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USCGC Tallapoosa (WPG-52)
Encyclopedia
The cutter Tallapoosa was designed to replace the cutter Winona and was stationed at Mobile, Alabama
, with cruising grounds to Lake Pontchartrain
, Louisiana
and Fowey Rocks, Florida
.
. On 18 November 1915 she transported the National Currency Association of Alabama on a tour and inspection of the harbor of Mobile.
On 19 January 1916 she participated in the celebration of the completion of the Gulf, Florida and Alabama Railroad held at Pensacola, Florida
. On 6–7 March 1916 and on 19–20 February 1917, she participated in the Mardi Gras
celebration at Mobile, Alabama.
From 6 April 1917 until 28 August 1919, the Coast Guard was temporarily under the Navy Department. During this period Tallapoosa was sent on temporary special duty to Halifax, Nova Scotia
to participate in search and rescue
work in the icy waters. At one time the cutter was nearly destroyed while rescuing a group of stranded fishermen at Jobs Room, a small village in Forteau Harbor, Labrador
. After breaking through the ice to the village and giving food and medical supplies to the natives and picking up the fishermen, she was caught in a snow storm in the sub zero weather and almost crushed by ice before she could return to Halifax.
On 4 March 1920 she resumed her patrols and was back at her old home port of Mobile. On 11 October 1920, she was assigned to the Gulf Division. On 3 August 1921 Tallapoosa arrived at Norfolk, Virginia
towing sub chasers, on the 29th she arrived at Tampa towing the Arrow from Key West
. On 3 December 1922, she returned to Key West from a cruise to Sanibel, Florida
. On 10 December her cruising district was again established as that portion of the coast bordering on the Gulf of Mexico
and extending from Port Eads to Tampa, with headquarters still at Mobile, Alabama. On 30 January 1924, she participated in the Gasparilla Carnival at Tampa and on 23 February 1925, she also participated in the Mardi Gras celebration at Mobile.
On 2 January 1929, her permanent station was changed to Key West. From 9 November 1929 to 10 December 1930, she underwent extensive repairs and alterations at the Depot. Then she departed for her new home port at Juneau, Alaska
arriving there on 6 February 1931. She departed Juneau on 13 April for Dixon's Entrance on Bering Sea
Duty. The next few years were spent on Bering Sea Duty, Bering Sea Patrols and Seal Patrols in Alaska
n waters, with occasional trips to Seattle, Washington
for drydocking.
She departed Seattle for hew new permanent station at Savannah, Georgia
on 7 August 1937 and arrived at Savannah on 24 October. She spent the winter of 1939-1940 cruising on search and rescue missions in the Jacksonville District. From 24 October 1940 to 24 November 1940, she was being rearmed at the plant of Todd Shipyard
Inc., at Algiers, Louisiana
. She was rearmed, repaired, and altered at the plant of Merrill-Stevens Company late in 1942.
where she engaged in convoy and anti-submarine
work. Between 30 May and 22 June 1942, she searched small areas where submarines had been sighted, but with negative results. On 4–5 November 1942 she was searching for reported submarine and during the next two days was escorting a British steamer
en route to Lookout Bight. On 9 November she resumed her search for the submarine in the vicinity of Sapelo Island
Buoy. On 11 November and 14 November she escorted another British vessel to Lookout Bight.
Standing out from Charleston, South Carolina
on 23 November 1942, she searched in the areas southeast of Charleston Whistle Buoy 2-C for about 15 miles, continuing her search next day before returning to Charleston. At 1800 the same day she stood out again to search 10 wiles northeast of the wreck of the lighted bell buoy en route to Southport, North Carolina
. On the 25th she rendezvoused off Southport, NC entrance buoy with Cornelius Barnett and escorted her to Lookout Bight, then she returned to Southport, NC. On the 26th she patrolled off Frying Pan Shoals
and the next day escorted Henry Bacon from Southport to Lookout Bight.
On 10 December 1942, while on convoy duty, Tallapoosa made an apparent sound contact and dropped 11 MK VI depth charges and a marker buoy. The charges raised a quantity of oil, but it was decided that the target was a wreck and the cutter continued on convoy duty. On the 12th, while still on convoy duty, a Civil Air Patrol
plane dropped two smoke bombs in close proximity to the convoy. The cutter was unable to establish communications with the plane which departed immediately, and so she proceeded with the convoy.
On 19 December 1942 what appeared to be a submarine was heard on the cutter's sonar equipment, estimated three or four miles from the cutter. Tallapoosa notified the 4th Naval District but the submarine was not heard or seen again. Tallapoosa began a grid search westward from a position 30 miles due east of the reported sub position at 0900 that day with negative results. At 0140 on the 20th, a dispatch was received reporting a sub sighted three or four miles distant on bearing 015° from Savannah Lightship No. 94 and the cutter again carried out a grid search with negative result.
