthur, Texas. [64] In March 1967, the Palmer Decker Boat Company was dissolved. [65] Prior to 1969, the ship was known as Big Trouble and was owned by Big Trouble Inc. [66] In March 1969, under the name Delta I, she was sold from Delta Boats, Inc. to Sabik, Inc. [67] The ship was registered in New Orleans. [62]

On 5 April 1969, listed as a geophysical exploration ship, Delta I caught fire while going from Kingston, Jamaica, to Port of Spain, the capital city of Trinidad and Tobago; she was bound for the Persian Gulf. She had left the United States on 25 March. The crew of Delta I had failed to extinguish an engine fire and abandoned the ship in lifeboats. An SOS was received by the USN Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, which subsequently dispatched planes. After finding the ship, the planes messaged Kingston for a Jamaican Defense Force Coast Guard patrol boat. The crew were rescued by the Jamaican Defense Force Coast Guard and a salvage vessel was made to put out the blaze and recover the ship. [68] Delta I was almost completely gutted by the time the fire was extinguished, with only her hull salvageable when she was towed to Tampa, Florida. [69]

The ship was overhauled for almost a year, [69] briefly seized by a US Marshal in February 1970, [70] and refitted by March that year to serve as a "jack-of-all trades" ship. She was capable of serving as "an oil rig tender, a crew boat, buoy tender, repair ship with sand blast capacity, and a line-handling vessel for super tankers." Delta I was still owned by Sabik despite the seizure, and was chartered to the Mideast Trading Company. [69] In late 1969, the ship's name was reportedly changed to Al Rashid. [71]

In March 1971, the ship was again named Big Trouble and owned by Big Trouble, Inc. [72] Prior to January 1971, the ship was once again owned by Sabik and named Al Rashid. [73] She was assigned the IMO number 7515080 and listed as a supply ship in Lloyd's Register of Shipping. [74] The ship had a length of 154.3 feet (47 m), a beam of 25.3 feet (7.7 m), and a draft of 11.3 feet (3.4 m). She was 256 gross register tons and 174 net register tons. [63] [73]

The exact year that the former Dione concluded her service is unknown, though she was last seen in service in 1992 as Al Rashid. [49]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ WPC referred to a "Coast Guard patrol craft." [17]
  2. ↑ The unincorporated community of Brazosport is sometimes named as Dione's assigned station.
  3. ↑ The USCG likes to refer to cutters by length and not name. This applies to both Algonquin and Thetis-classes.
  4. ↑ A ship's strake is a longitudinal course of plating that stretches from her bow to her stern.

