USCGC Duane under way in the early 1960s | |
History | |
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United States | |
Name | USCGC Duane (WPG-33) |
Namesake | William J. Duane |
Builder | Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania |
Cost | $2,468,460 |
Yard number | CG-67 |
Laid down | 1 May 1935 |
Launched | 3 June 1936 |
Commissioned | 1 August 1936 |
Decommissioned | 1 August 1985 |
Identification | Call sign: NRDD |
Fate |
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General characteristics [1] | |
Class and type | Treasury-class cutter |
Displacement | 2,350 long tons (2,388 t) |
Length | 327 ft (100 m) |
Beam | 41 ft (12 m) |
Draft | 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 20.5 knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph) |
Range | 8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) |
Complement |
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Electronic warfare & decoys |
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Armament |
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Aircraft carried |
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USCGC Duane (WPG-33) | |
Location | Monroe County, Florida, USA |
Nearest city | Key Largo |
Coordinates | 25°0′25.98″N80°20′47.22″W / 25.0072167°N 80.3464500°W |
NRHP reference No. | 02000494 [2] |
Added to NRHP | May 16, 2002 |
USCGC Duane (WPG-33/WAGC-6/WHEC-33) (earlier known as the USCGC William J. Duane) was a cutter in the United States Coast Guard. Her keel was laid on May 1, 1935, at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was launched on June 3, 1936, as a search and rescue and law enforcement vessel.
The Treasury-class Coast Guard cutters (sometimes referred to as the "Secretary" or 327-foot class) were all named for former Secretaries of the Treasury Department. The cutter Duane was named for William J. Duane, who served as the third Secretary of the Treasury to serve under President Andrew Jackson.
At the time of the Duane's decommissioning in 1985, she was the oldest active U.S. military vessel; the current oldest, the USCGC Eagle, was also built in 1936 for the German military, but only commissioned into U.S. service in 1946 after being ceded as a war reparation after World War II.
After fitting out, she departed the Philadelphia Navy Yard on October 16, 1936, and arrived at Oakland, California on November 24. She was then assigned to temporary duty in Honolulu, and arrived there on December 9, 1936, to participate in the U.S. colonization efforts of the Line Islands in the Pacific. Duane then returned to her permanent homeport of Oakland, arriving on February 25, 1937. For the next two years, she joined the Bering Sea Patrol Force for annual cruises of that area. In mid-1937 her name was shortened to merely Duane. In September 1939 she was assigned to duty with Destroyer Division 18, conducting neutrality patrols along the Grand Banks (these patrols were known as "Grand Banks Patrols"), as ordered by President Franklin Roosevelt. She departed Oakland on September 7, 1939, and arrived at her new homeport of Boston on September 22, 1939. Here she conducted four Grand Banks patrols, from October through December, 1939, completing her final patrol on January 12, 1940.
Duane was then assigned to weather patrols in the mid-Atlantic, and also carried out a survey of the western coast of Greenland in mid-1940. In late 1940 she was fitted with additional armaments, receiving anti-aircraft and anti-submarine weapons. On 14 June 1941 she rescued 46 survivors from the British tanker Tresillian, which had been sunk by U-77. She was assigned to permanent duty with the U.S. Navy on 11 September 1941, and was designated WPG-33. On 1 April 1942 Duane was reassigned from weather patrols to convoy escort duty during the battle of the Atlantic.
Convoy | Escort Group | Dates | Notes |
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SC 81 | 5 May 1942 [3] | Iceland shuttle | |
SC 83 | 17 May 1942 [3] | Iceland shuttle | |
ON 98 | 27–30 May 1942 [4] | Iceland shuttle | |
ON 102 | 14–17 June 1942 [4] | Iceland shuttle | |
SC 89 | 29 June 1942 [3] | Iceland shuttle | |
ON 112 | 14–17 July 1942 [4] | Iceland shuttle | |
SC 91 | 19 July 1942 [3] | Iceland shuttle | |
ON 116 | 25–29 July 1942 [4] | Iceland shuttle | |
ON 117 | 31 July-3 Aug 1942 [4] | Iceland shuttle | |
ON 120 | 9-14 Aug 1942 [4] | Iceland shuttle | |
SC 95 | 14 Aug 1942 [3] | Iceland shuttle | |
SC 99 | 12 Sept 1942 [3] | Iceland shuttle | |
ON 136 | 5-9 Oct 1942 [4] | Iceland shuttle | |
SC 103 | 10 Oct 1942 [3] | Iceland shuttle | |
ON 140 | 19-24 Oct 1942 [4] | Iceland shuttle | |
SC 105 | 25-26 Oct 1942 [3] | Iceland shuttle | |
ON 144 | 8-15 Nov 1942 [4] | Iceland shuttle | |
ON 148 | 25-27 Nov 1942 [4] | Iceland shuttle | |
HX 216 | 28 Nov-1 Dec 1942 [5] | Iceland shuttle | |
SC 110 | 1-2 Dec 1942 [3] | Iceland shuttle | |
ON 156 | 25-30 Dec 1942 [4] | Iceland shuttle | |
SC 114 | [3] | Iceland shuttle | |
SC 116 | 16-24 Jan 1943 [3] | Iceland shuttle | |
ON 163 | 26 Jan-3 Feb 1943 [4] | Iceland shuttle | |
HX 233 | MOEF group A-3 | 12–20 April 1943 [5] | from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland |
Duane was converted to a combined operations-communications headquarters ship in 1944. Upon completion, she was to have been taken over by the Navy and assigned the hull number AGC-6. However, this plan was dropped and she was retained for Coast Guard service (her designation then became WAGC-6). Duane was attached to the Eighth Amphibious Force in the Mediterranean Sea, and took part in "Operation Dragoon", the invasion of southern France, in August 1944. She remained in the Mediterranean until July 1945, when she returned to the United States and reverted to her previous designation WPG-33.
