USCGC Sebago (WHEC-42)
USCGC Sebago (WHEC-42) as seen on 28 November 1947. At this time she was still fitted with her heavy World War II-era armament of twin 5"/38 caliber gun turrets, which are clearly visible
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History | |
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United States | |
Builder | Western Pipe & Steel |
Laid down | 7 June 1943 |
Launched | 28 May 1944 |
Christened | Wachusett |
Commissioned | 20 September 1945 |
Decommissioned | 29 February 1972 |
Reclassified | WPG-42 to WHEC-42 |
Fate | Scrapped, 1974[1] |
Notes |
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General characteristics | |
Type | Owasco-class cutter |
Displacement |
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Length | |
Beam | 43 ft 1 in (13.1 m) |
Draft | 17 ft 3 in (5.3 m) (1966) |
Installed power | 4,000 shp (3,000 kW) (1945) |
Propulsion | 1 x Westinghouse electric motor driven by a turbine, (1945) |
Speed | 17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph). |
Range |
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Complement | 10 officers, 3 warrants, 130 enlisted (1966) |
Sensors and processing systems |
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Armament |
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Notes | Fuel capacity: 141,755 gal (Oil, 95%). |
USCG Sebago (WHEC-42) was an
Sebago was built by
First commission
Sebago was initially stationed at San Francisco, California but was transferred soon thereafter to
On the night of 27 April a C-47, MATS flight 6396, ditched near the cutter and the Sebago rescued the C-47s crew of four. Sebago was decommissioned on 31 October 1949 and stored at the Coast Guard Yard, Curtis Bay, Maryland.
Second commission
Sebago was recommissioned on 17 December 1952 and stationed at Boston until 1 July 1954. The vessel was subsequently moved to
During fiscal year 1959, the Sebago cruised some 20,000 miles on twelve patrols. She completed twenty-two assistance missions, saved a half-million dollars worth of shipping and obtained medical care for four sick or injured seamen. In addition to two training cruises for Coast Guard Reserve personnel with visits to Nassau and Jamaica, West Indies, on a visit to Texas for a shrimp festival, and the completion of one hundred forty-six vessel boardings during the fiscal year 1959. The cutter also completed her annual overhaul in the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland, in February 1959.
In January, 1960, Sebago completed underway refresher training at the Navy Fleet Training Group at
On 15 October 1964 a fire broke out in her engine room that caused $50,000 worth of damage. The fire was extinguished by Sebago crewmen with assistance from the Pensacola Naval Air Station Fire Department, personnel from the USS Tweedy, the Sherman Field crash trucks, and the Air Station harbor tugs. In late 1964, Sebago repaired the F/V Robbie Dale near Cayos Acras. On 18 December 1966, she helped fight the fire at Frisco Pier, Pensacola.
Vietnam War service
Sebago was refurbished at a cost of $179,000 at the Alabama Drydock and Shipbuilding Company from 29 September to 31 October 1968 in preparation for assignment to Vietnam.
Combat operations
Sebago was assigned to Coast Guard Squadron Three, South Vietnam, serving in theatre from 2 March to 16 November 1969, while under the command of CDR Dudley C. Goodwin, USCG. She was assigned to support Operation Market Time, including the interdiction of North Vietnamese supplies heading south by water and naval gunfire support [NGS] of units ashore. By July 1969, she had conducted 12 NGS missions, destroying 31 structures, 15 bunkers, 2 sampans and 3 enemy huts.
Humanitarian missions
Sebago's medical staff, including the cutter's doctor, Public Health Service LT Lewis J. Wyatt, conducted humanitarian missions in South Vietnam, treating over 400 villagers "for a variety of ills." The crew visited the village of Co Luy, 80 miles (130 km) south of Da Nang, and built an 18-foot extension to a waterfront pier for the villagers. She also served as a supply ship for Coast Guard and Navy patrol boats serving in Vietnamese coastal waters.
Return to peacetime duties
On 18 and 19 December 1969, Sebago placed a damage-control party on board M/V Jody Re, brought the flooding under control, and stood by until a commercial tug arrived. On 20 December 1969, she stood by the grounded Danish M/V Helle 25 miles northeast of Cabo Falso until a commercial tug arrived. On 21 June 1970, while adjusting compasses, she grounded during a squall outside Norfolk, VA.
Decommissioning
Sebago was decommissioned on 29 February 1972 at Pensacola. Her commanding officer at that time, CDR James G. Wilcox, also retired that day. The cutter was turned over to the
Footnotes
- ^ a b Western Pipe & Steel - San Pedro shipyard Archived 2007-11-15 at the Wayback Machine - Colton Company website
- ^ "USCG Sebago" (PDF). U.S. Coast Guard History Program. United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
- ^ "USCG Designations". Coast Guard History Program. United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
References
- Sebago WHEC-42, 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.