References

  1. 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.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "United States Coast Guard Patrol Boats". Marine Engineering and Shipping Age. 37: 382–383. 1932.
  3. ↑ Chesneau, Roger (1980). "United States". Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships, 1922–1946. Conway Maritime Press. p. 166. ISBN   9780851771465 . Retrieved 29 October 2025– via Internet Archive.
  4. ↑ "Constitutional Amendments – Amendment 21 – "Repeal of Prohibition"". Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum . Retrieved 28 September 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Manitowoc Shipbuilding, Manitowoc WI". Naval Marine Archive. 8 April 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 "Dione, 1934". United States Coast Guard. 28 December 2020. Archived from the original on 10 March 2025. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Scheina, Robert L. (1982). U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II. Naval Institute Press. pp. 37–38. ISBN   978-0-87021-717-3 – via Internet Archive.
  8. 1 2 "Cutter Dione Ties up at Local Wharf". Ogdensburg Journal. 16 October 1934. p. 5. Retrieved 29 September 2025– via NYS Historic Newspapers.
  9. ↑ Clancey, Patrick (20 November 1999). "WPC-107 USS Dione". Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  10. 1 2 Record of Movements: Vessels of the United States Coast Guard, 1790-December 31, 1933. Coast Guard Historian's Office. 1989. p. 318 – via HathiTrust.
  11. ↑ "Postpone Launching of Coast Guard Boats". Kenosha News . 7 June 1934. p. 2. Retrieved 12 October 2025– via newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Delgado, James P. (30 June 1987). "Potomac (Presidential Yacht)". National Park Service . p. 9. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  13. ↑ "Crowd of 10,000 Attends Launching". The Sheboygan Press. 30 June 1934. p. 1. Retrieved 12 October 2025– via newspapers.com.
  14. 1 2 Treasury Department Appropriate Bill for 1935. United States Government Printing Office. 1935. p. 434 – via HathiTrust.
  15. ↑ Flynn, James (2 April 2014). U.S. Coast Guard "W" Numbers (PDF). Originally published in The Belgian Shiplover. United States Coast Guard. p. 2.
  16. ↑ "United States Coast Guard". Signal Letters of the United States Merchant Marine: 1941. 10. United States Government Printing Office. 1941. p. 90 – via HathiTrust.
  17. 1 2 "Frequently Asked Questions". U.S. Coast Guard Historic Topics. U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
  18. ↑ "New Cutter Dione En Route To Port". The Virginian-Pilot . 7 October 1934. p. 29. Retrieved 12 October 2025– via newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "Dione at Philadelphia". Ledger-Star . 30 October 1934. p. 22. Retrieved 12 October 2025– via newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "New Coast Guard Cutter Dione Joins Norfolk Division". The Virginian-Pilot. 2 November 1934. p. 16. Retrieved 12 October 2025– via newspapers.com.
  21. 1 2 3 Ostrom, Thomas P. (2009). The United States Coast Guard in World War II: a History of Domestic and Overseas Actions. McFarland. p. 102. ISBN   978-0-7864-5371-9 – via Google Books.
  22. ↑ "Cutter Seeking Disabled Trawl Craft Off Capes". Daily Press . 1 February 1940. p. 6. Retrieved 28 August 2025– via newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ "Coast Guard Cutter Fails to Find Boat". Suffolk News-Herald . Vol. 15. 20 November 1937. p. 6. Retrieved 10 August 2025– via Virginia Chronicle.
  24. ↑ "Bringing Injured Man". Daily Press. 27 December 1940. p. 1. Retrieved 28 August 2025– via newspapers.com.
  25. ↑ "Rush to Injured Man". Daily Press. 31 December 1940. p. 6. Retrieved 28 August 2025– via newspapers.com.
  26. ↑ "Find Wreckage of Lost Plane". Daily Press. 9 April 1941. pp. 1, 7. Retrieved 28 August 2025– via newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ "Cutter Opening Channels to Bay Islands". The Daily Times. 5 February 1936. p. 6. Retrieved 5 October 2025– via newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "One-Designs Race from Norfolk to Urbanna Thursday". Daily Press. 31 August 1941. p. 18. Retrieved 28 August 2025– via newspapers.com.
  29. ↑ "Ships sweep sea for missing 22". The Sunday Star . Washington, DC. 14 November 1937. p. 1. Retrieved 7 March 2024 – via Library of Congress.
  30. ↑ "Freighter Leaky, Survivors Assert; Seaman Says Crew Asked That Ship be Turned Back Long Before She Sank". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  31. 1 2 3 Dropkin, Les (January 2002). "Sister Ships: The Thetis Class Coast Guard Patrol Boats" (PDF). USS Potomac. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 November 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2025– via Wayback Machine.
  32. ↑ Depth Charge Projector Mark I (or Y-Gun) (Revised ed.). Government Printing Office. October 1918. p. 3.
  33. 1 2 "Torpedo Junction". National Park Service. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Hickam, Homer H. (3 May 1996). Torpedo Junction: U-Boat War Off America's East Coast, 1942. Naval Institute Press. ISBN   978-1-61251-578-6. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020 – via Google Books and Internet Archive.
  35. ↑ Offley, Ed (February 2022). "The Drumbeat Mystery". Naval History. 36 (1). U.S. Naval Institute.
  36. 1 2 3 4 5 Blair, Clay; Blair Jr., Clay (21 July 2010). Hitler's U-Boat War. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN   9780307874375 – via Google Books.
  37. ↑ Marx, Deborah; Delgado, James (26 April 2013). "National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form" (PDF). National Park Service. p. 28. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  38. ↑ "Paramount". history.navy.mil. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  39. ↑ Bunch, Jim (10 July 2017). U-Boats Off the Outer Banks. History Press. pp. 79–80. ISBN   9781439661734 – via Google Books.
