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USCGC Taney (WHEC-37)
Encyclopedia
USCGC Taney (WPG/WAGC/WHEC-37) (icon ) is a United States Coast Guard
High Endurance Cutter, notable as the last ship floating that fought in the attack on Pearl Harbor
, although she was actually moored in nearby Honolulu Harbor not Pearl Harbor itself. She was named for Roger B. Taney
(1777–1864), who was at various times: US Attorney General
, Secretary of the Treasury and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
.
She is also one of two Treasury-class (out of seven total) Coast Guard Cutters still afloat. Serving her country for 50 years, the Taney saw action in both theaters of combat in World War II
, serving as command ship at the Battle of Okinawa
, and as part of fleet escort in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. She also served in the Vietnam War
in Operation Market Time
. Taney also patrolled the seas working in drug interdiction and fisheries protection and participated in the search for Amelia Earhart
.
from December 27 to 29, and arrived at her home port, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii
, on January 18, 1937. She conducted local operations out of Honolulu through the summer of 1937. On June 16, 1937, she transferred a number of her crew for temporary duty to USCGC Itasca
. The Itasca was preparing to lend navigational support to Amelia Earhart
's flight around the world. In May or June 1937 Roger B. Taneys name was shortened to simply Taney.
The Taney had arrived in the Pacific at a time when the United States
, and Pan-American Airways in particular, was expanding its commercial air travel capabilities. The "Clipper" flights across the Pacific to the Far East
made islands like Hawaii
, Midway
, Guam
, and Wake Island
important way-stations. Other islands and islets assumed greater importance when a route across the South Pacific was mapped out to Australia
and Samoa
. The military benefits which accrued to the United States by its expansion onto some of the more strategic bits of land in the broad Pacific were not lost upon President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who undertook, in the late 1930s, to annex territory in the Pacific.
Two such places were Kanton
and Enderbury Island
s. The Taney played a role in their colonization by the United States. In early March 1938, the Coast Guard cutter loaded supplies and embarked colonists who would establish the claim of the United States upon the two islands that seemed—at least to the uninitiated—to be mere hunks of coral, rock, and scrub in the Central Pacific. She disembarked four Hawaiians at Enderbury Island on March 6, 1938 and landed a second contingent—of seven colonists—at Canton Island on the next day. The men, assisted by the Coast Guardsmen, erected buildings and laid the foundations for future signal towers.
The Coast Guard's task over the ensuing years leading up to the outbreak of war in the Pacific was to supply these isolated way-stations along the transpacific air routes and to relieve the colonists at stated intervals. Taney performed these supply missions into 1940. Meanwhile, tension continued to rise in the Far East as Japan
cast covetous glances at the American, British
, Dutch, and French
colonial possessions and marched deeper into embattled China
.
As the Navy and Coast Guard began gradually increasing and augmenting the armament on its vessels to prepare them for the inexorably advancing war, Taney underwent her first major rearmament at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard
in December 1940. She received her last major pre-war refit at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California
, in the spring of the following year, 1941. On July 25, 1941, the Coast Guard cutter was transferred to the Navy and reported for duty with the local defense forces of the 14th Naval District, maintaining her base at Honolulu.
Outside of another "line island cruise" in the late summer, Taney operated locally out of Honolulu into the critical fall of 1941. She conducted regular harbor entrance and channel patrols, alternating often with one of the four old destroyers of Destroyer Division 80: USS Allen
(DD-66), Schley
(DD-103), Chew
(DD-106), and Ward
(DD-139).
Taney patrolled the waters off Honolulu for the remainder of 1941 and into 1942, conducting many depth charge
attacks on suspected submarines in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack. During this time, the ship received the classification WPG-37. On January 22, 1942, the cutter departed Honolulu in company with SS Barbara Olson, and arrived at Kanton Island
on the January 28. After sending a working party ashore to unload supplies, Taney screened Barbara Olson offshore until February 7, when both ships got underway to evacuate the American colony on Enderbury Island
. Embarking the four colonists at 10:15 that day, Taney shelled the island and destroyed its buildings to prevent them from being used by Japanese forces. Taney subsequently escorted her merchantman consort to Jarvis Island
, where she evacuated the four Interior Department colonists and burned all structures to the ground before departing. Reaching Palmyra Atoll
on the February 12, the ships remained there until the February 15, before Taney headed back for the Hawaiian Islands, arriving at Honolulu on March 5. She made another voyage to Palmyra Island later that spring and when heading back to Hawaii, she received orders to search for survivors in the waters around Midway Island after the Battle of Midway
, including a stop at the island itself.
Taney operated locally out of Honolulu into 1943 before sailing for Boston
late that winter. Prior to heading for the east coast, the ship received a re-gunning at Mare Island
, being fitted with four single-mount, 5-inch guns, making her the only ship in her class with this modification. After making port at Boston on March 14, 1944, Taney soon shifted south to Hampton Roads
, where she arrived on March 31. Early in April, she departed Norfolk
as a unit of Task Force 66 (TF 66) as convoy guide for convoy UGS-38. The passage across the Atlantic proved uneventful, as the convoy made landfall off the Azores
on April 13.
Some 35 minutes after sunset on April 20, however, the convoy was spotted and tracked by the Germans, who launched a three-pronged attack with Junkers Ju 88
and Heinkel He 111
medium bombers. Each flew very low, using the shoreline as a background, thus confusing the search radar of the Allied ships. The first wave struck from dead ahead, torpedoing SS Paul Hamilton
and SS Samite. The former, which had been inexcusably carrying both a load of ammunition as well as hundreds of Army Air Corps
personnel, blew up in a shattering explosion—killing all 504 men on board.
