USCGC Ingham (WHEC-35)

Last updated

Ingham.jpg
USCGC Ingham (WHEC-35)
History
Ensign of the United States Coast Guard (1915-1953).png United States
Name
  • Samuel D. Ingham
  • Ingham (May 1937)
Namesake Samuel D. Ingham
Awarded30 January 1934
Builder Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
Laid down1 May 1935
Launched3 June 1936
Sponsored by Katherine Ingham Brush
Commissioned12 September 1936
Decommissioned27 May 1988
Reclassified
  • WPG-35 (1 July 1941)
  • WAGC-35 (24 July 1944)
  • WHEC-35 (1 May 1965)
MottoNever too old to serve
Status Museum ship
General characteristics
Displacement2,700 long tons (2,700  t)
Length327 ft (100 m)
Beam41 ft (12 m)
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed21  kn (39  km/h; 24  mph)
Range8,270 nmi (15,320 km; 9,520 mi)
Complement
  • (1937) 12 officers, 4 warrants, 107 enlisted
  • (1941) 16 officers, 5 warrants, 202 enlisted
  • (1966) 10 officers, 3 warrants, 134 enlisted
Armament
Aircraft carriedoriginally 1 Grumman Duck seaplane, later removed
USCGC Ingham
USCGC Ingham (WHEC 35) 469.jpg
Ingham preserved in Key West.
USA Florida location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Key West, Florida
Coordinates 24°33′08.1″N81°48′27.7″W / 24.552250°N 81.807694°W / 24.552250; -81.807694
Built1935
ArchitectUS Coast Guard; Philadelphia Navy Yard
NRHP reference No. 92001879
Significant dates
Added to NRHP27 April 1992 [2]
Designated NHL27 April 1992 [3]

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.

Contents

History 1934–1988

Ingham was built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. The Treasury Department awarded her contract on 30 January 1934. Her keel was laid on 1 May 1935, and she was launched on 3 June 1936, along with her sisters USCGC William J. Duane (WPG-33), USCGC Taney (WHEC-37) and the USCGC George W. Campbell (WPG-32). Ingham was christened by Ms. Katherine Ingham Brush on that date and the new cutter was formally commissioned on 12 September 1936.

Ingham at U.S. Navy Yard, S.C., 11 Oct 1944 Ingham USNavyYardSouthCarolina USNavy 11Oct1944 cropped.jpg
Ingham at U.S. Navy Yard, S.C., 11 Oct 1944

Ingham served with distinction during World War II on convoy duty. Protecting ships ferrying vital supplies to Britain, Ingham battled stormy weather, German U-boats, and enemy aircraft. On 15 December 1942, during one crossing, Ingham engaged and sank the enemy submarine U-626. [4] After 1944, Ingham served as an amphibious flagship and she would later take part in three campaigns in the Pacific Theater. Ingham was the last active warship in the US fleet with a U-Boat kill.

Convoys escorted

ConvoyEscort GroupDatesNotes
HX 164 10–19 Dec 1941 [5] from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 49 27 Dec 1941-5 Jan 1942 [6] from Iceland to Newfoundland
HX 17122–30 Jan 1942 [5] from Newfoundland to Iceland
ON 637–13 Feb 1942 [6] from Iceland to Newfoundland
HX 177 MOEF group A2 1–8 March 1942 [5] from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 77MOEF group A218–26 March 1942 [6] from Northern Ireland to Newfoundland
HX 190 MOEF group A3 20–27 May 1942 [5] from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland
ON 102MOEF group A310–17 June 1942 [6] from Northern Ireland to Iceland
ON 11625–29 July 1942 [6] Iceland shuttle
SC 93 29 July 1942 [7] Iceland shuttle
ON 11731 July-3 Aug 1942 [6] Iceland shuttle
ON 12424–27 Aug 1942 [6] Iceland shuttle
SC 9729 Aug-1 Sep 1942 [7] Iceland shuttle
ON 13221–24 Sep 1942 [6] Iceland shuttle
SC 10128–30 Sep 1942 [7] Iceland shuttle
ON 1365–9 Oct 1942 [6] Iceland shuttle
SC 10310 Oct 1942 [7] Iceland shuttle
Convoy SC 107 5–7 Nov 1942 [7] Iceland shuttle
ON 1448–15 Nov 1942 [6] Iceland shuttle
ON 15211–15 Dec 1942 [6] Iceland shuttle
SC 11216–21 Dec 1942 [7] Iceland shuttle
ON 16014–21 Jan 1943 [6] Iceland shuttle
HX 22323–27 Jan 1943 [5] Iceland shuttle
ON 1754 Feb 1943 [6] Iceland shuttle
Convoy SC 118 5–9 Feb 1943 [7] Iceland shuttle
Convoy SC 121 9–11 March 1943 [7] Iceland shuttle
Convoys HX 229/SC 122 19–21 March 1943 [7] Iceland shuttle

