USCGC Joseph Gerczak

Last updated
Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Gerczak conducts sea trials off the coast of Key West 171214-G-GY119-1081.jpg
Joseph Gerczak during her sea trials
History
Flag of the United States Coast Guard.svgUnited States
NameJoseph Gerczak
NamesakeJoseph Gerczak
Operator United States Coast Guard
Builder Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana
LaunchedNovember 9, 2017
AcquiredNovember 9, 2017 [1]
CommissionedMarch 9, 2018 [2]
HomeportHonolulu, Hawaii
Identification
MottoUnrelenting courage
Statusin active service
Badge USCGC Joseph Gerczak (WPC 1126) CoA.jpg
General characteristics
Class and type Sentinel-class cutter
Displacement353 long tons (359  t)
Length46.8 m (154 ft)
Beam8.11 m (26.6 ft)
Depth2.9 m (9.5 ft)
Propulsion
  • 2 × 4,300 kW (5,800 shp)
  • 1 × 75 kW (101 shp) bow thruster
Speed28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi)
Endurance5 days
Boats & landing
craft carried		1 × Cutter Boat - Over the Horizon Interceptor
Complement4 officers, 20 crew
Sensors and
processing systems		L-3 C4ISR suite
Armament

USCGC Joseph Gerczak (WPC-1126) is the 26th Sentinel-class cutter built for the United States Coast Guard. [3] She is one of three Fast Response Cutters homeported in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Contents

Design

Like her sister ships, Joseph Gerczak is designed to perform search and rescue missions, port security, and the interception of smugglers. [4] She is armed with a remotely controlled, gyrostabilized 25 mm autocannon, four crew-served M2 Browning machine guns, and light arms. She is equipped with a stern launching ramp, that allows her to launch or retrieve a water-jet propelled high-speed auxiliary boat, without first coming to a stop. Her high-speed boat has over-the-horizon capability, and is useful for inspecting other vessels, and deploying boarding parties. She is designed to support her crew of 24 for missions of up to five days, over distances of almost 3,000 nautical miles (5,556 km; 3,452 mi).

Operational history

On November 9, 2017, the U.S. Coast Guard took delivery of Joseph Gerczak from Bollinger Shipyards in Key West, Florida. [5]

On February 4, 2018, Joseph Gerczak arrived at her new homeport of Honolulu following a 42-day transit from Key West, Florida. [6]

On March 9, 2018, Joseph Gerczak was commissioned into service at Coast Guard Base Honolulu. Vice Adm. Fred M. Midgette, commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area, presided over the ceremony accepting the second of three 154-foot fast response cutters to be stationed in Hawaii. [7]

In August 2019, Joseph Gerczak became the first Fast Response Cutter to visit the Port of Pago Pago, American Samoa. [8]

In February 2022, Joseph Gerczak became the first Fast Response Cutter to visit the Port of Pape’ete, Tahiti. [9]

Namesake

In 2010, Charles "Skip" W. Bowen, who was then the United States Coast Guard's most senior non-commissioned officer, proposed that all 58 cutters in the Sentinel class should be named after enlisted sailors in the Coast Guard, or one of its precursor services, who were recognized for their heroism. [10] [11] In 2015 the Coast Guard announced that Joseph Gerczak, who coolly shot down two Japanese planes, during World War II, before he himself was shot, would be the namesake of the 26th cutter. [12]

Related Research Articles

Sentinel-class cutter United States Coast Guard cutter class

The Sentinel-class cutter, also known as the Fast Response Cutter due to its program name, is part of the United States Coast Guard's Deepwater program. At 154 feet (46.8 m), it is similar to, but larger than, the 123-foot (37 m) lengthened 1980s-era Island-class patrol boats that it replaces. Up to 58 vessels are to be built by the Louisiana-based firm Bollinger Shipyards, using a design from the Netherlands-based Damen Group, with the Sentinel design based on the company's Damen Stan 4708 patrol vessel. The Department of Homeland Security's budget proposal to Congress, for the Coast Guard, for 2021, stated that, in addition to 58 vessels to serve the Continental US, they requested an additional six vessels for its portion of Patrol Forces Southwest Asia.