The second wave of German torpedo planes hit the SS Stephen F. Austin and SS Royal Star. During this melee
, two torpedoes churned past Taney close aboard. The third wave mortally wounded USS Lansdale
(DD-426), which later sank. All of the damaged vessels—save Paul Hamilton and Lansdale—reached Bizerte, Tunisia, on April 21. Taney later departed Bizerte with homeward-bound convoy GUS-38 and arrived at New York
on May 21.
Taney participated in two more round-trip convoy escort missions, with convoys UGS/GUS-45 and UGS/GUS-52. Detached as a unit of TF 66 on October 9, 1944, she sailed for the Boston Navy Yard
soon thereafter for extensive yard work to convert her to an amphibious command ship. During this metamorphosis, Taney—classified as WAGC-37—was fitted with accommodations for an embarked flag officer
and his staff, as well as with increased communications and radar
facilities. Her main battery also underwent change: she now sported two open-mount 5-inch guns, as well as 40- and 20-millimeter antiaircraft guns. With the work completed in early January 1945, Taney departed Boston on January 19, bound for Norfolk, Virginia.
She conducted shakedown and training in her new configuration before departing the east coast and sailing, via the Panama Canal and San Diego, to Hawaii. Arriving at Pearl Harbor on February 22, 1945, she soon embarked Rear Admiral Calvin H. Cobb and later underwent various minor repairs. New communications equipment was also installed before the ship departed the Hawaiian Islands for the Marshalls
on March 10.
Taney proceeded independently via Eniwetok and arrived at Ulithi
on March 23, remaining there until April 7. Joining Task Group 51.8 (TG 51.8), the amphibious command ship proceeded to Okinawa and arrived off the Hagushi
beaches amidst air raid alerts on April 11. During one raid, her antiaircraft gunners scored at least three hits on a Mitsubishi G4M
"Betty" bomber which crossed the ship's bow 1200 yards (1,097.3 m) away, and later during her first day at Okinawa experienced four more "red alerts". The ship briefly shifted to Kerama Retto
from April 13 to 15 before returning to Hagushi on the latter date.
By the end of May, Taney had gone to general quarters 119 times, with the crew remaining at battle stations for up to nine hours at a stretch. During this period off Okinawa in April and May, Taney downed four suicide planes and assisted in numerous other "kills". The command ship also conducted combat information center duties, maintaining complete radar and air coverage, receiving and evaluating information on both friendly and enemy activities. On one occasion, Taneys duties took her close inshore close enough to even receive fire close aboard from a Japanese shore battery.
Suicide air attacks by the Japanese continued throughout June, although most were intercepted by combat air patrol
(CAP) fighters and downed before they could reach their targets. Such raids took place on 18 out of 30 days that month. On June 25, at 01:20, a float seaplane passed near Taney, provoking return fire from the command ship and batteries ashore which combined to splash the intruder. During this month-long period, at least 288 enemy planes attacked the ships in Taneys vicinity, and at least 96 of these were destroyed.
As if the Japanese menace alone were not enough, in mid-July a typhoon forced the ships at Hagushi to take evasive action. Taney led a convoy eastward on July 19 and returned the next day when the storm passed. She performed the same duties again on August 1 when she led a convoy to sea on typhoon-evasion operations. The ship returned to its anchorage on August 3.
The end of the war found Taney still off Okinawa. On August 16, she got underway to support USS Pennsylvania
(BB-38) as three Japanese planes were detected approaching from the northeast. One crashed 30 miles (48.3 km) to the north, and two splashed into the sea shortly thereafter. On August 25, TG 95.5 was dissolved, and Rear Admiral Cobb, who had been embarked during the Okinawa campaign, hauled down his flag and departed.
Taney soon proceeded to Japan, where she took part in the occupation of Wakayama, anchoring off the port city on September 11 and sending a working party ashore the next day. While anchored there, Taney weathered a typhoon on September 17. She was, in fact, one of the few ships which stayed at her berth during the storm, her ground tackle holding well in the sticky clay bottom.
Departing Wakayama on October 14, Taney returned to the west coast of the United States, via Midway, and arrived at San Francisco on October 29. Moving on for the east coast, Taney transited the Panama Canal and later arrived at her ultimate destination, Charleston, South Carolina
, on November 29. During the ensuing period of conversion, the Coast Guard vessel was reconfigured as a patrol cutter. She now sported a main battery of a single-mount, 5-inch gun, a hedgehog
, a twin 40-millimeter mount, and two 20-millimeter guns, in addition to depth charge
tracks and projectors and was reclassified once again as WPG-37.
Upon shifting back to the west coast, Taney was based at Alameda, California
until February 1972. Her primary post-war duty was serving as an ocean station weather ship. The weather patrols (later termed "ocean station patrols") consisted of sailing for three weeks on assigned stations in the Pacific, and each cutter assigned performed four or five such patrols each year. Their primary task was to report meteorological information, which was used in weather forecasts for the burgeoning trans-Pacific commercial air traffic as well as for surface vessels. The ocean station vessels also provided communications and navigation assistance and were always standing by for search and rescue emergencies. She also conducted dedicated law enforcement and search and rescue patrols, or stood on search and rescue standby, when she was not on ocean station duty.
In June through July 1949 Taney served on Ocean Station Fox and later in July she served on Ocean Station Able. In June 1950 she served on Ocean Station Oboe and in September she served on Ocean Station Fox. In January through February 1951 she served on Ocean Station Uncle and the following year, August to September, she served on Ocean Station Uncle.
