History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Namesake | Alexander Hamilton |
Ordered | November 2010 |
Builder | Huntington Ingalls Industries, Pascagoula, Mississippi |
Laid down | 5 September 2012 |
Launched | 10 August 2013 |
Sponsored by | Linda Kapral Papp |
Christened | 26 October 2013 |
Commissioned | 6 December 2014 |
Identification |
|
Status | In service |
Badge | |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Legend-class cutter |
Displacement | 4500 LT |
Length | 418 ft (127 m) |
Beam | 54 ft (16 m) |
Height | 140 ft (43 m) |
Draft | 22.5 ft (6.9 m) |
Decks | 4 |
Propulsion | Combined diesel and gas |
Speed | 28+ knots |
Range | 12,000 nm |
Endurance | 60 days |
Complement | 111 (15 Officers, 15 CPO, 81 Enlisted) and can carry up to 148 depending on mission [1] |
Sensors and processing systems |
|
Electronic warfare & decoys | |
Armament |
|
Armor | Ballistic protection for main gun |
Aircraft carried | 2 x MH-65C Dolphin MCH, or 4 x VUAV or 1 x MH-65C Dolphin MCH and 2 x VUAV |
Aviation facilities | 50-by-80-foot (15 m × 24 m) flight deck, hangar for all aircraft |
USCGC Hamilton (WMSL-753) is the fourth Legend-class cutter, also known as the National Security Cutter (NSC), of the United States Coast Guard. She is the fifth cutter named after Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, who was the first United States Secretary of the Treasury and in that position requested the formation of the United States Coast Guard (as the United States Revenue Cutter Service). The cutter's sponsor is Linda Kapral Papp, the wife of Coast Guard Commandant Robert J. Papp Jr. [2]
Construction began in September 2011 by Northrop Grumman's Ship System Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, with the keel was laid on 5 September 2012. Hamilton was launched on 10 August 2013, and her christening was on 26 October 2013. [3] She was delivered to the Coast Guard in September 2014. The cutter is homeported at Joint Base Charleston in North Charleston, South Carolina.
In January 2020 Hamilton became the first NSC to participate in a Navy Composite Training Unit Exercise, integrated with USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and Carrier Strike Group 10. After operating with the Carrier Strike Group, the cutter patrolled the Eastern Pacific Ocean in support of Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) South. The cutter returned in April after the 80-day patrol, during which she captured three drug smuggling vessels, including two narco-subs, and eight suspected drug smugglers. After the patrol she offloaded $324 million worth of cocaine and marijuana. [4]
In May 2021 Hamilton patrolled the Black Sea for nearly three weeks, conducting training exercises with several NATO and friendly navies, including Turkey, Romania, Ukraine, and Georgia. This was the first visit to the Black Sea by a Coast Guard cutter since USCGC Dallas (WHEC-716) in 2008. [8] The patrol was monitored by Russia whose foreign ministry issued a statement condemning the cutter's presence. [9]
Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, United States, originally established in 1938, and now part of HII. It is a leading producer of ships for the United States Navy, and, as of 2023, is the largest private employer in Mississippi.
USS Alexander Hamilton may refer to the following ships operated by the United States government:
SLNS Vijayabahu (P627) is an Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel of the Sri Lanka Navy. The ship is named after King Vijayabahu I, the warrior king of the medieval Sri Lanka who founded the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa.
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 Bertholf (WMSL-750) is the first Legend-class maritime security cutter of the United States Coast Guard. She is named for Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf, fourth commandant of both the Revenue Cutter Service and Coast Guard.
The Hamilton-class cutter was the largest class of vessel in the United States Coast Guard until replaced by the Legend-class cutter, aside from the Polar-class icebreaker. The hull classification symbol is prefixed WHEC. The cutters are called the Hamilton class after their lead ship, or the "Secretary class" because most of the vessels in the class were named for former Secretaries of the Treasury, with the exception of the "Hero-class cutters" Jarvis, Munro and Midgett.
USCGC Hamilton (WHEC-715) was a United States Coast Guard high endurance cutter and the lead ship of its class. It was based at Boston, Massachusetts from commissioning until 1991, then out of San Pedro, California before it was moved to its last home port in San Diego, California. It was launched on December 18, 1965 at Avondale Shipyards near New Orleans, Louisiana and named for Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury and founder of the United States Revenue Cutter Service. It was commissioned on March 18, 1967.
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Naval Support Activity Charleston, originally designated Naval Weapons Station Charleston, is a base of the United States Navy located on the west bank of the Cooper River, in the cities of Goose Creek and Hanahan South Carolina. The base encompasses more than 17,000 acres (69 km2) of land with 10,000 acres (40 km2) of forest and wetlands, 16-plus miles of waterfront, four deep-water piers, 38.2 miles (61.5 km) of railroad and 292 miles (470 km) of road. The current workforce numbers more than 11,000 with an additional 3,600 people in on-base family housing.
USCGC Munro (WMSL-755) is the sixth Legend-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard. Munro is the second cutter named for Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro (1919–1942), the only Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Medal of Honor. The US Navy destroyer escort USS Douglas A. Munro (DE-422) was also named for Munro.
Operation Martillo is an ongoing multi-national anti-drug operation that began on 15 January 2012 which "aims to combat international drug trafficking, and promote peace, stability in Central and South America", according to the U.S. Southern Command. It is a defense project led by the United States Southern Command with help of multi-national forces from Latin American and European countries. News coverage of their activities and results began in 2012, which was mainly from defense-focused media.
USCGC Midgett (WMSL-757) is the eighth Legend-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard and is stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii. The cutter was constructed by Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding Division in Pascagoula Mississippi and delivered to the Coast Guard in April 2019. It is named in honor of all members of the Midgett family who have served in the U.S. Coast Guard, United States Life-Saving Service, and/or other predecessor life-saving services. Seven members of the Midgett family have been awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal including John Allen Midgett Jr. and Rasmus Midgett.
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