USCGC Pontchartrain (WHEC-70)

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For other ships with the same name, see USCGC Pontchartrain.
5"/38 caliber gun
turrets is clearly visible here
History
United States
NamePontchartrain
NamesakeLake Pontchartrain, Louisiana
OperatorUnited States Coast Guard
BuilderCoast Guard Yard,
Curtis Bay, Maryland
Launched29 February 1944
ChristenedOkeechobee
Commissioned28 July 1945
Decommissioned19 October 1973
ReclassifiedWPG-70 to WHEC-70
FateScrapped, 1974[1]
General characteristics
TypeOwasco-class cutter
Displacement
  • 1,978 full (1966)
  • 1,342 light (1966)
Length
  • 254 ft (77.4 m) oa.
  • 245 ft (74.7 m) pp.
Beam43 ft 1 in (13.1 m)
Draft17 ft 3 in (5.3 m) (1966)
Installed power4,000 shp (3,000 kW) (1945)
Propulsion1 x
Westinghouse
electric motor driven by a turbine, (1945)
Speed17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph).
Range
  • 6,157 mi (9,909 km) at 17 knots
  • 10,376 mi (16,699 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) (1966)
Complement10 officers, 3 warrants, 130 enlisted (1966)
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Detection Radar: SPS-23, SPS-29, Mk 26, Mk 27 (1966)
  • Sonar: SQS-1 (1966)
Armament
  • 1945:
    • 2 x twin
      5 in/38 cal. dual purpose gun
      mounts
    • 2 x quad
      40 mm AA gun
      mounts
    • 2 x depth charge tracks
    • 6 x "K" gun depth charge projectors
    • 1 x Hedgehog projector.
  • 1966:
    • 1 x 5 in/38 cal. dual purpose gun mount
    • 1 x Hedgehog projector
NotesFuel capacity: 141,755 gal (Oil, 95%).

USCGC Pontchartrain (WHEC-70) was an

Korean war
.

Pontchartrain was built by the Coast Guard yard at

Western Pipe & Steel. Named after Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, the ship was commissioned as a patrol gunboat with ID number WPG-70 on 28 July 1945. Her ID was later changed to WHEC-70 (HEC for "High Endurance Cutter"—the "W" signifies a Coast Guard vessel).[2][3]

Peacetime service

Pontchartrain was originally named Okeechobee. She was stationed at

ocean station, and search and rescue operations. She was subsequently decommissioned and stored at the Coast Guard Yard, Curtis Bay, MD, until 5 September 1948. She was re-commissioned and homeported at Norfolk, Virginia until 12 November 1949. From 12 November 1949 to sometime in 1972 she was stationed at Long Beach, California. During her last 18 months, until decommissioning 19 October 1973, she was home-ported in Wilmington, NC. She was used for law enforcement, ocean station, and search and rescue operations in the Pacific and Atlantic.[4]

Pan Am Flight 6 ditching, photographed from Pontchartrain

On 4 May 1950, Pontchartrain assisted the disabled FV Eta near

Point Pinos
. On 22 November 1957, she assisted the disabled yacht Gosling at 33°59’N, 120°16’W.

On 25 February 1958, Pontchartrain assisted the disabled yacht Intrepid. From 11 to 21 August 1958, she served on a reserve training cruise. She patrolled the Ensenada Bay Race on 10 May 1959. On 10 July 1959, she assisted FV Carolyn Dee at 33°N, 120°W. On 13 and 14 July 1959, she assisted MV Mamie. On 17 August 1960, she patrolled the Acapulco Yacht Race. From 20 August to 3 September 1960, she served on a reserve training cruise. On 19 October 1959, she rescued three from the ketch Alpha at 30°21’N, 117°56’W. On 22 January 1961, she medevaced a patient from USNS Richfield. On 30 April 1963, Pontchartrain assisted the disabled FV Gaga 10 miles east of San Nicolas Island.

Vietnam war

Pontchartrain was assigned to Coast Guard Squadron Three, South Vietnam, from 31 March to 9 November 1970.http://www.uscg.mil/directives/cim/1000-1999/CIM_1650_25D.pdf

Decommissioning

Pontchartrain was decommissioned on 19 October 1973. She was scrapped with the rest of the Owasco class in 1974.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Western Pipe & Steel - San Pedro shipyard Archived 2007-11-15 at the Wayback Machine - Colton Company website
  2. ^ "USCG Pontchartrain " (PDF). U.S. Coast Guard History Program. United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
  3. ^ "USCG Designations". U.S. Coast Guard History Program. United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
  4. ^ "Philatelic History of Wilmington, NC".
  5. ^ "16 October 1956". This Day in Aviation. Bryan R. Swopes. October 16, 2018.

References

  • Pontchartrain WHEC-69, United States' Coast Guard website.
  • photo, United States' Coast Guard website.
  • Scheina, Robert L.: U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1981, pp. 1–3.
  • Scheina, Robert L.: U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft, 1946-1990 Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1990, pp. 18–26.
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