USCG Medium Endurance Cutter
Encyclopedia
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...
's cutter fleet contains numerous smaller vessels, and about three dozen large icebreaker
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
s, 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...
s, Medium Endurance cutters, and three National Security Cutter
National Security Cutter
The United States Coast Guard National Security Cutter , also known as the Legend class and Maritime Security Cutter, Large, is one design among several new cutter designs developed as part of the Integrated Deepwater System Program....
s. There are two legacy vessels, the Alex Haley
USCGC Alex Haley (WMEC-39)
The United States Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley is a former U.S. Navy vessel that was recommissioned for Coast Guard duty on July 10, 1999. It was first commissioned as the USS Edenton , an Edenton-class salvage and rescue ship on January 23, 1971...
and the Acushnet.
There are 13 vessels in the Famous class, and 14 vessels in the Reliance class. The Coast Guard plans to eventually phase out both of these cutters and replace them with the Offshore Patrol Cutter
Offshore Patrol Cutter
The United States Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter isone design among several new cutter designs developed as part of the Integrated Deepwater System Program....
as part of the Deepwater Program.
Famous class cutter
| Length | 270 feet (82.3 m) |
| Beam | 38 feet (11.6 m) |
| Draft | 14.5 feet (4.4 m) |
| Displacement | 1,800 tons |
| Propulsion | Twin turbo-charged ALCO V-18 diesel engines with twin 9 feet (2.7 m) controllable pitch propeller Controllable pitch propeller A controllable pitch propeller or variable pitch propeller is a type of propeller with blades that can be rotated around their long axis to change their pitch... s |
| Power | Two Caterpillar V12 diesel generators |
| Maximum Range | 9,900 miles |
| Maximum Speed | 19.5 knots |
| Typical Crew | 100 personnel (14 officers, 86 enlisted) |
| Armaments | 1 OTO Melara Mk 75 76 mm/62 caliber naval gun Otobreda 76 mm The Otobreda 76 mm gun is a naval artillery piece built by the Italian defence conglomerate Otobreda. It is based on the Oto Melara 76mm/L62 Allargato, which was bigger and heavier... , 2 x .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine gun |
Ships in class
| Pennant Number | Name | Status |
| WMEC-901 | Bear USCGC Bear (WMEC-901) USCGC Bear is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. She was laid down August 23, 1979 and launched September 25, 1980 by the Tacoma Boatbuilding Company of Tacoma, Washington. She was commissioned February 4, 1983... |
Active |
| WMEC-902 | Tampa USCGC Tampa (WMEC-902) USCGC Tampa is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. She was commissioned 16 March 1984. Her motto, "Thy way is the sea, thy path in the great waters", matches the inscription that is engraved on the memorial at Arlington National Cemetery for the 131 persons lost following the... |
Active |
| WMEC-903 | Harriet Lane USCGC Harriet Lane (WMEC-903) USCGC Harriet Lane is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. Named for Harriet Lane, niece and official hostess of President James Buchanan... |
Active |
| WMEC-904 | Northland USCGC Northland (WMEC-904) USCGC Northland is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. Her keel was laid down in 1981 and she was launched in 1982 by the Tacoma Boatbuilding Company of Tacoma, Washington... |
Active |
| WMEC-905 | Spencer USCGC Spencer (WMEC-905) USCGC Spencer is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. Her keel was laid on 26 June 1982 at Robert Derecktor Shipyard Incorporated, Middletown, Rhode Island... |
Active |
| WMEC-906 | Seneca USCGC Seneca (WMEC-906) USCGC Seneca is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. Her keel was laid on September 16, 1982 at Robert Derecktor Shipyard Incorporated, Middletown, Rhode Island. She was launched June 16, 1984 and commissioned active August 4, 1986 and formally commissioned May 9, 1987... |
Active |
| WMEC-907 | Escanaba USCGC Escanaba (WMEC-907) USCGC Escanaba is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter based in Boston, Massachusetts. Her keel was laid on April 1, 1983 at Robert Derecktor Shipyard Incorporated, Middletown, Rhode Island. She was launched February 6, 1985 and is named for her predecessor, USCGC Escanaba , which... |
Active |
| WMEC-908 | Tahoma USCGC Tahoma (WMEC-908) USCGC Tahoma is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. Her keel was laid on June 28, 1983 at Robert Derecktor Shipyard Incorporated, Middletown, Rhode Island. She was delivered August 12, 1987 and commissioned April 6, 1988... |
Active |
| WMEC-909 | Campbell USCGC Campbell (WMEC-909) USCGC Campbell is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter based at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. Campbell is the 6th Coast Guard Cutter to bear the name and is assigned to the Atlantic... |
Active |
| WMEC-910 | Thetis USCGC Thetis (WMEC-910) USCGC Thetis is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. Laid down August 24, 1984 by Robert Derecktor Shipyard Incorporated of Middletown, Rhode Island. She was launched April 29, 1986 and named for the Greek goddess Thetis the mother of Achilles. She was commissioned on June 30,... |
Active |
| WMEC-911 | Forward USCGC Forward (WMEC-911) USCGC Forward is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. Named for Walter Forward, fifteenth United States Secretary of the Treasury, she was constructed by Robert Derecktor Shipyard Incorporated, Middletown, Rhode Island was delivered in May 1989, and commissioned 4 August 1990... |
Active |
| WMEC-912 | Legare USCGC Legare (WMEC-912) USCGC Legare is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. Legare was laid down July 11, 1986 at Robert Derecktor Shipyard Incorporated of Middletown, Rhode Island. She was named for Hugh Swinton Legare a former United States Attorney General under President John Tyler... |