Post-war service

In August 1966, Ingham rescued lone sailor William Willis off the US eastern seabord, landing him at the Argentia Coast Guard station. [8]

Ingham in 1953 Ingham USNavy 1953 cropped.jpg
Ingham in 1953
USCGC Ingham Logbook July 1968 USCGC Ingham Logbook July 1968.jpg
USCGC Ingham Logbook July 1968
USCG Ingham Logbook August 1968 USCGC Ingham Logbook August 1968.jpg
USCG Ingham Logbook August 1968

Ingham earned two Presidential Unit Citations for her service in Operation SEA LORDS and Operation SWIFT RAIDER during the Vietnam War on a deployment from 3 August 1968 to 28 February 1969.

On completion of her deployment to Vietnam, Ingham returned to regular Coast Guard duties, serving until 1988, when she was decommissioned. At that time, Ingham was the second oldest commissioned U.S. warship afloat, second only to USS Constitution in Boston, Massachusetts. [3]

Museum Ship and Memorial

Ingham at Patriots Point in 1990 Ingham PointPleasant Delgado 1990 cropped.jpg
Ingham at Patriots Point in 1990

Acquired by Patriot's Point (located near Charleston, South Carolina) in 1989, Ingham was displayed along with the aircraft carrier Yorktown, the destroyer Laffey, and the submarine Clamagore until 20 August 2009.

On 20 August 2009 Ingham was towed to the Coast Guard piers in North Charleston, South Carolina for minor repairs and to await dry docking. She underwent a short dry docking period at Detyen's Shipyard in North Charleston and was then towed to Key West, Florida arriving there on 24 November 2009. She is now a member of Key West Maritime Memorial Museum. [9] [10] [ failed verification ]

The Commandant of the Coast Guard has declared Ingham the National Memorial to Coast Guardsmen Killed in Action in World War II and Vietnam. These 912 casualties are identified on a memorial plaque on Ingham's quarterdeck. [11] Ingham was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1992. [3] [12]

Awards

Ribbons and Medals painted on in January 2010. Ingham-Ribbons.jpg
Ribbons and Medals painted on in January 2010.

Related Research Articles

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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.

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

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Treasury-class cutter United States Coast Guard cutter class

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USCGC <i>Dallas</i> (WHEC-716)

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USCGC <i>Morgenthau</i>

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

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USCGC <i>Rush</i> (WHEC-723)

USCGC Rush (WHEC-723) was a United States Coast Guard high endurance Hamilton-class cutter. The ship was named after Secretary of the Treasury Richard Rush. Rush was launched on November 16, 1968, commissioned on July 3, 1969, and was decommissioned on February 3, 2015 after 45 years of Coast Guard service.

USCGC <i>Forward</i>

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

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USCGC <i>Androscoggin</i>

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USS <i>Barataria</i> (AVP-33) Tender of the United States Navy

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USCGC <i>Alexander Hamilton</i>

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References

  1. "Ingham, 1936".
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. 23 January 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 "USCGC Ingham". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2008.
  4. Cressman, Robert (2000). "Chapter IV: 1942". The official chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II . Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   978-1-55750-149-3. OCLC   41977179 . Retrieved 15 December 2007.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "HX convoys". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "ON convoys". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "SC convoys". Arnold Hague Convoy Database. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2011.
  8. Willis, William The Hundred Lives of an Ancient Mariner London 1967 pp174,188
  9. "Historic cutter en route to Miami". The State . Columbia, South Carolina: The McClatchy Company. 22 August 2009. Archived from the original on 24 August 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
  10. "USCGC Ingraham WHEC-35". Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2009.
  11. "HNSA Web Page: USS Ingham". Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
  12. Delgado, James P. (1 November 1991). "Maritime Heritage of the United States NHL Theme Study—Large Vessels Registration: Ingham / U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Ingham (WPG-35)" (pdf). National Park Service . Retrieved 27 June 2009. and
    "Accompanying three photos, exterior, from 1944, 1953, and 1990" . Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  13. "U.S. Coast Guard Cutter History". Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
Preceded by United States Coast Guard "Queen of the Fleet"
1985-1988
Succeeded by