USCGC Modoc

Last updated

USCGC Modoc (WPG-46).jpg
USCGC Modoc (WPG-46) at Naval Station Argentia in Newfoundland c. 1941-45.
History
Flag of the United States Coast Guard.svgUnited States
Namesake Modoc Tribe
Builder Union Construction Company, Oakland
Yard number19
Laid down19 April 1921
Launched1 October 1921
Sponsored byJean Lemard
Commissioned14 January 1922
Decommissioned1 February 1947
FateScrapped by Ecuador in 1964
General characteristics
Displacement1,506 tons
Length240 ft (73.2 m)
Beam39 ft (11.9 m)
Draft13 ft 2 in (4.0 m)
Propulsion
Complement
  • 12 officers, 78 enlisted (1930)
  • 12 officers, 110 enlisted (1945)
Sensors and
processing systems		SF-1, SC-3
Armament

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.

Contents

The ship is most remembered for her role in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck. According to British intelligence chief William Stephenson's biography, A Man Called Intrepid, Modoc was rescuing survivors from torpedoed convoys in the Bay of Biscay when she came into visual contact with Bismarck which hitherto had been lost to pursuing British forces. Based upon her position, a PBY patrol bomber from RAF's 209 Squadron went on to locate Bismarck in time for HMS Ark Royal to launch the air attacks that ultimately disabled her and enabled the British fleet to catch up and sink her. Modoc ended up in the middle of the battle. Anti-aircraft fire from Bismarck came close to hitting the ship. In addition, HMS Norfolk was about to fire on the cutter when HMS Prince of Wales identified her as US Coast Guard. Despite all of the hectic action around the ship, she survived the encounter and the war.

Modoc was returned to the Treasury Department in December 1945, and served as a patrol cutter until decommissioning in 1947. She was sold to a private owner and was converted to a merchant ship steaming Central and South American waters. After changing hands several times, Modoc was finally scrapped in 1964.

History

Modoc was launched as a Coast Guard cutter by Union Construction Company in Oakland, California on 1 October 1921. She was sponsored by Jean Lemard. Modoc was placed in commission on 14 January 1922. She was one of four Tampa-class 240-foot cutters, the others being Haida, Mojave, and Tampa. These were the first USCG vessels with turbo-electric transmission and were the largest and most advanced cutters for their time. [1]

Home ported at Wilmington, North Carolina, Modoc began Atlantic ice patrol service with the International Ice Patrol in 1923. For much of the next 18 years, she and another cutter alternated on 15-day patrols off the Grand Banks, using Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Boston as their bases. [1]

Modoc, in company with cutters Northland and General Greene rescuing survivors from torpedoed convoy ships, has also witnessed a large part of German ship Bismarck's last battle 23 to 27 May 1941. Close to midnight 24 May Modoc found herself in the midst of an attack in which eight planes and three warships were involved. Antiaircraft fire from Bismarck whizzed dangerously close to the cutter's port bow. HMS Norfolk was about to take the cutter under fire until HMS Prince of Wales identified her as U.S. Coast Guard. The cutter was undamaged, although they were near the fighting and at times only six miles from Bismarck. The widespread movements of the combatants, 19 plus destroyers and smaller ships, had distributed danger over a wide area. Aircraft had played a continuous part in coordinating activities, thus adding to the danger of accidents to innocent bystanders, a role the cutters had to play prior to Pearl Harbor. [1]

Transferred to the United States Navy by Executive Order No. 8029 of 1 November 1941, Modoc joined the Greenland Patrol, whose orders were to do "a little of everything." This duty involved keeping convoy routes open, breaking and finding leads in ice for the Greenland convoys, escorting the convoys and rescuing survivors from torpedoed ships, constructing and maintaining aids to navigation, and reporting weather conditions. Ships of the patrol were also expected to discover and destroy enemy weather and radio stations in Greenland, continue hydrographic surveys, maintain communications, deliver supplies, and conduct search and rescue operations. All of these duties, the Coast Guard performed with exemplary fortitude and faithfulness throughout the war. It was during this time that she was designated as WPG-46. [1]

On the Greenland Ice Patrol plodded many of the Coast Guard's older, smaller, and slower ships. They endured much discomfort amid the dangers of fog, storms, ice, and German raiders, but their work was vital to victory in the Atlantic. [1]

In both World Wars, when submarines were more of a menace than icebergs, the International Ice Patrol was suspended so that the cutters could perform more important escort duty. During these years there was but one major collision; British ship Svend Foyne struck a berg 21 January 1943. Before she sank, Modoc rescued 128 survivors. [1]

Modoc returned to the Treasury Department in accordance with Executive Order No. 9666 of 28 December 1945, and served as a patrol cutter until decommissioning in 1947. Sold to Manuel Velliantis in Honduras, she was converted for merchant use and renamed Amalia V. Registered in Ecuador in 1960 by Tropical Navigation Co., she was renamed Machala, and served as a merchantman until scrapped in 1964. [1]

Honors and awards

Related Research Articles

USCGC <i>Storis</i> (WMEC-38)

USCGC Storis (WAGL-38/WAG-38/WAGB-38/WMEC-38) was a light icebreaker and medium endurance cutter which served in the United States Coast Guard for 64 years and 5 months, making her the oldest vessel in commission with the Coast Guard fleet at the time of her decommissioning.

USCGC <i>Bibb</i> Secretary-Class Coast Guard ship

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.