Later in 1952, from November to December, she served on Ocean Station Nan. In April to May 1953 Taney served on Ocean Station Victor and in June of that year she served on Ocean Station Victor. From 4 to October 25, 1953 she served on Ocean Station Uncle and from June to July 1954 she served on Ocean Station Nan. In November of that same year she again served on Ocean Station Nan. In March and April and again in June and July 1956 she served on Ocean Station November. She again served on Ocean Station November from January to February, June to July, and October to November 1957 and from February to March and August 1958. She served on Ocean Station Romeo from October to November 1958. She served on Ocean Station November from December 1958 to January 1959, May to June, and October to November 1959.
The Taney served on Ocean Station November in March and April 1960. A unique honor occurred on April 27, 1960 when Taney, as the senior U.S. ship present, hosted French President Charles de Gaulle
on his tour of San Francisco Bay
. She then served on Ocean Station November in August 1960. She served again on Ocean Station November in January and then from May to June 1961.
In 1966 Taney undertook a 90-day "Double VICTOR Cruise". She departed Alameda on August 26 and arrived at Pearl Harbor on September 1, where she refueled before steaming to Honolulu, mooring at Berth 8. She departed Honolulu on September 3 en route Ocean Station Victor via Midway Island, arriving at the latter on September 6, departing the same day. On September 8, 1966 Taney crossed the 180th meridian and then arrived at Ocean Station Victor on September 11, relieving USCGC Chautauqua
(WHEC-41). She served on Victor until relieved by USCGC Winnebago (WHEC-40)
on October 1, then steamed towards Yokosuka, Japan. Here the crew enjoyed liberty before again heading back to the ocean station. She arrived at Victor on October 22, relieving Winnebago. On November 4 Typhoon Marie passed close aboard Taney, with winds gusting close to 70 knots (130 km/h), but she weathered the storm without damage. On November 12, 1966 Taney was relieved again by Winnebago and she then steamed to Midway Island to refuel before heading back to Alameda, arriving there on November 20.
patrols off the coast of Vietnam
. There Taney served a 10-month tour of duty, providing gunfire support and preventing enemy infiltration along the coastal routes used by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces.
She departed U.S. waters in April 1969 and arrived in theatre on May 14, 1969 and she served in the area until January 31, 1970. During her tour of duty, Taney steamed for over 52000 miles (83,685.7 km) and inspected over 1,000 vessels. She participated in dozens of naval gunfire support missions, firing more than 3,400 five-inch (127 mm) shells at Viet Cong positions. Her medical staff also treated over 6,000 Vietnamese villagers. For her service, the government of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam
) awarded Taney the Vietnamese Presidential Unit Citation
. After departing Vietnamese waters, she arrived at Alameda in February 1970.
After returning to U.S. waters, she once again began serving on ocean stations. From August 30 to September 20 of 1970 and from 3 to January 24, 1971 she served on Ocean Station November. From March 28 to April 18 and 9 to May 30, 1971 she served on Ocean Station Victor. She served on Ocean Station November from August 22 to September 12 and again from October 24 to November 14 of 1971.
. From 13 to October 22 of 1972 she served on Ocean Station Hotel. From October 28 to November 17, 1972 she served on Ocean Station Delta. From January 26 to February 15 and April 17 to May 7, 1973 she served on Ocean Station Bravo. As the ocean stations were decommissioned during the early 1970's due to advances in radar
and electronic navigation, Taney was assigned exclusively to the only station still operational: Ocean Station Hotel off the coasts of Maryland
and Virginia
. Fitted with a special storm-tracking antenna
housed in a distinctive bulbous dome fitted atop her pilot house, Taney deployed seven times yearly, conducting 21 deployments 200 miles (321.9 km) off the coast. This last ocean station had been established to track storms threatening the middle states on the east coast which had often struck without warning. Eventually, the use of more sophisticated storm-tracking satellites and radars rendered this station obsolete. Hence, Ocean Station Hotel was closed down in 1977 and the Taney gained the distinction of being the last Coast Guard cutter to serve on an ocean station.
The mid-1970s were a period of transition for the Coast Guard with the passage of the Fisheries Conservation and Management Act
and the nation's shift towards increased interdiction of narcotics smugglers. These operations called for off-shore patrols of up to three weeks. From September 1976 through her decommissioning she was stationed at Portsmouth, Virginia
and began law enforcement and search and rescue
patrols.
In December 1976 she assisted the sailboat Capella 200 miles (321.9 km) off New York. In December 1979 Taney helped seize the F/V Eneida for narcotics violations. On January 15, 1980 she seized the M/V Ameila Isle 425 miles (684 km) east of Fort Pierce, Florida
, carrying 4 tons of contraband. In December 1980 she seized the British-flagged M/V Party Doll which was carrying 10 tons of contraband. Despite being the long arm of the law at sea she continued in her traditional Coast Guard humanitarian mission of search and rescue as well. On November 16, 1982 she rescued seven from the disabled ketch Klarwasser off the coast of North Carolina and rescued 19 migrants off the sailboat Apre Dien Ni. In May 1985 she assisted the disabled F/V Northwind 300 miles (482.8 km) off New York. She also continued nabbing drug smugglers. On September 30, 1984 she seized the P/C Thriller in the Yucatan Channel
, carrying 1,000 pounds of marijuana
. Her final bust occurred on October 4, 1985 when she seized the M/V Sea Maid I which was towing a barge that carried 160 tons of marijuana 300 miles (482.8 km) off Virginia.
. Over her distinguished career, Taney received three battle stars for World War II
service and numerous theatre ribbons for service in World War II, Korea
, and Vietnam
.
