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Coastal Convoys

These cutters fought the u-boat war just off the US East Coast
guarding convoys headed to New York,
the jumping off port for the Atlantic Convoys
They include the civilian boats of the Hooligan Navy

205′ Algonquin Class Steam Brigantine WPG
Commissioned as Revenue Cutters without hull numbers
Last RC class rigged with sails
Though Gresham was the lead ship, design changes
common to the other 4 caused the class to be named after Algonquin
Classified Cruising Cutters in 1915
Reclassified First Class Cruising Cutters in 1925
Decommissioned in 1935
Gresham was re-acquired for WWII service
Hull numbers assigned in 1939, classified Patrol Gunboat
Decommissioned in 1947
Model: No

Designation Name Class Hull Service Comments Pictures
USRC/USCGC Gresham WPG 85 1897 – 1944 Gresham had been sold for scrap in 1935
Reacquired in 1943 due to wartime needs
Assigned to EASTSEAFRON
Decommissioned permanently on 7 April 1944
CGH
NS

190′ Miami Class Patrol Gunboat
Commissioned as Revenue Cutters without hull numbers
Classified Cruising Cutters in 1915
Miami was renamed Tampa and was lost in WWI
Unalga was reclassified First Class Cruising Cutters in 1925
Hull numbers were assigned in 1939 and reclassified Patrol Gunboat
Decommissioned in 1945
Model: No

Designation Name Class Hull Service Comments Pictures
USRC/USCGC Unalga WPG 53 1912 – 1945 Unalga survived WWI and had a long Coast Guard career
Assigned to the Caribbean Theater in WWII
Fought through WWII doing ASW patrols
Finally decommissioned in 1945
CGH
NS

165′ Tallapoosa Class Patrol Gunboat
The last cutters designed by the Revenue Cutter Service
Delivered to the Coast Guard
Commissioned as Cruising Cutters without hull numbers
Reclassified as First Class Cruising Cutters in 1925
Hull numbers were assigned in 1939 and reclassified
One became a Patrol Gunboat, the other a River Patrol Boat
Numbers were assigned alphabetically, not by date of commission
Tallapoosa was lead ship but Ossipee had the lower number
The 165s were officially referred to as the Tallapoosa Class
Both were decommissioned in 1945
Model: No

Designation Name Class Hull Service Comments Pictures
USCGC Tallapoosa WPG 52 1915 – 1945 Classified a WPG in WWII
Her sister was classified a WPR
CGH
NS

165′ Tallapoosa Class River Patrol Boat
The last cutters designed by the Revenue Cutter Service
Delivered to the Coast Guard
Commissioned as Cruising Cutters without hull numbers
Reclassified as First Class Cruising Cutters in 1925
Hull numbers were assigned in 1939 and reclassified
One became a Patrol Gunboat, the other a River Patrol Boat
Numbers were assigned alphabetically, not by date of commission
Tallapoosa was lead ship but Ossipee had the lower number
The 165s were officially referred to as the Tallapoosa Class
Both were decommissioned in 1945
Model: No

Designation Name Class Hull Service Comments Pictures
USCGC Ossipee WPR 50 1915 – 1945 Classified a WPR in WWII
Her sister was classified a WPG
CGH
NS

125 Active Class “Buck and a Quarters” Subchasers
Part of a massive expansion by ADM Frederick Billard
Commissioned as Second Class Cruising Cutters without hull numbers
Hull numbers were assigned in 1939, reclassified as Subchasers
Numbers were assigned alphabetically, not by date of commission
Active was the lead ship and was assigned the lowest hull number
The 125s were officially referred to as the Active Class
Reclassified as Coastal Patrol Boats after the war
Reclassified as Medium Endurance Cutters in 1967
Morris was the last operational 125 – decommissioned in 1970
Cuyahoga was an OCS training cutter until 1978
Model: Yes