The ocean-weather station program was permanently established by multi-national agreement soon after the end of World War II. The Coast Guard was then assigned the duty of manning those stations for which the U.S. accepted responsibility. As the 327s completed conversion to ocean station vessels, each immediately deployed to their new stations. For most of the next twenty years, Duane and her sisters, except Taney which was stationed in the Pacific, alternated duty between weather stations "Charlie" (850 miles northeast of St. John's, Newfoundland), "Bravo" (250 miles northeast of Cape St. Charles, Labrador); "Delta" (located 650 miles southeast of Argentia, Newfoundland); and "Echo" (850 miles east northeast of Bermuda). Sometime later these became known simply as "ocean stations." Although the crew probably considered these patrols boring, they were important to the continued growth and safety of international over-water commercial air flights. On 1 May 1965 all the vessels in her class were re-classified as high endurance cutters and she was redesignated WHEC-33.
On 4 December 1967 Duane was assigned to Coast Guard Squadron Three located off the coast of Vietnam, where she served as the flagship for Coast Guard squadron. Duane permanently departed Vietnamese waters on July 28, 1968. Duane then again returned to ocean station duty but this task was rapidly becoming obsolete. The stations were decommissioned in the early 1970s, having been overtaken by electronic aids to navigation such as LORAN. The mid-1970s were a period of transition for the Coast Guard with the passage of the Fisheries Conservation and Management Act and the nation's shift towards increased interdiction of narcotics smugglers. These operations called for off-shore patrols of up to three weeks.
Duane left Coast Guard service and was decommissioned on August 1, 1985, as the oldest active U.S. military vessel and was laid up in Boston for the next two years.
Duane is now a historic shipwreck near Key Largo, Florida, United States. The cutter was deliberately sunk on November 27, 1987, to create an artificial reef. It is located a mile south of Molasses Reef. On May 16, 2002, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. [2]
The following decorations were awarded to Duane during her service life: [1]
WPG/WAGC/WHEC-37, launched as USCGC Roger B. Taney and for most of her career called USCGC Taney, is a United States Coast Guard high endurance cutter notable as the last warship floating which fought in the attack on Pearl Harbor. She was named for Roger B. Taney (1777–1864), who served as U.S. Attorney General, Secretary of the Treasury, and Chief Justice of the United States.
USCGC Ingham (WPG/WAGC/WHEC-35) is one of only two preserved Treasury-class United States Coast Guard Cutters. Originally Samuel D. Ingham, she was the fourth cutter to be named for Treasury Secretary Samuel D. Ingham. She was the most decorated vessel in the Coast Guard fleet and was the only cutter to ever be awarded two Presidential Unit Citations.
The USCGC Bibb (WPG-31) was a 327-foot (100 m) Secretary-Class Coast Guard ship commissioned in 1936. Seven similar "combat cutters" were built and named for secretaries of the United States Treasury. Bibb was named for U.S. Secretary of the Treasury George M. Bibb.
USCGC Dallas (WHEC-716) was a United States Coast Guard high endurance cutter commissioned in 1967 at the Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was the sixth ship or boat to bear the name of Alexander J. Dallas, the Secretary of the Treasury under President James Madison (1814–1816). She is one of twelve Hamilton-class cutters built for the Coast Guard.
The USCGC Morgenthau (WHEC-722), was the eighth of twelve 378-foot dual-powered turbine/diesel Hamilton-class high endurance cutters (WHECs) built by Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Coast Guard commissioned the Morgenthau on March 10, 1969. After 48 years of continuous service the U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned the Morgenthau on April 18, 2017, and the ship was sold to Vietnam. On 27 May 2017 the Vietnam Coast Guard commissioned the former cutter as patrol ship CSB 8020.