In 1988, the USCGC TANEY (WHEC-37), Structure - #88001826, was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
As of 2011, the Taney is located in the historic Baltimore
Inner Harbor
as part of the Baltimore Maritime Museum
:
Liberty ship
Roger B Taney was also named for the Chief Justice. She was laid down at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard Inc.
, at Baltimore Maryland on June 21, 1941 and launched December 6, 1941. After being commissioned on February 9, 1942. She was a U.S. Army Transport. On July 2, 1943 she was torpedoed in the South Atlantic, and 3 crew members died.
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
High Endurance Cutter, notable as the last ship floating that fought in the attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, although she was actually moored in nearby Honolulu Harbor not Pearl Harbor itself. She was named for Roger B. Taney
Roger B. Taney
Roger Brooke Taney was the fifth Chief Justice of the United States, holding that office from 1836 until his death in 1864. He was the first Roman Catholic to hold that office or sit on the Supreme Court of the United States. He was also the eleventh United States Attorney General. He is most...
(1777–1864), who was at various times: US Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
, Secretary of the Treasury and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Chief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
.
She is also one of two Treasury-class (out of seven total) Coast Guard Cutters still afloat. Serving her country for 50 years, the Taney saw action in both theaters of combat in World War II
World 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...
, serving as command ship at the Battle of Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
, and as part of fleet escort in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. She also served in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
in Operation Market Time
Operation Market Time
Operation Market Time was the United States Navy’s effort to stop troops and supplies from flowing by sea from North Vietnam to South Vietnam during the Vietnam War...
. Taney also patrolled the seas working in drug interdiction and fisheries protection and participated in the search for Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
.
1936 – 1941
Roger B. Taney, Coast Guard Builders No. 68, was laid on May 1, 1935 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She was launched on June 3, 1936 and was sponsored by Miss Corinne F. Taney. She was commissioned at Philadelphia on October 24, 1936 under the command of CDR W. K. Thompson, USCG. The Roger B. Taney departed Philadelphia on December 19, transited the Panama CanalPanama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
from December 27 to 29, and arrived at her home port, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii
Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...
, on January 18, 1937. She conducted local operations out of Honolulu through the summer of 1937. On June 16, 1937, she transferred a number of her crew for temporary duty to USCGC Itasca
USCGC Itasca (1929)
The USCGC Itasca was a of the United States Coast Guard launched on 16 November 1929 and commissioned 12 July 1930. Itasca performed Bering Sea patrols; but is most remembered as the "picket ship" that would provide air navigation and radio links for Amelia Earhart when she made her 1937...
. The Itasca was preparing to lend navigational support to Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...
's flight around the world. In May or June 1937 Roger B. Taneys name was shortened to simply Taney.
The Taney had arrived in the Pacific at a time when the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and Pan-American Airways in particular, was expanding its commercial air travel capabilities. The "Clipper" flights across the Pacific to the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
made islands like Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Midway
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, and Wake Island
Wake Island
Wake Island is a coral atoll having a coastline of in the North Pacific Ocean, located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu west to Guam east. It is an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States, administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior...
important way-stations. Other islands and islets assumed greater importance when a route across the South Pacific was mapped out to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
. The military benefits which accrued to the United States by its expansion onto some of the more strategic bits of land in the broad Pacific were not lost upon President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who undertook, in the late 1930s, to annex territory in the Pacific.
Two such places were Kanton
Kanton Island
Kanton Island , alternatively known as "Mary Island", "Mary Balcout's Island" or "Swallow Island", is the largest, northernmost, and as of 2007, the sole inhabited island of the Phoenix Islands, in the Republic of Kiribati. It is an atoll located in the South Pacific Ocean roughly halfway between...
and Enderbury Island
Enderbury Island
Enderbury Island is a small, uninhabited atoll 63 km ESE of Kanton Island in the Pacific Ocean at . It is about 1 mile wide and 3 miles long, with a reef stretching out 60–200 metres...
s. The Taney played a role in their colonization by the United States. In early March 1938, the Coast Guard cutter loaded supplies and embarked colonists who would establish the claim of the United States upon the two islands that seemed—at least to the uninitiated—to be mere hunks of coral, rock, and scrub in the Central Pacific. She disembarked four Hawaiians at Enderbury Island on March 6, 1938 and landed a second contingent—of seven colonists—at Canton Island on the next day. The men, assisted by the Coast Guardsmen, erected buildings and laid the foundations for future signal towers.
The Coast Guard's task over the ensuing years leading up to the outbreak of war in the Pacific was to supply these isolated way-stations along the transpacific air routes and to relieve the colonists at stated intervals. Taney performed these supply missions into 1940. Meanwhile, tension continued to rise in the Far East as Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
cast covetous glances at the American, British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, Dutch, and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
colonial possessions and marched deeper into embattled China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
As the Navy and Coast Guard began gradually increasing and augmenting the armament on its vessels to prepare them for the inexorably advancing war, Taney underwent her first major rearmament at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
in December 1940. She received her last major pre-war refit at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
, in the spring of the following year, 1941. On July 25, 1941, the Coast Guard cutter was transferred to the Navy and reported for duty with the local defense forces of the 14th Naval District, maintaining her base at Honolulu.
Outside of another "line island cruise" in the late summer, Taney operated locally out of Honolulu into the critical fall of 1941. She conducted regular harbor entrance and channel patrols, alternating often with one of the four old destroyers of Destroyer Division 80: USS Allen
USS Allen (DD-66)
USS Allen was a Sampson-class destroyer of the United States Navy. She was the second Navy ship named for Lieutenant William Henry Allen , a naval officer during the War of 1812...