Designation Name Class Hull Service Comments Pictures
USCGC Active WPC 125 1927 – 1963
USCGC Agassiz WPC/WMEC 126 1927 – 1969 CGH
USCGC Alert WPC/WMEC 127 1927 – 1969 CGH
USCGC Bedloe WPC 128 1927 – 1944 Lost in storm CGP
USCGC Bonham WPC 129 1926 – 1959
USCGC Boutwell WPC 130 1927 – 1964
USCGC Cahoone WPC/WMEC 131 1927 – 1968 CGH
USCGC Cartigan WPC/WMEC 132 1927 – 1968 CGH
USCGC Colfax WPC 133 1927 – 1954
USCGC Crawford WPC 134 1927 – 1947
USCGC Diligence WPC 135 1927 – 1961
USCGC Dix WPC 136 1927 – 1948
USCGC Ewing WPC/WMEC 137 1927 – 1969
USCGC Faunce WPC 138 1927 – 1948
USCGC Frederick Lee WPC 139 1927 – 1964
USCGC General Greene WPC/WMEC 140 1927 – 1968 Sold off – later seized by CG smuggling drugs CGH
CGP
USCGC Harriet Lane WPC 141 1927 – 1946
USCGC Jackson WPC 142 1927 – 1944 Lost in a storm CGP
USCGC Kimball WPC/WMEC 143 1927 – 1968
USCGC Legare WPC/WMEC 144 1927 – 1968
USCGC Marion WPC 145 1927 – 1962
USCGC McLane WPC 146 1927 – 1968 Sank RO-32 on 9 July 1942
USCGC Morris WPC 147 1927 – 1970 To Sea Scout Program
USCGC Nemaha WPC 148 1927 – 1948
USCGC Pulaski WPC 149 1927 – 1948
USCGC Reliance WPC 150 1927 – 1947
USCGC Rush WPC 151 1927 – 1947
USCGC Tiger WPC 152 1927 – 1947 CGH
USCGC Travis WPC 153 1927 – 1962
USCGC Vigilant WPC 154 1927 – 1956
USCGC Woodbury WPC 155 1927 – 1946
USCGC Yeaton WPC/WMEC 156 1927 – 1969
USCGC Cuyahoga WPC/WMEC 157 1927 – 1978 Typical operations until 1957
1957 to 1959: OCS training cutter in New London
1959: Transferred to Yorktown as OCS training cutter
20 October 1978: Lost in collision with MV Santa Cruz II
CGH
USCGC Electra WPC 187 1934 – 1936 1936 – Decommissioned
1936 – 1945 USS Potomac (AG-25) – President Roosevelt’s yacht
1945 – Decommissioned as CGC Electra
1946 – Maryland Tidewater Fisheries Commission
1960 – Privately owned
1980 – Seized as a drug runner
Currently owned by the Potomac Association in Oakland

165’B Thetis Class Coastal Patrol Boat
Part of a massive expansion by ADM Frederick Billard
Commissioned as Second Class Cruising Cutters without hull numbers
Hull numbers were assigned in 1939, reclassified Coastal Patrol Boats
Numbers were assigned alphabetically, not by date of commission
Thetis was the lead ship, but Argo was assigned the lowest hull number
The 165Bs were officially referred to as the Thetis Class
Ariadne was decommissioned in 1967
Model: Yes

Designation Name Class Hull Service Comments Pictures
USCGC Argo WPC 100 1933 – 1948 CGH
USCGC Ariadne WPC/WMEC 101 1934 – 1969 Wiki
USCGC Atalanta WPC 102 1934 – 1950
USCGC Aurora WPC/WMEC 103 1931 – 1968 CGH
USCGC Calypso WPC 104 1942 – 1947 Link
USCGC Cyane WPC 105 1934 – 1950 CGH
USCGC Daphne WPC 106 1934 – 1946
USCGC Dione WPC 107 1934 – 1963 CGH
USCGC Galatea WPC 108 1933 – 1948
USCGC Hermes WPC 109 1932 – 1948
USCGC Icarus WPC 110 1932 – 1946 Sank U-352 – To Dominican Republic CGH
USCGC Nemesis WPC 111 1934 – 1964 Wiki
USCGC Nike WPC 112 1934 – 1964
USCGC Pandora WPC 113 1934 – 1959
USCGC Perseus WPC 114 1932 – 1959
USCGC Thetis WPC 115 1931 – 1947 Sank U-157
USCGC Triton WPC/WMEC 116 1934 – 1967
USCGC Electra WPC 187 1934 – 1936 1936 – Decommissioned
1936 – 1945 USS Potomac (AG-25) – President Roosevelt’s yacht
1945 – Decommissioned as CGC Electra
1946 – Maryland Tidewater Fisheries Commission
1960 – Privately owned
1980 – Seized as a drug runner
Currently owned by the Potomac Association in Oakland
NS
CGP