USCGC Modoc (WPG-46) was a 240-foot Tampa-class United States Coast Guard cutter designed for multi-mission roles. She had a top speed of sixteen knots, and was armed with a pair of 5-inch deck guns. With the breakout of war she was armed with depth charges, additional guns, sonar, and radar and transferred to the Navy. Modoc, along with her sister ships Mojave and Tampa joined the Greenland Patrol.
USS Biscayne (AVP-11), later AGC-18, was a United States Navy Barnegat-class seaplane tender in commission as a seaplane tender from 1941 to 1943 and as an amphibious force flagship from 1943 to 1946. She saw service during World War II. Transferred to the United States Coast Guard after the war, she was in commission as the Coast Guard cutter USCGC Dexter (WAGC-385), later WAVP-385 and WHEC-385, from 1946 to 1952 and from 1958 to 1968.
USCGC Campbell (WPG-32) was a 327-foot (100 m) Secretary-class United States Coast Guard ship built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1935-1936 and commissioned in 1936. Seven similar "combat cutters" were built and named for secretaries of the United States Treasury.
USCG Owasco (WHEC-39) was an Owasco class high endurance cutter which served with the US Coast Guard from 1945 to 1973. Originally intended for World War II service, she was commissioned only weeks before the end of the war and consequently did not see combat until her deployment in the Vietnam War more than 20 years later.
USCGC Wachusett (WHEC-44) was an Owasco-class high endurance cutter built for World War II service with the United States Coast Guard. She was commissioned too late for service in that war and consequently did not see wartime service until the Vietnam War.
USCGC Minnetonka (WHEC-67) was an Owasco class high endurance cutter built for World War II service with the United States Coast Guard. The war ended before the ship was completed and consequently Minnetonka did not see wartime service until the Vietnam War.
USCGC Androscoggin (WHEC-68) was an Owasco-class high endurance cutter built for World War II service with the United States Coast Guard. The war ended before the ship was completed and consequently Androscoggin did not see wartime service until the Vietnam War.
USCGC Pontchartrain (WHEC-70) was an Owasco class high endurance cutter built for World War II service with the United States Coast Guard. The ship was commissioned just days before the end of the war and thus did not see combat action until the Korean War.
USCGC Northland (WPG-49) was a United States Coast Guard cruising class of gunboat especially designed for Arctic operations in commission from 1927 to 1938 and from 1939 to 1946. She served during World War II. She was the last cruising cutter built for the Coast Guard equipped with a sailing rig.
USS Wachapreague (AGP-8) was a motor torpedo boat tender in commission in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946, seeing service in the latter part of World War II. After her Navy decommissioning, she was in commission in the United States Coast Guard from 1946 to 1972 as the cutter USCGC McCulloch (WAVP-386), later WHEC-386, the fourth ship of the U.S. Coast Guard or its predecessor, the United States Revenue Cutter Service, to bear the name. In 1972 she was transferred to South Vietnam and served in the Republic of Vietnam Navy as the frigate RVNS Ngô Quyền (HQ-17). Upon the collapse of South Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, she fled to the Philippines, and she served in the Philippine Navy from 1977 to 1985 as the frigate RPSGregorio del Pilar (PF-8) and from 1987 to 1990 as BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-12).
USS Half Moon (AVP-26) was a seaplane tender that in commission in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946 that saw service in the latter half of World War II. After the war, she was in commission in the United States Coast Guard as the cutter USCGC Half Moon (WAVP-378), later WHEC-378, from 1948 to 1969, seeing service in the Vietnam War during her Coast Guard career.
The second USS Barataria (AVP-33) was a United States Navy Barnegat-class seaplane tender in commission from 1944 to 1946. She saw service in the later stages of World War II and was decommissioned postwar. She then was transferred to the United States Coast Guard and was in commission as the Coast Guard cutter USCGC Barataria (WAVP-381), later WHEC-381 from 1949 to 1969, serving in the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War during her lengthy Coast Guard career.
USCGC Spencer (WPG-36) was a Treasury-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard that served during World War II. She was named for U.S. Treasury Secretary John Canfield Spencer.
The Casco class was a large class of United States Coast Guard cutters in commission from the late 1940s through the late 1980s. They saw service as weather reporting ships in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans until the early 1970s, and some saw combat service during the Vietnam War.
The USCGC North Star was a United States Coast Guard Cutter during the Second World War. It was originally built for the U.S. Interior Department and served in the United States Coast Guard (USCG) before being acquired by the U.S. Navy.