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	NS

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