Treasury-class cutter United States Coast Guard cutter class

The Treasury-class cutter was a group of seven high endurance cutters launched by the United States Coast Guard between 1936 and 1937. The class were called the "Treasury class" because they were each named for former Secretaries of the Treasury. These ships were also collectively known as the "327's" as they were all 327 feet (100 m) in length. The Treasury-class cutters proved versatile and long-lived warships. Most served the United States for over 40 years, including with distinction through World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.

USCGC <i>Escanaba</i> (WPG-77)

The USCGC Escanaba (WPG-77) was a 165 ft (50 m) "A" type United States Coast Guard cutter stationed on the Great Lakes from her commissioning in 1932 until the start of U.S. military involvement in World War II in 1941. With the outbreak of war, Escanaba redeployed to participate in the Battle of the Atlantic, during the course of which she was ultimately lost with nearly all hands. Struck by either a torpedo or mine in the early morning of 13 June 1943, while serving as a convoy escort, Escanaba suffered a fiery explosion and sank within minutes, leaving only two survivors and one body out of her 105-man crew to be found on the surface by rescuers.

USCGC <i>Duane</i> United States Coast Guard cutter

USCGC Duane (WPG-33/WAGC-6/WHEC-33) 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.

USCGC <i>Tahoma</i> (WPG-80)

USCGC Tahoma (WPG-80) was a United States Coast Guard Cutter built by the Defoe Shipbuilding Company in Bay City, Michigan. Completed in 1934, the steel-hulled cutter operated on the Great Lakes between 1934 and 1941, attached to the 9th Coast Guard District and homeported at Cleveland, Ohio. She was named after the Tahoma Glacier on the western slope of Mount Rainier in the state of Washington.

USCGC <i>Campbell</i> (WPG-32)

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.

USCGC <i>Escanaba</i> (WHEC-64)

USCGC Escanaba (WHEC-64) 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 she never saw wartime service.

USCGC <i>Ossipee</i> (WPR-50)

USCGC Ossipee (WPR-50) was a United States Coast Guard cutter of the Tallapoosa class constructed by Newport News Shipbuilding of Newport News, Virginia and commissioned 28 July 1915. Her hull was strengthened for light icebreaking operations. She was assigned a homeport of Portland, Maine after commissioning and cruised as far south as Cape Ann, Massachusetts serving in a law enforcement and search and rescue capacity. She saw service in both World War I and World War II.

USCGC <i>Seneca</i> (1908)

USCGC Seneca, or before 1915 USRC Seneca, was a United States Coast Guard cutter built and commissioned as a "derelict destroyer" with the specific mission of locating and then destroying abandoned shipwrecks that were still afloat and were a menace to navigation. She was designed with excellent sea-keeping qualities, a long cruising range, good towing capabilities, and by necessity the capacity to store a large amount of munitions. She was one of five Coast Guard cutters serving with the U.S. Navy in European waters during World War I.

USCGC <i>Northland</i> (WPG-49)

USCGC Northland (WPG-49) was a United States Coast Guard cruising class of gunboat especially designed for Arctic operations that served in World War II and later served in the Israeli Navy. She was the last cruising cutter built for the Coast Guard equipped with a sailing rig.

USCGC Mojave (WPG-47) was a 240-foot Tampa-class United States Coast Guard cutter in commission from 1921 until 1947.

USCGC <i>Tampa</i> (WPG-48)

USCGC Tampa was a United States Coast Guard Cutter that served in the United States Coast Guard from 1921 to 1941, and then in the United States Navy from 1941 to 1947.

USCGC <i>Comanche</i> (WPG-76) Coast guard cutter

USCGC Comanche (WPG-76) was a United States Coast Guard cutter built by Pusey & Jones Corporation, Wilmington, Delaware, and launched 6 September 1934. She was commissioned on 1 December 1934. She was used extensively during World War II for convoy operations to Greenland and as a part of the Greenland Patrol.

USCGC <i>General Greene</i> (WPC-140)

USCGC General Greene (WPC/WSC/WMEC-140), was a 125 ft (38 m) United States Coast Guard Active-class patrol boat, in commission from 1927 to 1968 and the fourth cutter to bear the name of the famous Revolutionary War general, Nathanael Greene. She served during the Rum Patrol, World War II and into the 1960s performing defense, law enforcement, ice patrol, and search and rescue missions.

USCGC <i>North Star</i> (WPG-59)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenland Patrol</span>

The Greenland Patrol was a United States Coast Guard operation during World War II. The patrol was formed to support the U.S. Army building aerodrome facilities in Greenland for ferrying aircraft to the British Isles, and to defend Greenland with special attention to preventing German operations in the northeast. Coast Guard cutters were assisted by aircraft and dog sled teams patrolling the Greenland coast for Axis military activities. The patrol escorted Allied shipping to and from Greenland, built navigation and communication facilities, and provided rescue and weather ship services in the area from 1941 through 1945.

USCGC <i>Saranac</i>

USCGC Saranac was a Lake-class cutter of the United States Coast Guard launched on 12 April 1930 and commissioned on 2 October 1930. After 11 years of service with the Coast Guard, she was transferred to the Royal Navy as part of the Lend-Lease Act.

USCGC <i>Chelan</i>

USCGC Chelan was a Lake-class cutter belonging to the United States Coast Guard launched on 19 May 1928 and commissioned on 5 September 1928. After 13 years of service to the Coast Guard, she was transferred to the Royal Navy as part of the Lend-Lease Act, and named HMS Lulworth (Y60). During the war Lulworth served in a convoy Escort Group for Western Approaches Command

USCGC <i>Legare</i> (WSC-144)

USCGC Legare (WSC-144) was cutter that served in the United States Coast Guard for almost forty-one years.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 United States Coast Guard. USCG History.
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.