(DD-66), Schley
USS Schley (DD-103)
USS Schley was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I and later designated, APD-14 in the World War II...
(DD-103), Chew
USS Chew (DD-106)
USS Chew was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I and World War II. She was named in honor of Samuel Chew....
(DD-106), and Ward
USS Ward (DD-139)
USS Ward was a Wickes-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I, later APD-16 in World War II...
(DD-139).
World War II
The message: "Air Raid, Pearl Harbor. This is no drill" came at 07:55 on December 7, as Japanese planes swept overhead in an attempt to cripple the Pacific Fleet. Taney, moored alongside Pier 6, Honolulu harbor, manned her anti-aircraft guns swiftly when word of the surprise attack reached her simultaneously. As no Japanese attacks were directed at Honolulu harbor, the Coast Guard cutter was only given the opportunity to fire at stray aircraft which happened to venture into her vicinity. She was firing upon unidentified aircraft as late as noon, indicating that the eager Coast Guardsmen were probably shooting at American planes—not Japanese.Taney patrolled the waters off Honolulu for the remainder of 1941 and into 1942, conducting many depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
attacks on suspected submarines in the wake of the Pearl Harbor attack. During this time, the ship received the classification WPG-37. On January 22, 1942, the cutter departed Honolulu in company with SS Barbara Olson, and arrived at Kanton Island
Kanton Island
Kanton Island , alternatively known as "Mary Island", "Mary Balcout's Island" or "Swallow Island", is the largest, northernmost, and as of 2007, the sole inhabited island of the Phoenix Islands, in the Republic of Kiribati. It is an atoll located in the South Pacific Ocean roughly halfway between...
on the January 28. After sending a working party ashore to unload supplies, Taney screened Barbara Olson offshore until February 7, when both ships got underway to evacuate the American colony on Enderbury Island
Enderbury Island
Enderbury Island is a small, uninhabited atoll 63 km ESE of Kanton Island in the Pacific Ocean at . It is about 1 mile wide and 3 miles long, with a reef stretching out 60–200 metres...
. Embarking the four colonists at 10:15 that day, Taney shelled the island and destroyed its buildings to prevent them from being used by Japanese forces. Taney subsequently escorted her merchantman consort to Jarvis Island
Jarvis Island
Jarvis Island is an uninhabited 4.5 square kilometer coral island located in the South Pacific Ocean at , about halfway between Hawaii and the Cook Islands...
, where she evacuated the four Interior Department colonists and burned all structures to the ground before departing. Reaching Palmyra Atoll
Palmyra Atoll
Palmyra Atoll is an essentially unoccupied equatorial Northern Pacific atoll administered as an unorganized incorporated territory by the United States federal government...
on the February 12, the ships remained there until the February 15, before Taney headed back for the Hawaiian Islands, arriving at Honolulu on March 5. She made another voyage to Palmyra Island later that spring and when heading back to Hawaii, she received orders to search for survivors in the waters around Midway Island after the Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway is widely regarded as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Between 4 and 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea and six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy decisively defeated...
, including a stop at the island itself.
Taney operated locally out of Honolulu into 1943 before sailing for Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
late that winter. Prior to heading for the east coast, the ship received a re-gunning at Mare Island
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located 25 miles northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates the peninsula shipyard from the main portion of the...
, being fitted with four single-mount, 5-inch guns, making her the only ship in her class with this modification. After making port at Boston on March 14, 1944, Taney soon shifted south to Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
, where she arrived on March 31. Early in April, she departed Norfolk
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....
as a unit of Task Force 66 (TF 66) as convoy guide for convoy UGS-38. The passage across the Atlantic proved uneventful, as the convoy made landfall off the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
on April 13.
Some 35 minutes after sunset on April 20, however, the convoy was spotted and tracked by the Germans, who launched a three-pronged attack with Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...
and Heinkel He 111
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...
medium bombers. Each flew very low, using the shoreline as a background, thus confusing the search radar of the Allied ships. The first wave struck from dead ahead, torpedoing SS Paul Hamilton
SS Paul Hamilton
The SS Paul Hamilton was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after Paul Hamilton, the third United States Secretary of the Navy....
and SS Samite. The former, which had been inexcusably carrying both a load of ammunition as well as hundreds of Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
personnel, blew up in a shattering explosion—killing all 504 men on board.
The second wave of German torpedo planes hit the SS Stephen F. Austin and SS Royal Star. During this melee
Mêlée
Melee , generally refers to disorganized close combat involving a group of fighters. A melee ensues when groups become locked together in combat with no regard to group tactics or fighting as an organized unit; each participant fights as an individual....
, two torpedoes churned past Taney close aboard. The third wave mortally wounded USS Lansdale
USS Lansdale (DD-426)
The second USS Lansdale was a in the United States Navy during World War II. She was named for Philip Lansdale.Lansdale was laid down on 19 December 1938 by Boston Navy Yard; launched on 30 October 1939; sponsored by Mrs. Ethel S. Lansdale, widow of the ships namesake; and commissioned on 17...
(DD-426), which later sank. All of the damaged vessels—save Paul Hamilton and Lansdale—reached Bizerte, Tunisia, on April 21. Taney later departed Bizerte with homeward-bound convoy GUS-38 and arrived at New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
on May 21.