USCGC <i>Bernard C. Webber</i>

USCGC Bernard C. Webber (WPC-1101) is the first of the United States Coast Guard's 58 Sentinel-class cutters. Like most of her sister ships, she replaced a 110-foot (34 m) Island-class patrol boat. Bernard C. Webber, and the next five vessels in the class, Richard Etheridge, William Flores, Robert Yered, Margaret Norvell, and Paul Clark, are all based in Miami, Florida.

USCGC <i>Walnut</i> (WLB-205)

USCGC Walnut (WLB-205) is the fifth cutter in the Juniper-class 225 ft (69 m) of seagoing buoy tenders and is the second ship to bear the name. She is under the operational control of the Commander of the Fourteenth Coast Guard District and is home-ported on Sand Island in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her primary area of responsibility is the coastal waters and high seas around the Hawaiian Islands and American Samoa. Walnut conducts heavy lift aids-to-navigation operations, and law enforcement, homeland security, environmental pollution response, and search and rescue as directed.

USCGC <i>Raymond Evans</i>

USCGC Raymond Evans is the tenth vessel in the United States Coast Guard's Sentinel-class cutter. All the vessels are named after members of the Coast Guard, or its precursor services, who are remembered for their heroism. Names had already been assigned for the first fourteen vessels, when Commander Raymond Evans died, and the USCG Commandant announced that the next Sentinel class cutter would be named after him. Joseph Napier, who was originally scheduled to be the namesake of the tenth vessel, had his name moved to the beginning of the second list of heroes names, and will now be the namesake of the fifteenth vessel.

USCGC <i>Winslow Griesser</i>

USCGC Winslow Griesser (WPC-1116) was the sixteenth Sentinel-class cutter to be delivered. She is the fourth of six Sentinel-class vessels to be stationed in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Bollinger shipyards delivered her to the United States Coast Guard, in Key West, Florida, on December 23, 2015. After she completed her acceptance trials, she was commissioned on March 11, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rollin Arnold Fritch</span> United States Coast Guardsman

Rollin Arnold Fritch was a United States Coast Guard seaman who died at his weapons station while shooting at a Japanese kamikaze, during World War II.

USCGC <i>Lawrence O. Lawson</i>

USCGC Lawrence Lawson is the 20th Sentinel-class cutter to be delivered to the United States Coast Guard. She was built at Bollinger Shipyards, in Lockport, Louisiana, and delivered to the Coast Guard, for her sea trials, on October 20, 2016. She was commissioned on March 18, 2017. She is the second cutter of her class to be the homeported at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, New Jersey, and also the second to be stationed outside of the Caribbean.

USCGC <i>Rollin Fritch</i>

USCGC Rollin Fritch is the US Coast Guard's 19th Sentinel-class cutter, and the first to be homeported outside of the Caribbean. She is based at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May, New Jersey.

USCGC <i>John McCormick</i> Sentinel-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard

USCGC John McCormick (WPC-1121) is the United States Coast Guard's 21st Sentinel-class cutter, and the first to be stationed in Alaska, where she is homeported at Coast Guard Base Ketchikan.

USCGC <i>Bailey Barco</i> USCGs 22nd cutter and the 2nd to be stationed in Alaska

USCGC Bailey Barco (WPC-1122) is the United States Coast Guard's 22nd Sentinel-class cutter, and the second to be stationed in Alaska, where she was homeported at Coast Guard Base Ketchikan.

USCGC <i>Benjamin Dailey</i>

USCGC Benjamin Dailey (WPC-1123) was the United States Coast Guard's 23rd Sentinel-class cutter. She was the first cutter of her class stationed in the Coast Guard's Eight District, with a homeport in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver F. Berry</span>

Oliver Fuller Berry was a chief petty officer in the United States Coast Guard who was chosen to be the namesake for the twenty-fourth cutter of the Sentinel class. He was one of the first Coast Guard aircraft technicians trained to work on helicopters.

USCGC <i>Richard Snyder</i>

USCGC Richard Snyder (WPC-1127) is the 27th Sentinel-class cutter built for the United States Coast Guard. She is the first of her class to be home-ported in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina.