Misc Patrol Gunboat
Model: No

Designation Name Class Hull Service Comments Pictures
USS/USCGC Nourmahal WPG 72 1940 – 1946 William Vincent Astor’s personal yacht
Voluntarily turned over to the Coast Guard in 1940
Transferred to the Navy in 1943 with Coast Guard crew
Transferred back to Coast Guard in 1944
Served as OWS vessel, Flagship of EASTSEAFRON
and as a harbor tow vessel at Coast Guard Yard
Returned to Astor in 1946
NS
USCGC Mayflower
(ex USS Butte)
WPG 183 1943 – 1946 Built in 1896 as a luxury yacht for Ogden Goelet and named for him
Acquired by the Navy in 1898 as USS Mayflower
Served in the Spanish America War
Served as Commodore Dewey’s Flagship in the Asiatic Fleet
Served as Presidential yacht from 1906 to 1929<
Treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War was negotiated on board
Decommissioned by Hoover as an economic savings
Series of commercial owners through the Great Depression
Acquired by the Navy in 1942 as USS Butte
Decommissioned CGC Mayflower in 1943
EASTSEAFRON
Involved in smuggling Jews into Israel in 1948
Ultimate fate unknown
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83′ Patrol Boat
Designed for convoy duty along the Gulf and East Coasts
Known as the Matchbox Fleet – they had wooden hulls
60 went to Normandy as Rescue Fleet 1
Rescued 1,437 men and 1 woman from the Normandy surf
54 served in the Pacific
The surrender of the last Japanese bastion in the Marianas,
the island of Aquijan, was held on the deck of CG 83525
After the war the 83s were used as SAR boats
During the Cold War they were harbor guards
They were replaced by the 95s and 82s
The last 83, WPB 83484, was decommissioned on 15 April 1963
Though never specifically mentioned,
Homer Hickam’s novel the Keepers’ Son is set aboard an 83
You can tell from the picture on the cover
Model: Yes

Designation Name Class Hull Service Comments Pictures
USCGC Un-named WPB 83300
83530
1940 – 1963 Great info on and pictures of 83 footers can be
found at this Link and at this Link
CGH
Link

110′ SC-1 Class Coastal Patrol Boat
Acquired from the Navy
Assigned to the CARIBSEAFRON
Model: Yes

Designation Name Class Hull Service Comments Pictures
USCGC Boone WPC 335 1943 – 1945 CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC Blaze WPC 336 1943 – 1945 CARIBSEAFRON CGH
NS
USCGC Bowstring WPC 365 1943 – 1945 CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC Bellville WPC 372 1943 – 1945 CARIBSEAFRON CGH
NS

Patrol Yacht
Mostly commercial fishing vessels in emergency service
Gertrude L. Thebaud was a Gloucester fishing/racing schooner
They patrolled in three main areas:
Alaska, Greenland, and SEAFRONTIER Patrol
Model: Yes
Alaskan Patrol

Designation Name Class Hull Service Comments Picture
USCGC Kodiak WYP 173 1943 – 1944 Patrol Whaler
Alaska
CGH

SEAFRONTIER Patrol

Designation Name Class Hull Service Comments Picture
USCGC Bedford 164′ WYPc 346 1942 – 1943 Patrol Sailing Yacht
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC Blackstone WPYc 1942 – Unk CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC Blanchard WYPc 369 1942 – 1943 Patrol Sailing Yacht
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC Blanco WYPc 343 1942 – 1945 Patrol Schooner
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC Boulder WYPc 352 1942 – Unk Unknown
USCGC Gertrude L. Thebaud WYPc 386 1942 – 1945 EASTSEAFRON
Financed by Louis Thebaud and named for his wife
Built in Gloucester, MA in 1930
Last if the Gloucester-built Grand Banks fishing schooners
Designed and built to capture the International Fisherman’s Trophy
from the Nova Scotian fleet
1931: Lost two straight races to the Canadian schooner Bluenose
1933: Carried a delegation to Washington on behalf of the fishing industry
FDR toured the ship at that time
1933: Part of the Chicago World’s Fair
1937: Part of the Donald McMillan Arctic Expedition to Frobisher Bay
1938 (last year of the competition): Lost 3 out of 5 races to Bluenose
Served the Coast Guard in WWII
20 May 1945: Left Gloucester for the Caribbean trade
February 1948: Driven onto a breakwater in Venezuela and broke up
Link
USCGC Globe Eight WYP 380 1942 – 1943 Patrol Whaler
WESTSEAFRON
USCGC Holy Cross
(later USS Kite)
WYP 1942 – 1942 Patrol Yacht
Saw no CG service in 5 months as USCGC
USCGC Globe Eight WYP 380 1942 – 1943 Patrol Whaler
WESTSEAFRON
USCGC Holy Cross
(later USS Kite)
WYP 1942 – 1942 Patrol Yacht
Saw no CG service in 5 months as USCGC
USCGC Micawber 110′ WYPc 159 1942 – 1945 Patrol Yacht
GULFSEAFRON
USCGC Pilgrim WYP 1942 – Unk Unknown
USCGC Thorgaut WYP 377 1942 – 1943 Patrol Whaler
WESTSEAFRON
USCGC Wicomico WYPc 158 1942 – 1945 Patrol Yacht
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC Globe WYP 381 1943 – 1943 Patrol Whaler
WESTSEAFRON
USCGC Kodiak WYP 173 1943 – 1944 Patrol Whaler
Alaska
CGH
USCGC Madalan WYPc 345 1943 – 1945 Patrol Brigantine
EASTSEAFRON
USCGC Ottern WYP 379 1943 – 1943 Patrol Whaler
WESTSEAFRON
USCGC Thalassa WYPc 348 1943 – Unk Unknown
USCGC Thorfinn WYP 383 1943 – 1943 Patrol Whaler
WESTSEAFRON
USCGC Thorfjell WYP 384 1943 – 1943 Patrol Whaler
WESTSEAFRON
USCGC Thoris WYP 378 1943 – 1943 Patrol Whaler
WESTSEAFRON
USCGC Colleen WYPc 27 1945 – 1945 Patrol Yacht
Unseaworthy – Not used

