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USCGC Winnebago (WHEC-40)
Encyclopedia
USCG Winnebago (WHEC-40) 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 than 20 years later.
Winnebago was built by Western Pipe & Steel (WPS) at the company's San Pedro shipyard. Named after Lake Winnebago
, Wisconsin
, she was commissioned as a patrol
gunboat
with ID number WPG-40 on 21 June 1945. In the postwar period, her ID was changed to WHEC-40 (HEC for "High Endurance Cutter" - the "W" signifies a Coast Guard cutter).
, from 1945 to April 1946 and used for law enforcement, ocean station, and search and rescue operations. From April 1946 to February 1948 she was performing similar duties from her new base at Boston, Massachusetts. She was subsequently laid up at the Coast Guard Yard, Curtis Bay, Maryland, until September 1948. She was then stationed at U.S. Coast Guard Base Sand Island, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii
, later, the State of Hawaii from November 1949 to March 1972. In celebration of Hawaii
statehood day, the Winnebago in full dress, was open to the public. The Ship's Company
paraded in downtown Honolulu for the celebration. She was again used for law enforcement, ocean station, and search and rescue operations. While on ocean station duty, the cutter's crew took hourly weather observations, provided communications, air navigation and meteorological information to commercial and military aircraft and merchant ships. She stood ready to respond to any requests for assistance from aircraft or ships in distress. Ocean Station Victor, her primary station, was located about half-way between Midway Island and Japan and covered 210 square miles (543.9 km²). Typically Ocean Station patrols lasted 72 days. Four cutters alternated duty on the station. It took seven days to reach the station from Honolulu. After a 21-day patrol the cutter was relieved and then steamed to Yokosuka, Japan, for two weeks of rest and replenishment. She then returned to the ocean station for another 21-day patrol before returning to Honolulu.
Run aground at Pearl Harbor
On 26 March 1962 while making the entrance to Pearl Harbor
Winnebago ran aground and became stranded on Tripod Reef. The cutter was extricated within a few days by Navy tugboats.
Rescue operations
In November 1963, while serving on Ocean Station Victor, Winnebago steamed to the assistance of the disabled MV Green Mountain State. The cutter rendezvoused with the flooding merchantman and removed her crew. Winnebagos crew managed to stop the flooding and got the merchantman under tow. The cutter then towed the merchantman 810 miles to Midway Island. For this rescue the crew was awarded the Coast Guard Unit Commendation
. On 26 December 1964 the British MV Southbank was tossed by a 40-foot wave onto a reef 400 yards off Washington Island
in the South Pacific
. On board were two women, 57 crewmen, and 49 Gilbertese
laborers bound for Fanning Island, 60 miles distant. Using lifeboats the shipwrecked women and men escaped safely to the beach where the Washington Island natives cared for them until they were rescued by Winnebago.
Medical procedures
On 27 May 1965, Winnebago medevaced a disabled seaman from the Japanese FV Tsuru Maru No. 8 650 miles (1,046.1 km) south of Honolulu. In May 1966, her medical officer, a U.S. Public Health Service officer, performed an appendectomy on a Winnebago crewmen. Winnebago then rendezvoused with the where Winnebagos medical officer performed another appendectomy on a Navasota crewman. Later in the same month, Winnebago rendezvoused with the Japanese MV Shoei Maru where the doctor amputated the foot of a 17-year old seaman. In May 1967, she medevaced an injured crewman from the Shoeu Maru and transferred him to the Texas Maru.
, from 20 September 1968 to 19 July 1969 as part of Operation Market Time. Her commanding officer during the deployment was CDR Bruce W. Dewing.
While serving in Vietnamese waters, Winnebagos gun crews destroyed or damaged 42 enemy bunkers, two observation towers, and a large base and several staging areas. In addition, her gunners hit an enemy "infiltration trail and a complex of enemy tunneling that connected underground storage facilities", that also caused heavy secondary explosions and fires. The cutter "investigated more than 1,500 vessels for infiltrators and enemy arms shipments". Her medical staff also treated over 50 South Vietnamese "for a variety of ailments". She participated in four search-and-rescue operations as well, including rescuing "eight Vietnamese, 17 Greeks
, and 35 Filipinos
" who were rescued from their "sinking ships" during the cutter's deployment.
, from March 1972 to 27 February 1973 and used for law enforcement, ocean station, and search and rescue. She visited Curaçao
from 6 to 8 March 1972 "for the purpose of goodwill and rest and recreation" while she was shifting her home ports.
Owasco class cutter
The Owasco Class Cutter was a cutter class operated by the United States Coast Guard. A total of thirteen cutters in the class were built, all named after lakes. Eleven were constructed by the Western Pipe & Steel Company at San Pedro, California, while the remaining two—Mendota and...
high endurance cutter
High endurance cutter
The designation of High endurance cutter was created in 1965 when the United States Coast Guard adopted its own designation system. High endurance cutters encompassed its largest cutters previously designated by the United States Navy as Coast Guard gunboats , Coast Guard destroyer escorts , and...
which served with the US Coast Guard
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...
from 1945 to 1973. Originally intended 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, she was commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
only weeks before the end of the war and consequently did not see combat until her deployment
Military deployment
Military deployment is the movement of armed forces and their logistical support infrastructure around the world.-United States:The United States Military defines the term as follows:...
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...
more than 20 years later.