Taney participated in two more round-trip convoy escort missions, with convoys UGS/GUS-45 and UGS/GUS-52. Detached as a unit of TF 66 on October 9, 1944, she sailed for the Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
soon thereafter for extensive yard work to convert her to an amphibious command ship. During this metamorphosis, Taney—classified as WAGC-37—was fitted with accommodations for an embarked flag officer
Flag Officer
A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark where the officer exercises command. The term usually refers to the senior officers in an English-speaking nation's navy, specifically those who hold any of the admiral ranks; in...
and his staff, as well as with increased communications and radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
facilities. Her main battery also underwent change: she now sported two open-mount 5-inch guns, as well as 40- and 20-millimeter antiaircraft guns. With the work completed in early January 1945, Taney departed Boston on January 19, bound for Norfolk, Virginia.
She conducted shakedown and training in her new configuration before departing the east coast and sailing, via the Panama Canal and San Diego, to Hawaii. Arriving at Pearl Harbor on February 22, 1945, she soon embarked Rear Admiral Calvin H. Cobb and later underwent various minor repairs. New communications equipment was also installed before the ship departed the Hawaiian Islands for the Marshalls
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
on March 10.
Taney proceeded independently via Eniwetok and arrived at Ulithi
Ulithi
Ulithi is an atoll in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, about 191 km east of Yap. It consists of 40 islets totalling , surrounding a lagoon about long and up to wide—at one of the largest in the world. It is administered by the state of Yap in the Federated States of...
on March 23, remaining there until April 7. Joining Task Group 51.8 (TG 51.8), the amphibious command ship proceeded to Okinawa and arrived off the Hagushi
Hagushi
Hagushi bay was the primary unloading point for American supplies during the invasion of Okinawa during World War II. The bay, at the mouth of the Bishi River , was the dividing line between the First and Sixth US Marine divisions, which landed on the Hagushi beaches to the north, and the Seventh...
beaches amidst air raid alerts on April 11. During one raid, her antiaircraft gunners scored at least three hits on a Mitsubishi G4M
Mitsubishi G4M
The Mitsubishi G4M 一式陸上攻撃機, 一式陸攻 Isshiki rikujō kōgeki ki, Isshikirikkō was the main twin-engine, land-based bomber used by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in World War II. The Allies gave the G4M the reporting name Betty...
"Betty" bomber which crossed the ship's bow 1200 yards (1,097.3 m) away, and later during her first day at Okinawa experienced four more "red alerts". The ship briefly shifted to Kerama Retto
Kerama Retto
The are a group of 22 islands located southwest of Okinawa Island in Japan. Four of the islands are inhabited:,., and. The islands are within Shimajiri District. The Kerama-shotō coral reef is a Ramsar Site....
from April 13 to 15 before returning to Hagushi on the latter date.
By the end of May, Taney had gone to general quarters 119 times, with the crew remaining at battle stations for up to nine hours at a stretch. During this period off Okinawa in April and May, Taney downed four suicide planes and assisted in numerous other "kills". The command ship also conducted combat information center duties, maintaining complete radar and air coverage, receiving and evaluating information on both friendly and enemy activities. On one occasion, Taneys duties took her close inshore close enough to even receive fire close aboard from a Japanese shore battery.
Suicide air attacks by the Japanese continued throughout June, although most were intercepted by combat air patrol
Combat air patrol
Combat air patrol is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft.A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, for the purpose of intercepting and destroying hostile...
(CAP) fighters and downed before they could reach their targets. Such raids took place on 18 out of 30 days that month. On June 25, at 01:20, a float seaplane passed near Taney, provoking return fire from the command ship and batteries ashore which combined to splash the intruder. During this month-long period, at least 288 enemy planes attacked the ships in Taneys vicinity, and at least 96 of these were destroyed.
As if the Japanese menace alone were not enough, in mid-July a typhoon forced the ships at Hagushi to take evasive action. Taney led a convoy eastward on July 19 and returned the next day when the storm passed. She performed the same duties again on August 1 when she led a convoy to sea on typhoon-evasion operations. The ship returned to its anchorage on August 3.
The end of the war found Taney still off Okinawa. On August 16, she got underway to support USS Pennsylvania
USS Pennsylvania (BB-38)
USS Pennsylvania was a United States Navy super-dreadnought battleship. She was the third Navy ship named for the state of Pennsylvania....
(BB-38) as three Japanese planes were detected approaching from the northeast. One crashed 30 miles (48.3 km) to the north, and two splashed into the sea shortly thereafter. On August 25, TG 95.5 was dissolved, and Rear Admiral Cobb, who had been embarked during the Okinawa campaign, hauled down his flag and departed.
Taney soon proceeded to Japan, where she took part in the occupation of Wakayama, anchoring off the port city on September 11 and sending a working party ashore the next day. While anchored there, Taney weathered a typhoon on September 17. She was, in fact, one of the few ships which stayed at her berth during the storm, her ground tackle holding well in the sticky clay bottom.
Departing Wakayama on October 14, Taney returned to the west coast of the United States, via Midway, and arrived at San Francisco on October 29. Moving on for the east coast, Taney transited the Panama Canal and later arrived at her ultimate destination, 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 November 29. During the ensuing period of conversion, the Coast Guard vessel was reconfigured as a patrol cutter. She now sported a main battery of a single-mount, 5-inch gun, a hedgehog
Hedgehog (weapon)
The Hedgehog was an anti-submarine weapon developed by the Royal Navy during World War II, that was deployed on convoy escort warships such as destroyers to supplement the depth charge. The weapon worked by firing a number of small spigot mortar bombs from spiked fittings...
, a twin 40-millimeter mount, and two 20-millimeter guns, in addition to depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
tracks and projectors and was reclassified once again as WPG-37.
