Hamilton class cutter
Encyclopedia
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
until replaced by the National Security Cutter
National Security Cutter
The United States Coast Guard National Security Cutter , also known as the Legend class and Maritime Security Cutter, Large, is one design among several new cutter designs developed as part of the Integrated Deepwater System Program....
, aside from the Polar Ice Breakers
USCG Polar Class Icebreaker
USCG Polar-capable heavy icebreakers consist of three vessels, USCGC Polar Star , USCGC Polar Sea , and USCGC Healy . Polar Star and Polar Sea comprise the Polar class, while Healy is a larger, more modern design and constitutes an entirely different polar-capable icebreaker class...
. The hull classification symbol
Hull classification symbol
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use hull classification symbols to identify their ship types and each individual ship within each type...
is prefixed WHEC. The cutters are called "Hamilton class" after their lead ship
Lead ship
The lead ship or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable military ships and larger civilian craft.-Overview:...
, or "Secretary class" because they are named after Secretaries of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
(with the exception of "Hero Class cutters" Jarvis, Munro and Midgett,). They are powered by a CODOG (Combined Diesel or Gas) system consisting of two diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
s and two gas turbine
Gas turbine
A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of internal combustion engine. It has an upstream rotating compressor coupled to a downstream turbine, and a combustion chamber in-between....
s, and have controllable pitch propeller
Controllable pitch propeller
A controllable pitch propeller or variable pitch propeller is a type of propeller with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change their pitch...
s. Equipped with a helicopter flight deck, retractable hangar, and the facilities to support helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
deployment, these 12 cutters were introduced to the Coast Guard inventory in the 1960s. Beginning in the 1980s and ending in 1992, the entire class was modernized through the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization
Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization
The Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization program of the United States Navy extended the lives of World War II-era destroyers by shifting their mission from a surface attack role to that of a submarine hunter...
(FRAM) program, which included the replacement of the original 5 inch (127 mm)/38 caliber gun
5 inch (127 mm)/38 caliber gun
The Mark 12 5"/38 caliber gun is a US naval gun.The gun is installed into Single Purpose and Dual Purpose mounts used primarily by the U.S. Navy...
with a much more modern 3 inch (76 mm)/50 caliber
Otobreda 76 mm
The Otobreda 76 mm gun is a naval artillery piece built by the Italian defence conglomerate Otobreda. It is based on the Oto Melara 76mm/L62 Allargato, which was bigger and heavier...
weapon. The primary mission of these vessels is enforcement of laws and treaties and search and rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
(SAR) on the high seas
International waters
The terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems , and wetlands.Oceans,...
, including the U.S. exclusive economic zone
Exclusive Economic Zone
Under the law of the sea, an exclusive economic zone is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, including production of energy from water and wind. It stretches from the seaward edge of the state's territorial sea out to 200 nautical...
.
Hamilton Class High Endurance Cutters by homeport
Alameda, CaliforniaAlameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
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- USCGC MorgenthauUSCGC Morgenthau (WHEC-722)USCGC Morgenthau , commissioned on March 10, 1969, was the eighth of twelve 378-foot Hamilton-class high endurance cutters built by Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, Louisiana...
(WHEC-722)
Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak is one of 7 communities and the main city on Kodiak Island, Kodiak Island Borough, in the U.S. state of Alaska. All commercial transportation between the entire island and the outside world goes through this city either via ferryboat or airline...
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- USCGC MunroUSCGC Munro (WHEC-724)USCGC Munro is a High Endurance Cutter of the United States Coast Guard, named for Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro , the only Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Medal of Honor. The vessel is currently commanded by Matt T...
(WHEC-724)
San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
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- USCGC BoutwellUSCGC Boutwell (WHEC-719)USCGC Boutwell is a U. S. Coast Guard high endurance cutter based out of Coast Guard Island, Alameda, California. Named for George S. Boutwell, United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Ulysses S. Grant....
(WHEC-719) - USCGC ShermanUSCGC Sherman (WHEC-720)USCGC Sherman is a U. S. Coast Guard high endurance cutter based out of Integrated Support Command Alameda, Coast Guard Island, Alameda, California....
(WHEC-720) - USCGC ChaseUSCGC Chase (WHEC-718)USCGC Chase was a Hamilton class High Endurance Cutter of the United States Coast Guard. She was laid down on October 26, 1966 at Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, launched on May 20, 1967 and commissioned on March 11, 1968. Chase is the fourth of twelve Hamilton Class, cutters, and the third...
(WHEC-718) (Decommissioned March 29 2011, transferred to Nigerian NavyNigerian NavyThe Nigerian Navy is a branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. The Nigerian Navy is among the largest Navies on the African continent, consisting of about 15,000 personnel, including those of the Coast Guard.-Brief History:...
May 13) - USCGC HamiltonUSCGC Hamilton (WHEC-715)USCGC Hamilton was a U. S. Coast Guard high endurance cutter based out of San Diego, California. Launched December 18, 1965 at Avondale Shipyards near New Orleans, Louisiana and named for Alexander Hamilton the first United States Secretary of the Treasury and founder of the United States Revenue...
(WHEC-715) (Decommissioned March 28 2011, transferred to the Philippine NavyPhilippine NavyThe Philippine Navy is the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, literally, "Sea Force of the Philippines"....
May 13)
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
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- USCGC JarvisUSCGC Jarvis (WHEC-725)USCGC Jarvis is a United States Coast Guard Hamilton-class high endurance cutter based out of Honolulu, Hawaii. Launched April 24, 1971 at Avondale Shipyard near New Orleans, Louisiana. She was commissioned August 4, 1972 in Honolulu...
(WHEC-725) (To be decommission FY-2011) - USCGC RushUSCGC Rush (WHEC-723)USCGC Rush is a U. S. Coast Guard high endurance cutter based out of Honolulu, Hawaii. Constructed at Avondale Shipyards near New Orleans, Louisiana and launched November 16, 1968, she is the fifth Coast Guard Cutter to be named after the eighth Secretary of the Treasury Richard Rush.-External...
(WHEC-723) (To be decommission FY-2011)
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
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- USCGC DallasUSCGC Dallas (WHEC-716)The USCGC Dallas , is a Coast Guard high endurance cutter commissioned in 1967 at the Avondale Shipyard in New Orleans. She is the sixth ship or boat to bear the name of Alexander J. Dallas, the Secretary of the Treasury under President James Madison...
(WHEC-716) - USCGC GallatinUSCGC Gallatin (WHEC-721)USCGC Gallatin is a U.S. Coast Guard Hamilton-class high endurance cutter based out of Charleston, South Carolina. Built at Avondale Shipyards near New Orleans, Louisiana, Gallatin was named for Albert Gallatin, the fourth and longest serving United States Secretary of the Treasury.-External...
(WHEC-721)
Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
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- USCGC MellonUSCGC Mellon (WHEC-717)USCGC Mellon is a U. S. Coast Guard high endurance cutter based out of Seattle, Washington. Laid down July 25, 1966 at Avondale Shipyards near New Orleans, Louisiana. Named for Andrew W. Mellon the 49th Secretary of the Treasury from 1921-1932 and launched February 11, 1967 by Mrs. John W. Warner,...
(WHEC-717) - USCGC MidgettUSCGC Midgett (WHEC-726)USCGC Midgett is the twelfth and last of the United States Coast Guard's fleet of high endurance cutters. With her crew of twenty four officers and one hundred sixty enlisted men and women, she is homeported in Seattle, Washington under the operational and administrative control of Commander,...
(WHEC-726)