  40. ↑ Cressman, Robert J. (12 July 2022). "Abarenda II (IX-131)". history.navy.mil. Retrieved 4 September 2025.
  41. ↑ "Kassandra Louloudis". Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  42. ↑ "Naeco". monitor.noaa.gov. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  43. ↑ Offley, Ed (June 2022). "When War Erupted Off Virginia Beach". U.S. Naval Institute. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  44. ↑ Milner, Marc (2011). "Chapter 4". Battle of the Atlantic (2nd ed.). Stroud: The History Press. ISBN   978-0-7524-6646-0.
  45. ↑ Thiesen, William H. (October 2016). "The Coast Guard's World War II Crucible". Naval History. 30 (5). U.S. Naval Institute. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  46. ↑ Theisen, William H. (Spring 2013). "Lieutenant Eliot Winslow, Kapitänleutnant Johann-Heinrich Fehler and the Surrender of the Nazis' Top-Secret Submarine, U-234". Sea History (142): 18 – via issuu.com.
  47. ↑ "USCGC Dione (WPC-107) Escorting German Submarine U-1228, Portsmouth, New Hampshire". National Archives Catalog. 17 May 1945. Retrieved 7 October 2025.
  48. 1 2 3 4 5 "Texas Towns Welcome First CG Ship There". U.S. Coast Guard Bulletin. Vol. 7. Bureau of the Budget. May 1952. p. 185. Retrieved 15 August 2025 – via Google Books
  49. 1 2 Silverstone, Paul (6 April 2011). The Navy of the Nuclear Age, 1947-2007. Taylor & Francis. p. 261. ISBN   9781135864668 – via Google Books.
  50. 1 2 "Texas! Big State with a Big Heart!". U.S. Coast Guard Magazine. 25 (8): 9–10. June 1952 – via Internet Archive.
  51. 1 2 "Dione is Re-Commissioned". U.S. Coast Guard Bulletin. Vol. 7. Bureau of the Budget. August 1951. p. 150. Retrieved 21 April 2025– via Google Books.
  52. 1 2 "Okay of Dione berth welcome". The Brazosport Facts. 18 December 1962. p. 2. Retrieved 5 October 2025– via newspapers.com.
  53. ↑ "Dione Arrival Here Delayed". The Freeport Facts. 13 March 1952. p. 1. Retrieved 30 September 2025– via newspapers.com.
  54. ↑ "Mexican Ship Sinks 50 Aboard". Sherbrooke Daily Record. 29 March 1956. p. 5. Retrieved 29 September 2025– via Bibliothèque et Archives Nationales du Québec [National Library and Archives of Quebec].
  55. ↑ Porter, Marc (2002). U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Iris (PDF). National Park Service. p. 4.
  56. ↑ Commandant's Action on Marine Board of Investigation; explosion and fire on barge FREEPORT SULFUR CO. NO. 20, Avondale Marine Ways, Harvey, Louisiana, on 17 November 1959 with loss of life (PDF). United States Coast Guard. 7 July 1960. p. 6.
  57. ↑ "Cutter Dione Sent To Aid Fishing Vessel". Galveston Daily News . 10 December 1962. p. 5. Retrieved 28 August 2025– via newspaperarchive.com.
  58. ↑ "Title 33—Navigation and Navigable Waters" (PDF). Federal Register. 18 (254): 16. 31 December 1953. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  59. ↑ DeLatt, Jr., P. J. (January–February 1960). "Naval Engineering: 165 Foot Cutter Rehabilitation Program". The Engineer's Digest. 120: 17 – via Google Books.
  60. ↑ "Change of command on Cutter Frederick Lee". The Brazosport Facts. 7 July 1963. p. 1. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  61. 1 2 "Present Names of Merchant Vessels Showing Former Names". Merchant Vessels of the United States. 2. U.S. Government Printing Office: 1560. 1976 – via Google Books.
  62. 1 2 Merchant Vessels of the United States 1970 (Including Yachts). U.S. Government Printing Office. 1970. p. 233 – via Google Books.
  63. 1 2 3 "List of Vessels". Merchant Vessels of the United States 1979 (Including Yachts). Vol. 1. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1979. p. 63. Retrieved 14 October 2025– via Google Books.
  64. 1 2 "List of Vessels". Merchant Vessels of the United States 1965 (Including Yachts). U.S. Government Printing Office. 1965. p. 180. Retrieved 22 October 2025– via Google Books.
  65. ↑ Palmer, John L. (20 April 1967). "Dissolution Notice: Palmer Decker Boat Company. Inc". De Ridder Enterprise. p. 15. Retrieved 18 October 2025– via newspapers.com.
  66. ↑ "List of Vessels". Merchant Vessels of the United States 1969 (Including Yachts). U.S. Government Printing Office. 1970. p. 99. Retrieved 24 October 2025.
  67. ↑ "Changes in the Merchant Marine". Monthly Supplement to Merchant Vessels of the United States. United States Department of Transportation. 1970. p. 165. Retrieved 21 October 2025– via Google Books.
  68. ↑ "Geophysical Ship Crew is Rescued". The Times. 7 April 1969. p. 19. Retrieved 17 October 2025– via newspapers.com.
  69. 1 2 3 Inglis, Tom (27 March 1970). "Jack-of-all-trades ship ready to sail". The Times. p. 9. Retrieved 17 October 2025– via newspapers.com.
  70. ↑ Peeples, Jack F. "Legal Advertisement". The Tampa Tribune. p. 34. Retrieved 17 October 2025– via newspapers.com.
  71. ↑ "Changes in the Merchant Marine". Monthly Supplement to Merchant Vessels of the United States. United States Department of Transportation. 1 January 1970. p. 155. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  72. ↑ "Ward 3 – Residents (Movables)". The Plaquemines Gazette. 26 March 1971. p. 6. Retrieved 19 October 2025– via newspapers.com.
  73. 1 2 "List of Vessels". Merchant Vessels of the United States 1971 (including Yachts). U.S. Government Printing Office. 1 January 1971. p. 37. Retrieved 14 October 2025– via Google Books.
  74. ↑ Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1978-79 A-K. Lloyd's Register Foundation, Heritage & Education Centre. 1978. p. 104. Retrieved 16 August 2025– via Internet Archive.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.