Emergency Vessel
Similar to the WYPs but were designated EM instead of USCGC
They patrolled in three main areas:
Alaska, Greenland, and SEAFRONTIER Patrol
Model: Yes

Designation Name Class Hull Service Comments Picture
USCGC EM Margaret WYP 323 1942 – 1943 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Brusstar WYP 312 1943 – 1943 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Caddo WYP 174 1943 – 1944 Patrol Whaler
Alaska
USCGC EM Connant WYP 320 1943 – 1943 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Covington WYP 314 1943 – 1943 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Dow WYP 353 1943 – 1943 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Edwards WYP 357 1943 – 1944 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Euphane WYP 360 1943 – 1944 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Humphreys WYP 325 1943 – 1944 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Joe WYP 356 1943 – 1944 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Northumberland WYP 361 1943 – 1944 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
CGH
USCGC EM Pelican WYP 329 1943 – 1943 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Pocahantas WYP 362 1943 – 1943 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Reed WYP 322 1943 – 1943 Patrol Coastal Freighter
CARIBSEAFRON
CGH
USCGC EM Rowe WYP 328 1943 – 1943 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Seabird WYP 330 1943 – 1943 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Stephan McKeever WYP 363 1943 – 1943 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Vernon McNeal WYP 318 1943 – 1943 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Warren Edwards WYP 354 1943 – 1943 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Wilcox WYP 333 1943 – 1943 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC EM Messick WYP 358 1944 – 1944 Patrol Trawler
CARIBSEAFRON
CGH

Misc Acquisition
Similar to the WYPs but classified otherwise
Example, an ex-Army tug was classified a WYT instead of WYP
They patrolled in three main areas:
Alaska, Greenland, and SEAFRONTIER Patrol
Model: Yes

Designation Name Class Hull Service Comments Pictures
USCGC Beverly WYT 371 1942 – 1944 Former Army Tug
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC Bozo 1942 – 1943 Patrol Yacht
EASTSEAFRON
USCGC Blackrock
(ex The Boys)
WAGL 367 1943 – 1954 Patrol Fishing Vessel
CARIBSEAFRON
USCGC Aberdeen 95′ CG 95300 1944 – 1944 WESTSEAFRON CGH
USCGC East Breeze 183
(ex SNS Externsteine)
WIX 1944 – 1944 German supply ship in Greenland
Captured by CGC Eastwind on 15 October 1944
The only German surface ship captured in WWII
Taken into Service as USCGC East Breeze
Served as a Greenland transport cutter
Turned over to the Navy on 24 January 1945 as USS Callao
NS
USCGC Navigation 1944 – 1946 Patrol Yacht
EASTSEAFRON

Coast Guard Reserve Cutter
These were civilian yachts of the Coast Guard Auxiliary
The Coast Guard armed them and their owners crewed them
Officially referred to as the Coastal Picket Force
The CG often called it the Corsair Fleet
Affectionately called the Hooligan Navy
Performed ASW patrols along the Gulf and East Coasts
On at least one occasion drove a submarine from the area
The only units to report a mock bombing attack on the US by Army bombers
Model: Yes

Designation Name Class Class Hull Service Comments Picture
USCGCR CGR Various 1942 – 1943 Civilian yachts of the CG Auxiliary CGH
CGP