Active |
| WMEC-913 | Mohawk USCGC Mohawk (WMEC-913) USCGC Mohawk is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. She was launched on September 9, 1989 at Robert Derecktor Shipyard Incorporated of Middletown, Rhode Island and commissioned in March 1991... |
Active |
Reliance class cutters
| Length overall | 210 in 6 in (64.16 m) |
| Length of design waterline | 200 in 0 in (60.96 m) |
| Beam | 34 in 0 in (10.36 m) |
| Full load draft | 10 in 9 in (3.28 m) |
| Displacement | 1127.2 tons (full load) |
| Total power | 5000 hp |
| Sustained sea speed (Full) | 18 knots (35.3 km/h) |
| Cruising speed (standard) | 12 knots (23.5 km/h) |
| Range at standard speed | 8000 nautical miles (14,816 km) |
| Personnel allowance: | 75 |
| Armaments | 25 mm chain gun M242 Bushmaster The M242 Bushmaster is a 25 mm chain-fed autocannon. It is used extensively by the US armed forces, as well as by NATO's and some other nations' forces in ground combat vehicles and watercraft... , 2 x .50 caliber (12.7 mm) machine gun |
Ships in class
| Pennant Number | Name | Status |
| WMEC 615 | Reliance USCGC Reliance (WMEC-615) USCGC Reliance is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. She is the first of the 210' Medium Endurance Cutter Fleet and the fourth Revenue Cutter / Coast Guard Cutter to bear the name Reliance. Constructed by Todd Shipyards in Houston, Texas and commissioned in 1964, she was... |
Active |
| WMEC 616 | Diligence USCGC Diligence (WMEC-616) USCGC Diligence is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter.Diligence moors up in downtown Wilmington and is the 6th US Coast Guard Cutter to bear that name and be homeported in Wilmington, North Carolina, one of only eight cities in the country with the designation of "A Coast Guard... |
Active |
| WMEC 617 | Vigilant USCGC Vigilant (WMEC-617) USCGC Vigilant is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. She is the twelfth cutter to bear the name Vigilant, dating back to 1790 when the original Vigilant was built for the Revenue Cutter Service. She was commissioned on October 3, 1964, at Todd Shipyards in Houston, Texas at a... |
Active |
| WMEC 618 | Active USCGC Active (WMEC-618) USCGC Active is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. Active was launched at Bay Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin on July 31, 1965. Commissioned as a Coast Guard Cutter on September 1, 1966, she is long, has a beam, displaces 1000 tons, and draws of water. She is... |
Active |
| WMEC 619 | Confidence USCGC Confidence (WMEC-619) USCGC Confidence is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter.-History:Construction of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Confidence began at the United States Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, Maryland, in 1965 and was completed in 1966... |
Active |
| WMEC 620 | Resolute USCGC Resolute (WMEC-620) USCGC Resolute is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter.-History:The name Resolute carries a tradition of pride and professionalism in the service of the public. The Coast Guard's first cutter Resolute was a top-sail schooner built and commissioned in 1867... |
Active |
| WMEC 621 | Valiant USCGC Valiant (WMEC-621) USCGC Valiant is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. She was laid down February 28, 1966 at American Ship Building Company, Lorain, Ohio and launched January 14, 1967... |
Active |
| WMEC 622 | Courageous USCGC Courageous (WMEC-622) USCGC Courageous was a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. She was built by the American Ship Building Company in Lorain, Ohio and launched on 18 March 1967. She commissioned on 19 April 1968... |
Decommissioned |
| WMEC 623 | Steadfast USCGC Steadfast (WMEC-623) USCGC Steadfast is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter and has served the United States for over 30 years. Commissioned in 1968, Steadfast was home ported in St. Petersburg, Florida for her first 24 years of service. In 1992, she was decommissioned for Major Maintenance... |
Active |
| WMEC 624 | Dauntless USCGC Dauntless (WMEC-624) The USCGC Dauntless is a United States Coast Guard cutter, commissioned in 1968 and still on active duty.She is the first cutter in Coast Guard history to hold this name... |
Active |
| WMEC 625 | Venturous USCGC Venturous (WMEC-625) USCGC Venturous is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter.The Venturous motto is Nemo Supra, which means None Better. Thirteen of sixteen Reliance class cutters, Venturous was built by the American Shipbuilding Company in Lorain, Ohio... |
Active |
| WMEC 626 | Dependable USCGC Dependable (WMEC-626) USCGC Dependable is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter. Her keel was laid down by American Ship Building Company, Lorain, Ohio July 17, 1967 and she was launched March 16, 1968. Dependable was commissioned November 22, 1968 and her current homeport is Cape May, New Jersey... |
Active |
| WMEC 627 | Vigorous USCGC Vigorous (WMEC-627) USCGC Vigorous is a United States Coast Guard Reliance Class medium endurance cutter. Her keel was laid down by American Ship Building Company, Lorain, Ohio 10 November 1962 and she was launched 04 May 1968. Vigorous was commissioned 02 May 1969 and her current homeport is Cape May, New Jersey... |
Active |
| WMEC 628 | Durable USCGC Durable (WMEC-628) USCGC Durable was a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter.The Durable was the first cutter in Coast Guard history to hold this name... |
Decommissioned |
| WMEC 629 | Decisive USCGC Decisive (WMEC-629) USCGC Decisive is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter.-External links:*... |
Active |
| WMEC 630 | Alert USCGC Alert (WMEC-630) USCGC Alert is a United States Coast Guard medium endurance cutter and is the last medium endurance cutter constructed. The keel was laid on 5 January 1968 at the United States Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland, and she was commissioned on Coast Guard Day, 4 August 1969... |
Active |