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USCGC Onondaga (WPG-79)
Encyclopedia
USCGC Onondaga (WPG-79), a United States Coast Guard
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...
cutter, was built by Defoe Boat Works
Defoe Shipbuilding Company
The Defoe Shipbuilding Company was a small ship builder established in 1905 in Bay City, Michigan, USA. It ceased to operate in 1976 after failing to renew its contracts with the United States Navy. The site of the former company is now a scrapyard on the bank of the Saginaw River.-Founding:Harry J...
in Bay City, Michigan
Bay City, Michigan
Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North...
, commissioned on 11 September 1934. From her commissioning until 1941, Onondaga was stationed at Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria is the county seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, the city was named after the American investor John Jacob Astor. His American Fur Company founded Fort Astoria at the site in 1811...
, where she performed important law enforcement duties and rendered much assistance to ships in distress. Each year she patrolled the annual pelagic seal migration to the Pribilof Islands
Pribilof Islands
The Pribilof Islands are a group of four volcanic islands off the coast of mainland Alaska, in the Bering Sea, about north of Unalaska and 200 miles southwest of Cape Newenham. The Siberia coast is roughly northwest...
, and she attempted to prevent out of season halibut
Halibut
Halibut is a flatfish, genus Hippoglossus, from the family of the right-eye flounders . Other flatfish are also called halibut. The name is derived from haly and butt , for its popularity on Catholic holy days...
fishing.
Executive Order 8929 of 1 November 1941 transferred the Coast Guard to the Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. Onondaga continued on general patrol
Patrol
A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as police officers or soldiers, that are assigned to monitor a specific geographic area.- Military :...
duty, with her base of operations alternating between 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...
and Ketchikan, Alaska
Ketchikan, Alaska
Ketchikan is a city in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, Alaska, United States, the southeasternmost sizable city in that state. With an estimated population of 7,368 in 2010 within the city limits, it is the fifth most populous city in the state....
. When the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
merchantman
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
Mauna Ala went aground on 10 December 1941 on Clatsop Beach, Oregon, during a blackout test, Onondaga rushed to the scene and rescued thirty-six crewmen.
Then assigned to escort
Escort destroyer
A Escort Destroyer is a US Navy post World War II classification for destroyers modified for and assigned to a fleet escort role. These destroyers retained their original hull numbers...
duty in the area of Women's Bay
Womens Bay, Alaska
Womens Bay is a census-designated place in Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 690. The name is correctly spelled "Womens", without an apostrophe.-Geography:Womens Bay is located at ....
and 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...
, she was later ordered to escort duty between Cape Spencer
Cape Spencer Light
The Cape Spencer Light is a lighthouse in Alaska,United States, next to the entrance to Cross Sound and Icy Strait. The light is still an active aid to navigation...
and Dutch Harbor, Alaska, as well as anti-aircraft and escort patrol off Dutch Harbor.
When the Navy learned that the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese planned a thrust into Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
n waters as part of their Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
operation, Admiral
Admiral
Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
Nimitz allocated five cruiser
Cruiser
A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...
s, fourteen destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
s, six submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s, and suitable auxiliaries to counter the opposing forces in the North. Five years before the outbreak of war the area had been virtually undefended. But by September 1941, Sitka, Kodiak, and Dutch Harbor had been commissioned as Naval Air Station
Naval Air Station
A Naval Air Station is a military airbase, and consists of a permanent land-based operations locations for the military aviation division of the relevant branch of their Navy...
s, and both Kodiak and Sitka were able to service submarines. In mid-1940, the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
had established the Alaska Defense Command
Alaska Defense Command
Alaska Defense Command was established on 4 February 1941 as the command formation of the U.S. Army responsible for coordinating the defense of the Alaska Territory of the United States...
, with Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
Simon Bolivar Buckner
Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr.
General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. was an American lieutenant general during World War II. He served in the Pacific Theater of Operations and commanded the defenses of Alaska early in the war. After that assignment, he was promoted to command 10th Army, which conducted the amphibious assault on...
in command. The Navy created an Alaskan Sector under the 13th Naval District and appointed Captain R. C. Parker to the command.
As headquarters and flagship, Captain Parker used the gunboat Charleston (PG-51)
USS Charleston (PG-51)
USS Charleston , the fourth vessel to carry her name, was the second of two -class patrol gunboats. Launched from the Charleston Navy Yard on 25 February 1936, and commissioned on 8 July 1936, under the command of Captain Robert King Awtrey, and was part of the Atlantic Fleet.-Inter-war...
. Additionally, three small fishing boats, converted to patrol craft, formed the nucleus of the "Alaskan Navy." Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Charles E. ("Squeaky") Anderson, USNR
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the Reserve Component of the United States Navy...
, a "local character of infinite resource, energy, and cunning," controlled the craft.
By May 1942, Captain Parker commanded two old destroyers, two Coast Guard cutters, one of which was Onondaga, a few more converted fishing boats, and ten PBY Catalina
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
's. Char1eston alone possessed sonar, or guns larger than three inch. She, together with the destroyers and cutters, saw constant use as escorts for the freighter
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
s that brought workers and material to the new bases and airfields, none of which were complete at this time.
Toward the end of May, when the Japanese sent one task force towards Midway and another towards the Aleutians, tension quickened throughout the Pacific. Rear Admiral
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
Robert A. Theobald, USN, Commander North Pacific Force, who had been headquartered at Kodiak through the early part of May, put to sea on 1 June in Nashville (CL-43)
USS Nashville (CL-43)
USS Nashville , a Brooklyn-class light cruiser, was laid down on 24 January 1935 by New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey; launched on 2 October 1937; sponsored by Misses Ann and Mildred Stahlman; and commissioned on 6 June 1938, Captain William W...
and rendezvoused with his augmented cruiser task force to thwart the Japanese Alaska venture. However, "Efforts to meet the enemy," writes Willoughby "were unavailing, and there was no fleet action in Alaskan waters."