From 4 January 1943, the principal activity of Tallapoosa was as an observing vessel for tests in connection with shore blackouts. Attached to the Southern Ship Lane Patrol she operated from 4 January to 15 January 1943, from the section base at Mayport, Florida under direction of the Base Commander and LCDR Fintel, USNR, attached to the Eastern Sea Frontier. The cutter made nightly trips to a position south at St. John's light vessel, sometimes accompanied by USS Umpqua, who acted as target vessel. The US Army Corps of Engineers
made various arrangements of shore lighting in the vicinity of Jacksonville Beach. These lights varied in intensity and were measured on board the cutter from seaward by civilian experts using photometer
s to determine the amount of light constituting a hazard to a merchant vessel passing between a submarine and a shore light. On one occasion the visibility of various navigational aids was tested.
Proceeding to Jacksonville after three tests, the cutter underwent repairs until 28 February 1943, when she returned to her duties on the Southern Ship Lane Patrol. She remained in the 6th Naval District until the fall of 1945, when she was sent to Curtis Bay, Maryland for decommissioning.
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, with cruising grounds to Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain is a brackish estuary located in southeastern Louisiana. It is the second-largest inland saltwater body of water in the United States, after the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the largest lake in Louisiana. As an estuary, Pontchartrain is not a true lake.It covers an area of with...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and Fowey Rocks, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Operational history, 1915-1941
Tallapoosa was assigned to her first homeport at Mobile, Alabama on 17 August 1915. During this period she made search and rescue patrols between Port Eads, Louisiana and Tampa, FloridaTampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
. On 18 November 1915 she transported the National Currency Association of Alabama on a tour and inspection of the harbor of Mobile.
On 19 January 1916 she participated in the celebration of the completion of the Gulf, Florida and Alabama Railroad held at Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
. On 6–7 March 1916 and on 19–20 February 1917, she participated in the Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
celebration at Mobile, Alabama.
From 6 April 1917 until 28 August 1919, the Coast Guard was temporarily under the Navy Department. During this period Tallapoosa was sent on temporary special duty to Halifax, Nova Scotia
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
to participate in 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...
work in the icy waters. At one time the cutter was nearly destroyed while rescuing a group of stranded fishermen at Jobs Room, a small village in Forteau Harbor, Labrador
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
. After breaking through the ice to the village and giving food and medical supplies to the natives and picking up the fishermen, she was caught in a snow storm in the sub zero weather and almost crushed by ice before she could return to Halifax.
On 4 March 1920 she resumed her patrols and was back at her old home port of Mobile. On 11 October 1920, she was assigned to the Gulf Division. On 3 August 1921 Tallapoosa arrived at Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
towing sub chasers, on the 29th she arrived at Tampa towing the Arrow from Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
. On 3 December 1922, she returned to Key West from a cruise to Sanibel, Florida
Sanibel, Florida
Sanibel is a city in Lee County, Florida, United States, on Sanibel Island. The population was 6,064 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2006 population of 6,066. It is part of the Cape Coral–Fort Myers Metropolitan Statistical Area....
. On 10 December her cruising district was again established as that portion of the coast bordering on the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
and extending from Port Eads to Tampa, with headquarters still at Mobile, Alabama. On 30 January 1924, she participated in the Gasparilla Carnival at Tampa and on 23 February 1925, she also participated in the Mardi Gras celebration at Mobile.
On 2 January 1929, her permanent station was changed to Key West. From 9 November 1929 to 10 December 1930, she underwent extensive repairs and alterations at the Depot. Then she departed for her new home port at Juneau, Alaska
Juneau, Alaska
The City and Borough of Juneau is a unified municipality located on the Gastineau Channel in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Alaska. It has been the capital of Alaska since 1906, when the government of the then-District of Alaska was moved from Sitka as dictated by the U.S. Congress in 1900...
arriving there on 6 February 1931. She departed Juneau on 13 April for Dixon's Entrance on 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....
Duty. The next few years were spent on Bering Sea Duty, Bering Sea Patrols and Seal Patrols in 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, with occasional trips to 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...
for drydocking.
She departed Seattle for hew new permanent station at Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
on 7 August 1937 and arrived at Savannah on 24 October. She spent the winter of 1939-1940 cruising on search and rescue missions in the Jacksonville District. From 24 October 1940 to 24 November 1940, she was being rearmed at the plant of Todd Shipyard
Todd Shipyards
Todd Shipyards was an American soccer club based in Brooklyn, New York that was an inaugural member of the American Soccer League. The team was formed when the Todd Shipyard company decided to merge the Brooklyn Robins Dry Dock with Tebo Yacht Basin F.C....
