USCGC William Sparling

Last updated
Coast Guard accepts 54th fast response cutter.jpg
History
Flag of the United States Coast Guard.svgUnited States
NameWilliam Sparling
Namesake William Sparling
Operator United States Coast Guard
Builder Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana
Sponsored byCaroline Sparling
AcquiredJuly 20, 2023 [1]
CommissionedOctober 19, 2023
Homeport Boston, Massachusetts
Identification Hull number: WPC-1154
MottoCourageous Devotion [2]
Statusin active service
Badge US Coast Guard WPC 1154 CoA.png
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
NotesFirst Commanding Officer LT Jacklyn Kokomoor

USCGC William Sparling (WPC-1154) is the United States Coast Guard's 54th Sentinel-class cutter. [3] [4]

Contents

Design

Like her sister ships, William Sparling is designed to perform search and rescue missions, port security, and the interception of smugglers. [5] She is armed with a remotely-controlled, gyro-stabilized 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.

The crew's drinking water needs are met through a desalination unit. [6] The crew mess is equipped with a television with satellite reception.

Operational career

On 15 August 2022, it was announced that William Sparling would be homeported in Boston, Massachusetts. [7]

The vessel's manufacturer, Bollinger Shipyards, of Lockport, Louisiana, delivered the ship to the Coast Guard, for her sea trials, in Key West, on July 20, 2023. [1] She was commissioned at Station Portsmouth Harbor in New Castle, New Hampshire on October 19, 2023. Her sponsor was William "Bill" Sparling's widow Caroline Sparling and her first commanding officer was Lt. Jacklyn "Jackie" Kokomoor. [8] [9]

Namesake

In 2010, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard 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] The Coast Guard chose William Sparling as the namesake of the 54th cutter. [12] Sparling, and three other Coast Guard sailors, piloted the first landing craft during the United States's first amphibious landing, in the Pacific Theater, during World War II. [13] Sparling, and his three colleagues were each awarded a Silver Star medal for this task. His colleagues Daniel Tarr, Harold Miller and Glen Harris have Sentinel-class cutters named after them.

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 66 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>Paul Clark</i> American Sentinel-class cutter

USCGC Paul Clark (WPC-1106) is the sixth Sentinel-class cutter. Like the previous five vessels of her class she is homeported in Miami, Florida. She was delivered to the Coast Guard, for testing, on May 18, 2013.

USCGC <i>Charles David Jr.</i>

USCGC Charles David Jr is the seventh Sentinel-class cutter. Upon her commissioning she was assigned to serve in Key West, Florida, as the first of six vessels to be based there. She was delivered to the Coast Guard, for testing, on August 17, 2013. She was officially commissioned on November 16, 2013.

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.

USCGC <i>Donald Horsley</i>

USCGC Donald Horsley (WPC-1117) is the United States Coast Guard's 17th Sentinel-class cutter. She was commissioned on May 20, 2016. She was the fifth of a cohort of six FRCs home-ported in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

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.

USCGC <i>Joseph Gerczak</i> American Sentinel-class Coast Guard cutter

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

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 was the first of the four vessels of her class to be home-ported at USCG Base Los Angeles/Long Beach in San Pedro, California. Other sister ships have been based in Florida, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, New Jersey, North Carolina, Hawaii, and Alaska prior to Forrest Rednour's assignment to Base LA/LB. Sister ships Robert Ward (WPC-1130), Terrell Horne III (WPC-1131), and Benjamin Bottoms (WPC-1132) soon joined her at Base LA/LB.

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>Robert Ward</i>

USCGC Robert Ward (WPC-1130) is the 30th Sentinel-class cutter, and the second of four assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard Base Los Angeles / Long Beach, in Los Angeles, California.

USCGC <i>Daniel Tarr</i>

USCGC Daniel Tarr (WPC-1136) is the United States Coast Guard's 36th Sentinel-class cutter, and the first of three to be homeported in Galveston, Texas.

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) is the United States Coast Guard's 44th Sentinel-class cutter.

USCGC <i>Edgar Culbertson</i>

USCGC Edgar Culbertson (WPC-1137) is the United States Coast Guard's 37th Sentinel-class cutter, and the second of three to be homeported in Galveston, Texas.

References

  1. 1 2 "Coast Guard accepts 54th fast response cutter" (Press release). United States Coast Guard. 2023-07-21. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  2. ↑ "USCGC William Sparling (WPC 1154) Coat of Arms". The Institute of Heraldry. United States Army. 2023-09-29. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  3. ↑ "Coast Guard accepts 36th fast response cutter". United States Coast Guard . 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2020-01-15. The Coast Guard accepted delivery of the 36th fast response cutter (FRC), Daniel Tarr, in Key West, Florida, Nov. 7. The cutter will be the first of three planned FRCs stationed in Galveston, Texas.
  4. ↑ "Daniel Tarr Coast Guard Cutter Commissioned in Galveston, Texas". Eastern Shore Post . 2020-01-09. Retrieved 2020-01-15. The USCGC Daniel Tarr will be commissioned Jan. 10 in Galveston, Texas, after the Coast Guard accepted delivery of the vessel in Key West, Fla., in November.
  5. ↑ "FRC Plan B: The Sentinel Class". Defense Industry Daily. May 2, 2014. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. 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...
  6. ↑ Jacqueline L. Urgo (November 19, 2016). "Coast Guard to get 'game changer' cutter to save lives and catch criminals". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on November 20, 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-19. Although the cutter is far from luxurious, its crew quarters provide slightly more room and comfort than earlier models, with larger staterooms, more toilets and sinks, greater storage space, and DirecTV access in the mess areas.
  7. ↑ "ALCGENL 150/22- AY23 Off Season Solicitation - CGC William Sparling (WPC-1154)". U.S. Coast Guard. 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2022-08-27. PSC-EPM-2 is soliciting candidates for the pre-commissioning crew of USCGC William Sparling (WPC-1154), the fifth FRC homeported in Boston, MA.
  8. ↑ O'Brien, Kelly (2023-10-19). "US Coast Guard commissions new fast response cutter in Portsmouth: Cutter named after Boatswain's Mate First Class William Sparling". WMUR 9 ABC. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  9. ↑ "Fifth New England-based fast response cutter commissioned in New Castle, New Hampshire". U.S. Coast Guard. 2023-10-23. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  10. ↑ Susan Schept (March 22, 2010). "Enlisted heroes honored". United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on December 3, 2011. 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". March 22, 2010. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. 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. ↑ "Coast Guard Aligns Names with Hull Numbers for its Sentinel-class FRCs". Seapower magazine . Washington DC. 2017-12-12. Retrieved 2017-12-09. The U.S. Coast Guard has announced the names and corresponding hull numbers for its next 20 Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs), each vessel being named for a deceased leader, trailblazer or hero of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, the U.S. Lifesaving Service and the U.S. Lighthouse Service, according to a Dec. 12 Coast Guard release.
  13. ↑ William H. Thiesen (2018-08-09). "The Long Blue Line: Tulagi's coxswains – the service's 1st Silver Star recipients". Coast Guard Compass . Retrieved 2020-01-09. For landing the Marines' first wave at Tulagi, the Navy awarded Silver Star Medals to coxswains Tarr, Sparling, Miller and Harris and advanced them in their rating. They were the first enlisted men in the Coast Guard to receive the Silver Star. All four of these heroic coxswains will be honored as Fast Response Cutter namesakes.
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