Cutter Onondaga, with Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
S. P. Mehlman, USCG, in command, and the other patrol craft formed the Surface Search Group of this Northern Pacific Force. They were to be assisted by the Air Search Group, composed of twenty PBYs and one B-17 Flying Fortress. Together these forces were to act as pickets
Picket (military)
In military terminology, a picket refers to soldiers or troops placed on a line forward of a position to warn against an enemy advance. It can also refer to any unit performing a similar function...
to signal any Japanese approach.
In fact, the Japanese sought to capture nothing east of Adak, which is nearly five hundred miles from Dutch Harbor. No Japanese plan for invading the Alaskan mainland, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, or the United States existed. The Aleutian section of the Midway operation was essentially defensive, although also diversionary. Its object was to prevent a U.S. invasion of Japan.
American search flights commenced about 28 May, and twenty cutters and converted fishing craft deployed as pickets on both the Pacific and Bering Sea
Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves....
approaches to Dutch Harbor. In view of his expectation of an attack on Dutch Harbor, Admiral Theobald's operating area south of Kodiak was well chosen. But because he guessed incorrectly, the main body of his cruiser task force was removed from the scene of action.
Japanese carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
planes launched two attacks against Dutch Harbor on 3 June, inflicting considerable damage and killing about twenty-five American soldiers and sailors. Cutter Onondaga and destroyers King (DD-242)
USS King (DD-242)
USS King was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the first ship named for Commander Frank Ragan King....
and Talbot (APD-7), seaplane tender Gillis (AVD-17), army transports President Fillmore and Morlen, and submarine S-27
USS S-27 (SS-132)
USS S-27 was a S-class submarine of the United States Navy. Her construction was authorized in March 1917, and her keel was laid down on 11 April 1919 by the Fore River Plant, Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Quincy, Massachusetts. She was launched on 18 October 1922 sponsored by Mrs...
went to general quarters and made haste to get underway and stand out to sea, but none cleared the harbor
Harbor
A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships, boats, and barges can seek shelter from stormy weather, or else are stored for future use. Harbors can be natural or artificial...
until the attack was over. One Japanese plane was shot down.
The next day, another Japanese carrier-based attack was launched against Dutch Harbor. About eighteen more Americans died in this attack, but at least five Japanese aircraft were shot down. The Aleutian part of the Midway operation ended in mid-June. The Japanese occupied Attu
Attu Island
Attu is the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, making it the westernmost point of land relative to Alaska and the United States. It was the site of the only World War II land battle fought on the incorporated territory of the United States ,...
and Kiska
Kiska
Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...
, two islands of little except nuisance value. A phase began on 11 June which witnessed Japanese attempts to hold what they had, while the American forces prepared to blast them out.
Essentially, the Aleutian battle was a contest of air power, as was Midway. Weather consistently aided the offensive by shrouding ships in protective mist, while sweeping land targets clear. In May 1943, Attu was in American hands, and on 15 August U.S. Forces found that the Japanese had completely abandoned Kiska.
Cutter Onondaga and the other ships assigned to the Northern Pacific Force remained on patrol in northern waters through the end of the war. She returned to the United States Treasury Department on 1 January 1946, and resumed patrol duties out of Astoria.
The Onondaga also gained fame for having rescued the survivors of the liner S S Yukon wrecked near Seward, Alaska in February 4, 1946.
Onondaga was decommissioned on 24 July 1947, she was sold on 7 December 1954 to Foss Launch and Tug Company
Foss Launch and Tug Company
Foss Launch and Tug Company was founded in 1889 by Thea Foss and her husband Andrew Foss. The company, now known as Foss Maritime, is now the largest tug and towing concern on the west coast of the United States.-Course of business:...
of Seattle, Washington.
Update
April, 2011, Environmental Protection Agency divers surveyed the Onondaga's hull, which had been shorn of its superstructure, sunk at a pier in the Lake Washington Ship Canal near Seattle. They found no pollutants, but a recently passed state law calling for the removal of abandoned boats and barges in Washington State waters may herald her demise.Two of Onondagas sisters ships became museum ships. The Comanche (WPG-76)
USCGC Comanche (WPG-76)
The United States Coast Guard Cutter Comanche was built by Pusey & Jones Corp., Wilmington, Delaware, and launched 6 September 1934. She was commissioned on 1 December 1934.-Cutter History:...
served as a museum ship at Patriot's Point, South Carolina before being sunk as an artificial reef. The Mohawk (WPG-78)
USCGC Mohawk (WPG-78)
The fifth US Coast Guard cutter named Mohawk was built by Pusey & Jones Corp., Wilmington, Delaware, and launched 1 October 1934. She was commissioned on 19 January 1935.-Active service:...
serves as of museum ship in Key West, Florida.
A letter appeared in the June 2, 2011 Nome Nugget noting the dearth of WW II museum and/or memorial ships preserved in Alaska even through both it and Hawaii were the front-lines of the conflict. Four ships have been set aside in Hawaii as memorial and/or museum ships. They are the USS Arizona, the USS Utah, the USS Missouri and the USS Bowfin. The letter called for the Onondaga to be retrieved for such a purpose, using the salvage and restoration of the WW I Turkish mine-layer Nusret as a precedent. The TGC Nusret N-16 was in a similar decrepit condition as the Onondaga at this writing.