USCGC <i>Forrest Rednour</i>

USCGC Forrest Rednour (WPC-1129) is the 29th Sentinel-class cutter built for the United States Coast Guard. She is the first of the four vessels of her class to be home-ported in San Pedro, California. Other sister ships have been based in Florida, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, New Jersey, North Carolina, Hawaii and Alaska. But Forrest Rednour is the first to be homeported on the west coast of the lower 48 states. The vessel will be homeported at a base near Los Angeles' Terminal Island. Three sister ships will join her, at this base.

USCGC <i>Oliver F. Berry</i>

USCGC Oliver Berry (WPC-1124) is the United States Coast Guard's 24th Sentinel-class cutter. She was the first member of the three members of her class to be homeported in Honolulu, Hawaii.

USCGC <i>Joseph Doyle</i>

USCGC Joseph Doyle (WPC-1133) is the United States Coast Guard's 33rd Sentinel-class cutter. Upon completion, she was transferred to the Coast Guard in Key West for her acceptance trials on March 21, 2019. She was commissioned on June 8, 2019, and is the first of a second cohort of cutters commissioned in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The first batch of six cutters were commissioned there in 2015 and 2016.

USCGC <i>William Sparling</i>

USCGC William Sparling (WPC-1154) is the United States Coast Guard's 54th Sentinel-class cutter.

USCGC <i>Harold Miller</i>

USCGC Harold Miller (WPC-1138) is the United States Coast Guard's 38th Sentinel-class cutter.

USCGC <i>Glen Harris</i>

USCGC Glen Harris (WPC-1144) will be the United States Coast Guard's 44th Sentinel-class cutter.

USCGC <i>Charles Moulthrope</i> American Coast Guard fast response cutter

USCGC Charles Moulthrope (WPC-1141) is the United States Coast Guard's 41st Sentinel-class cutter, and the first of six to be homeported in Manama, Bahrain.

References

  1. ↑ "Coast Guard Accepts 26th Fast Response Cutter" (Press release). United States Coast Guard. 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  2. ↑ "Coast Guard commissions Hawaii's second Sentinel-class cutter". Coast Guard News. 2018-03-09. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  3. ↑ "US Coast Guard receives 26th fast response cutter 'Joseph Gerczak'". Naval Today . 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2017-12-29.
  4. ↑ "FRC Plan B: The Sentinel Class". Defense Industry Daily. 2014-05-02. Archived from the original on 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2014-04-03. All of these boats will be named after enlisted Coast Guard heroes, who distinguished themselves in USCG or military service. The first 25 have been named, but only 8 have been commissioned...
  5. ↑ "Bollinger Delivers the USCGC JOSEPH GERCZAK TO THE USCG - the 26th Fast Response Cutter". 9 November 2017.
  6. ↑ "USCGC Gerczak (WPC 1126) arrives to new homeport of Honolulu".
  7. ↑ "Coast Guard commissions Hawaii's second Sentinel-class cutter - Coast Guard News | Coast Guard News".
  8. ↑ "USCGC Joseph Gerczak (WPC 1126) arrives in American Samoa on patrol".
  9. ↑ "Coast Guard cutters conclude Operation Aiga in Oceania - Coast Guard News | Coast Guard News".
  10. ↑ Susan Schept (2010-03-22). "Enlisted heroes honored". United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 2011-12-03. Retrieved 2013-02-01. After the passing of several well-known Coast Guard heroes last year, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles "Skip" Bowen mentioned in his blog that the Coast Guard does not do enough to honor its fallen heroes.
  11. ↑ "U.S. Coast Guard announces name for first Sentinel-class cutter". 2010-03-22. Archived from the original on 2010-03-25. Retrieved 2013-02-01. Previously designated to be named the Coast Guard Cutter Sentinel, the cutter Bernard C. Webber will be the first of the service's new 153-foot patrol cutters. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen approved the change of the cutter's name to allow this class of vessels to be named after outstanding enlisted members who demonstrated exceptional heroism in the line of duty. This will be the first class of cutters to be named exclusively for enlisted members of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services.
  12. ↑ "Acquisition Update: Coast Guard Reveals Names of FRCs 26-35". US Coast Guard. 2015-02-27. Archived from the original on 2015-03-05. Retrieved 2017-03-25. The Coast Guard recently announced the names of the 26th through 35th Sentinel-class fast response cutters through a series of posts on its official blog, the Coast Guard Compass.
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.