Inc., at Algiers, Louisiana
Algiers, Louisiana
Algiers is a neighborhood within the city of New Orleans. It is the portion of Orleans Parish on the West Bank of the Mississippi River.Algiers is also known as the 15th Ward, one of the 17 Wards of New Orleans.-History:...
. She was rearmed, repaired, and altered at the plant of Merrill-Stevens Company late in 1942.
World War two
Tallapoosa remained in the 6th Naval District throughout World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
where she engaged in convoy and anti-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...
work. Between 30 May and 22 June 1942, she searched small areas where submarines had been sighted, but with negative results. On 4–5 November 1942 she was searching for reported submarine and during the next two days was escorting a British steamer
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
en route to Lookout Bight. On 9 November she resumed her search for the submarine in the vicinity of Sapelo Island
Sapelo Island
Sapelo Island is a state-protected island located in McIntosh County, Georgia. The island is reachable only by airplane or boat, with the primary ferry coming from the Sapelo Island Visitors Center in McIntosh County, Georgia, a seven mile , twenty-minute trip.Approximately 97 percent of the...
Buoy. On 11 November and 14 November she escorted another British vessel to Lookout Bight.
Standing out from 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...
on 23 November 1942, she searched in the areas southeast of Charleston Whistle Buoy 2-C for about 15 miles, continuing her search next day before returning to Charleston. At 1800 the same day she stood out again to search 10 wiles northeast of the wreck of the lighted bell buoy en route to Southport, North Carolina
Southport, North Carolina
Southport is a city in Brunswick County, North Carolina, near the mouth of the Cape Fear River. It is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. On the 25th she rendezvoused off Southport, NC entrance buoy with Cornelius Barnett and escorted her to Lookout Bight, then she returned to Southport, NC. On the 26th she patrolled off Frying Pan Shoals
Frying Pan Shoals
The Frying Pan Shoals are a long, shifting area of shoals off the coast of Cape Fear in North Carolina, United States. The shoals have been a hazard to ships in the area since the beginning of European exploration of the area; the area is littered with shipwrecks. The southern edge of the shoals...
and the next day escorted Henry Bacon from Southport to Lookout Bight.
On 10 December 1942, while on convoy duty, Tallapoosa made an apparent sound contact and dropped 11 MK VI depth charges and a marker buoy. The charges raised a quantity of oil, but it was decided that the target was a wreck and the cutter continued on convoy duty. On the 12th, while still on convoy duty, a Civil Air Patrol
Civil Air Patrol
Civil Air Patrol is a Congressionally chartered, federally supported, non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force . CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded membership that includes people from all backgrounds, lifestyles, and...
plane dropped two smoke bombs in close proximity to the convoy. The cutter was unable to establish communications with the plane which departed immediately, and so she proceeded with the convoy.
On 19 December 1942 what appeared to be a submarine was heard on the cutter's sonar equipment, estimated three or four miles from the cutter. Tallapoosa notified the 4th Naval District but the submarine was not heard or seen again. Tallapoosa began a grid search westward from a position 30 miles due east of the reported sub position at 0900 that day with negative results. At 0140 on the 20th, a dispatch was received reporting a sub sighted three or four miles distant on bearing 015° from Savannah Lightship No. 94 and the cutter again carried out a grid search with negative result.
From 4 January 1943, the principal activity of Tallapoosa was as an observing vessel for tests in connection with shore blackouts. Attached to the Southern Ship Lane Patrol she operated from 4 January to 15 January 1943, from the section base at Mayport, Florida under direction of the Base Commander and LCDR Fintel, USNR, attached to the Eastern Sea Frontier. The cutter made nightly trips to a position south at St. John's light vessel, sometimes accompanied by USS Umpqua, who acted as target vessel. The US Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
made various arrangements of shore lighting in the vicinity of Jacksonville Beach. These lights varied in intensity and were measured on board the cutter from seaward by civilian experts using photometer
Photometer
In its widest sense, a photometer is an instrument for measuring light intensity or optical properties of solutions or surfaces. Photometers are used to measure:*Illuminance*Irradiance*Light absorption*Scattering of light*Reflection of light*Fluorescence...
s to determine the amount of light constituting a hazard to a merchant vessel passing between a submarine and a shore light. On one occasion the visibility of various navigational aids was tested.
Proceeding to Jacksonville after three tests, the cutter underwent repairs until 28 February 1943, when she returned to her duties on the Southern Ship Lane Patrol. She remained in the 6th Naval District until the fall of 1945, when she was sent to Curtis Bay, Maryland for decommissioning.