Winnebago was built by Western Pipe & Steel (WPS) at the company's San Pedro shipyard. Named after Lake Winnebago
Lake Winnebago
Lake Winnebago is a freshwater lake in eastern Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest lake entirely within the state.-Statistics:...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, she was commissioned as a patrol
Patrol
A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as police officers or soldiers, that are assigned to monitor a specific geographic area.- Military :...
gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
with ID number WPG-40 on 21 June 1945. In the postwar period, her ID was changed to WHEC-40 (HEC for "High Endurance Cutter" - the "W" signifies a Coast Guard cutter).
Peacetime service
Winnebago was home ported in Miami, FloridaMiami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, from 1945 to April 1946 and used for law enforcement, ocean station, and search and rescue operations. From April 1946 to February 1948 she was performing similar duties from her new base at Boston, Massachusetts. She was subsequently laid up at the Coast Guard Yard, Curtis Bay, Maryland, until September 1948. She was then stationed at U.S. Coast Guard Base Sand Island, 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...
, later, the State of Hawaii from November 1949 to March 1972. In celebration of 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...
statehood day, the Winnebago in full dress, was open to the public. The Ship's Company
Ship's Company
The Ship's Company refers to all officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel aboard a naval vessel. The size of the ship's company is the number of people on board, excluding civilians and guests.-Command structure:...
paraded in downtown Honolulu for the celebration. She was again used for law enforcement, ocean station, and search and rescue operations. While on ocean station duty, the cutter's crew took hourly weather observations, provided communications, air navigation and meteorological information to commercial and military aircraft and merchant ships. She stood ready to respond to any requests for assistance from aircraft or ships in distress. Ocean Station Victor, her primary station, was located about half-way between Midway Island and Japan and covered 210 square miles (543.9 km²). Typically Ocean Station patrols lasted 72 days. Four cutters alternated duty on the station. It took seven days to reach the station from Honolulu. After a 21-day patrol the cutter was relieved and then steamed to Yokosuka, Japan, for two weeks of rest and replenishment. She then returned to the ocean station for another 21-day patrol before returning to Honolulu.
Run aground at Pearl Harbor
On 26 March 1962 while making the entrance to Pearl Harbor
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...
Winnebago ran aground and became stranded on Tripod Reef. The cutter was extricated within a few days by Navy tugboats.
Rescue operations
In November 1963, while serving on Ocean Station Victor, Winnebago steamed to the assistance of the disabled MV Green Mountain State. The cutter rendezvoused with the flooding merchantman and removed her crew. Winnebagos crew managed to stop the flooding and got the merchantman under tow. The cutter then towed the merchantman 810 miles to Midway Island. For this rescue the crew was awarded the Coast Guard Unit Commendation
Coast Guard Unit Commendation
The Coast Guard Unit Commendation is the highest peacetime unit award that may be awarded to military commands of the United States Coast Guard. The decoration was first created in 1963 and is presented to members of any Coast Guard unit that distinguishes itself by valorous or extremely...
. On 26 December 1964 the British MV Southbank was tossed by a 40-foot wave onto a reef 400 yards off Washington Island
Teraina
Teraina, also known as Washington Island is a coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean and part of the Northern Line Islands which belongs to Kiribati. Obsolete names of Teraina are Prospect Island and New York Island. The island is located approximately 4.71° North latitude and 160.76° West...
in the South Pacific
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
. On board were two women, 57 crewmen, and 49 Gilbertese
Gilbert Islands
The Gilbert Islands are a chain of sixteen atolls and coral islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are the main part of Republic of Kiribati and include Tarawa, the site of the country's capital and residence of almost half of the population.-Geography:The atolls and islands of the Gilbert Islands...
laborers bound for Fanning Island, 60 miles distant. Using lifeboats the shipwrecked women and men escaped safely to the beach where the Washington Island natives cared for them until they were rescued by Winnebago.
Medical procedures
On 27 May 1965, Winnebago medevaced a disabled seaman from the Japanese FV Tsuru Maru No. 8 650 miles (1,046.1 km) south of Honolulu. In May 1966, her medical officer, a U.S. Public Health Service officer, performed an appendectomy on a Winnebago crewmen. Winnebago then rendezvoused with the where Winnebagos medical officer performed another appendectomy on a Navasota crewman. Later in the same month, Winnebago rendezvoused with the Japanese MV Shoei Maru where the doctor amputated the foot of a 17-year old seaman. In May 1967, she medevaced an injured crewman from the Shoeu Maru and transferred him to the Texas Maru.
Vietnam War
Winnebago was assigned to Coast Guard Squadron Three, VietnamVietnam
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 –...
, from 20 September 1968 to 19 July 1969 as part of Operation Market Time. Her commanding officer during the deployment was CDR Bruce W. Dewing.
While serving in Vietnamese waters, Winnebagos gun crews destroyed or damaged 42 enemy bunkers, two observation towers, and a large base and several staging areas. In addition, her gunners hit an enemy "infiltration trail and a complex of enemy tunneling that connected underground storage facilities", that also caused heavy secondary explosions and fires. The cutter "investigated more than 1,500 vessels for infiltrators and enemy arms shipments". Her medical staff also treated over 50 South Vietnamese "for a variety of ailments". She participated in four search-and-rescue operations as well, including rescuing "eight Vietnamese, 17 Greeks
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, and 35 Filipinos
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
" who were rescued from their "sinking ships" during the cutter's deployment.
Return to peacetime operations
On 25 February 1970, Winnebago transferred a medical team to assist MV Sylvia Lykes near Midway Island. Eventually, Winnebago was stationed at Wilmington, North CarolinaWilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
, from March 1972 to 27 February 1973 and used for law enforcement, ocean station, and search and rescue. She visited Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
from 6 to 8 March 1972 "for the purpose of goodwill and rest and recreation" while she was shifting her home ports.