1946 – 1961
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
until February 1972. Her primary post-war duty was serving as an ocean station weather ship. The weather patrols (later termed "ocean station patrols") consisted of sailing for three weeks on assigned stations in the Pacific, and each cutter assigned performed four or five such patrols each year. Their primary task was to report meteorological information, which was used in weather forecasts for the burgeoning trans-Pacific commercial air traffic as well as for surface vessels. The ocean station vessels also provided communications and navigation assistance and were always standing by for search and rescue emergencies. She also conducted dedicated law enforcement and search and rescue patrols, or stood on search and rescue standby, when she was not on ocean station duty.
In June through July 1949 Taney served on Ocean Station Fox and later in July she served on Ocean Station Able. In June 1950 she served on Ocean Station Oboe and in September she served on Ocean Station Fox. In January through February 1951 she served on Ocean Station Uncle and the following year, August to September, she served on Ocean Station Uncle.
The Taney served on Ocean Station November in March and April 1960. A unique honor occurred on April 27, 1960 when Taney, as the senior U.S. ship present, hosted French President Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
on his tour of San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
. She then served on Ocean Station November in August 1960. She served again on Ocean Station November in January and then from May to June 1961.
1965 – 1966
On May 1, 1965 the Treasury class vessels were re-designated as High Endurance Cutters or WHEC. This designation indicated a multi-mission ship able to operate at sea for 30–45 days without support and Taney was then re-classified as WHEC-37. In March 1965 she conducted an Alaskan Patrol and on March 29 she successfully fought a fire on board the disabled fishing vessel Glacier Bear 15 miles (24.1 km) south of Cape Fairweather and then towed her to safety. In May 1965, off northern California, she kept the Soviet refrigerator ship Chernjakhovsk under close surveillance.In 1966 Taney undertook a 90-day "Double VICTOR Cruise". She departed Alameda on August 26 and arrived at Pearl Harbor on September 1, where she refueled before steaming to Honolulu, mooring at Berth 8. She departed Honolulu on September 3 en route Ocean Station Victor via Midway Island, arriving at the latter on September 6, departing the same day. On September 8, 1966 Taney crossed the 180th meridian and then arrived at Ocean Station Victor on September 11, relieving USCGC Chautauqua
USCGC Chautauqua (WHEC-41)
USCG Chautauqua was an Owasco class high endurance cutter which served with the US Coast Guard from 1945 to 1973. Originally intended for World War II service, she was commissioned only days before the end of hostilities and consequently never saw combat.Chautauqua was built by Western Pipe &...
(WHEC-41). She served on Victor until relieved by USCGC Winnebago (WHEC-40)
USCGC Winnebago (WHEC-40)
USCG Winnebago was an Owasco class high endurance cutter which served with the US Coast Guard from 1945 to 1973. Originally intended for World War II service, she was commissioned only weeks before the end of the war and consequently did not see combat until her deployment in the Vietnam War more...
on October 1, then steamed towards Yokosuka, Japan. Here the crew enjoyed liberty before again heading back to the ocean station. She arrived at Victor on October 22, relieving Winnebago. On November 4 Typhoon Marie passed close aboard Taney, with winds gusting close to 70 knots (130 km/h), but she weathered the storm without damage. On November 12, 1966 Taney was relieved again by Winnebago and she then steamed to Midway Island to refuel before heading back to Alameda, arriving there on November 20.
1968 – 1971
The Taney served on Ocean Station November from January 7 to January 28, February 18 to March 10, April 21 to May 12 and October 27 to November 17, 1968. Her final assignment to Ocean Station November was from January 19 to February 9, 1969. She was then ordered for duty with Coast Guard Squadron Three which was supporting the Navy's Operation Market TimeOperation Market Time
Operation Market Time was the United States Navy’s effort to stop troops and supplies from flowing by sea from North Vietnam to South Vietnam during the Vietnam War...
patrols off the coast of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. There Taney served a 10-month tour of duty, providing gunfire support and preventing enemy infiltration along the coastal routes used by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces.
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
) awarded Taney the Vietnamese Presidential Unit Citation
Presidential Unit Citation (Vietnam)
The Republic of Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation was awarded by the Vietnamese government to all personnel in the Military Assistance Advisory Group, Indo-China, during August and September 1954. The emblem consists of three vertical red stripes on a golden yellow background, in a gold...
. After departing Vietnamese waters, she arrived at Alameda in February 1970.
After returning to U.S. waters, she once again began serving on ocean stations. From August 30 to September 20 of 1970 and from 3 to January 24, 1971 she served on Ocean Station November. From March 28 to April 18 and 9 to May 30, 1971 she served on Ocean Station Victor. She served on Ocean Station November from August 22 to September 12 and again from October 24 to November 14 of 1971.
1972 – 1986
In February 1972 Taney was shifted back to the east coast and was homeported at NorfolkNorfolk, 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....
. From 13 to October 22 of 1972 she served on Ocean Station Hotel. From October 28 to November 17, 1972 she served on Ocean Station Delta. From January 26 to February 15 and April 17 to May 7, 1973 she served on Ocean Station Bravo. As the ocean stations were decommissioned during the early 1970's due to advances in radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
and electronic navigation, Taney was assigned exclusively to the only station still operational: Ocean Station Hotel off the coasts of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Fitted with a special storm-tracking antenna
Radome
A radome is a structural, weatherproof enclosure that protects a microwave or radar antenna. The radome is constructed of material that minimally attenuates the electromagnetic signal transmitted or received by the antenna. In other words, the radome is transparent to radar or radio waves...
housed in a distinctive bulbous dome fitted atop her pilot house, Taney deployed seven times yearly, conducting 21 deployments 200 miles (321.9 km) off the coast. This last ocean station had been established to track storms threatening the middle states on the east coast which had often struck without warning. Eventually, the use of more sophisticated storm-tracking satellites and radars rendered this station obsolete. Hence, Ocean Station Hotel was closed down in 1977 and the Taney gained the distinction of being the last Coast Guard cutter to serve on an ocean station.
The mid-1970s were a period of transition for the Coast Guard with the passage of the Fisheries Conservation and Management Act
Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act of 1976
The Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, commonly referred to as the Magnuson–Stevens Act, is the primary law governing marine fisheries management in the United States. The law is named after Warren G. Magnuson, former U.S...
and the nation's shift towards increased interdiction of narcotics smugglers. These operations called for off-shore patrols of up to three weeks. From September 1976 through her decommissioning she was stationed at Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
and began law enforcement and 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...
patrols.
In December 1976 she assisted the sailboat Capella 200 miles (321.9 km) off New York. In December 1979 Taney helped seize the F/V Eneida for narcotics violations. On January 15, 1980 she seized the M/V Ameila Isle 425 miles (684 km) east of Fort Pierce, Florida
Fort Pierce, Florida
Fort Pierce, also spelled Ft. Pierce, is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, USA. It is known as The Sunrise City. The population was 37,959 at the 2004 census. As of 2008, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 41,000. It is the county seat of St. Lucie County.Fort Pierce is part...
, carrying 4 tons of contraband. In December 1980 she seized the British-flagged M/V Party Doll which was carrying 10 tons of contraband. Despite being the long arm of the law at sea she continued in her traditional Coast Guard humanitarian mission of search and rescue as well. On November 16, 1982 she rescued seven from the disabled ketch Klarwasser off the coast of North Carolina and rescued 19 migrants off the sailboat Apre Dien Ni. In May 1985 she assisted the disabled F/V Northwind 300 miles (482.8 km) off New York. She also continued nabbing drug smugglers. On September 30, 1984 she seized the P/C Thriller in the Yucatan Channel
Yucatán Channel
The Yucatán Channel is a strait between Mexico and Cuba. It connects the Yucatán Basin of the Caribbean Sea with the Gulf of Mexico. The strait is across between Cape Catoche in Mexico and Cape San Antonio, Cuba and reaches a maximum depth of .-References:...
, carrying 1,000 pounds of marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
. Her final bust occurred on October 4, 1985 when she seized the M/V Sea Maid I which was towing a barge that carried 160 tons of marijuana 300 miles (482.8 km) off Virginia.
Fate
She was formally decommissioned on December 7, 1986 and turned over to the city of Baltimore, Maryland for use as a museum shipMuseum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
. Over her distinguished career, Taney received three battle stars for World War II
World 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...
service and numerous theatre ribbons for service in World War II, Korea
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, and Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
In 1988, the USCGC TANEY (WHEC-37), Structure - #88001826, was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
As of 2011, the Taney is located in the historic Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
Inner Harbor
Inner Harbor
The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and iconic landmark of the City of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as “the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the World.” The Inner Harbor is actually the end of the...
as part of the Baltimore Maritime Museum
Baltimore Maritime Museum
Historic Ships in Baltimore, created as a result of the merger of the USS Constellation Museum and the Baltimore Maritime Museum, is a maritime museum located in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland in the United States....
:
Liberty ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
Roger B Taney was also named for the Chief Justice. She was laid down at the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard Inc.
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when Bethlehem Steel Corporation acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works in 1905...
, at Baltimore Maryland on June 21, 1941 and launched December 6, 1941. After being commissioned on February 9, 1942. She was a U.S. Army Transport. On July 2, 1943 she was torpedoed in the South Atlantic, and 3 crew members died.
Awards
- 1 x American Defense Service MedalAmerican Defense Service MedalThe American Defense Service Medal is a decoration of the United States military, recognizing service before America’s entry into the Second World War but during the initial years of the European conflict.-Criteria:...
- 1 x European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign MedalEuropean-African-Middle Eastern Campaign MedalThe European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
- 1 x American Campaign MedalAmerican Campaign MedalThe American Campaign Medal was a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
- 1 x WWII Victory Medal
- 1 x China Service MedalChina Service MedalThe China Service Medal was a military medal awarded to U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard personnel. The medal was instituted on August 23, 1940 and featured a yellow ribbon with narrow red edge stripes...
- 1 x National Defense Service MedalNational Defense Service MedalThe National Defense Service Medal is a military service medal of the United States military originally commissioned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower...
- 1 x Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
- 1 x Asiatic-Pacific Campaign MedalAsiatic-Pacific Campaign MedalThe Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal is a service decoration of the Second World War which was awarded to any member of the United States military who served in the Pacific Theater from 1941 to 1945 and was created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was...
- 1 x Navy Occupation Service MedalNavy Occupation Service MedalThe Navy Occupation Service Medal is a decoration of the United States Navy which was issued to Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard personnel who participated in the European and Asian occupation forces following the close of the World War II. The decoration was also bestowed to personnel who...
- 3 x Philippine Liberation Ribbons
- 1 x Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation with Gallantry Cross with Palm
- 1 x Vietnam Service MedalVietnam Service MedalThe Vietnam Service Medal is a military award which was created in 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The distinctive design was the creation of sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones, a former employee of the Army Institute of Heraldry. The medal is issued to recognize military service during...
- 1 x Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Medal
- 1 x Republic of Vietnam Presidential Unit CitationPresidential Unit Citation (Vietnam)The Republic of Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation was awarded by the Vietnamese government to all personnel in the Military Assistance Advisory Group, Indo-China, during August and September 1954. The emblem consists of three vertical red stripes on a golden yellow background, in a gold...
- 1 x Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal