Nike was a 165-foot patrol boat that was built during the Prohibition era.  During the war, the cutters received additional armament, including anti-submarine [ASW} weaponry, heavier anti-aircraft batteries, as well as radar, and sonar.  Minor modifications to the hulls were carried out, such as cutting gunwales to permit clearer fields of fire, sealing the port holes, etc.  At the close of the war, however, each cutter had the majority of that added armament removed.  They were powered by two Winton diesels that drove two three-bladed propellers.  They were capable of making a stately top speed of 12.9 knots.

Nike and her sisters escorted coastal convoys during the war and two of her sister cutters sank a U-boat apiece during the fierce Battle of the Atlantic.

Nike remained in commission from 1934 to 1964.

The Coast Guard acquired six Navajo Class fleet ocean tugs from the Navy beginning in 1946.  Their initial designation, WAT (Coast Guard, Auxiliary, Tug) explains their black hulls.  These were repainted white in 1958.  Two of this class of tugs were commissioned in the Coast Guard as late as 1980 and five of these versatile vessels stayed in service until the late 1980's and early 1990's. 

Perseus is shown here after the removal of her war-time armament, including all of her depth charge weaponry.  She retains a 3"/50 on her foc'sle and a 20mm on her after deck house.

Compare with the above photo.  During the Korean War, the cutters' armament was upgraded and once again they sported ASW equipment, including mousetrap launchers forward and depth charge tracks on the stern.  An additional 20 mm was added forward of the bridge as well.  Note her modified after-stack.

Cahoone was in service from 1927 through 1968.  Note the crowded deck space of these small medium endurance cutters.  They were powered by two General Motors diesel engines that drove two three-bladed propellers to a top speed of 12.0 knots.  Designed to enforce Prohibition on the high seas, well out from shore where "mother ships" waited to offload their alcoholic cargo to smaller speed boats, they nevertheless proved to be adaptable to all of the Coast Guard's missions during their long careers.

General Greene was the fourth cutter to bear the name of the famous Revolutionary War general.  She was in service from 1927 through 1968 and served in Massachusetts waters during her post-war Coast Guard career. 

The design of these new cutters emphasized their search and rescue capabilities which were to be enhanced by utilizing helicopters to extend the reach of the cutters well beyond the horizon.  They were meant to replace the 165-foot cutters of the Prohibition era and were the first major cutter replacement project since the 255-foot high endurance cutters from World War II.  They were constructed by four different yards and entered service between 1964 and 1969.  The five "A" class 210-foot cutters were initially fitted with a CODAG propulsion plant consisting of two Cooper-Bessemer FVBM-12 turbocharged diesels and two Solar Saturn gas turbines while the 11 "B" class 210s were fitted with two turbo-charged ALCO 251B diesels.  Both types were built with dual shafts and controllable pitch propellers and were capable of speeds up to 18 knots.  

Note the two 81mm mortars and mounts on the forward deckhouse aft of the main battery and the HH-52A in the standard Coast Guard paint scheme for the mid-1960s on the flight deck.

Also note the absence of a stack.  The 210s were designed from the start to operate with helicopters and hence the focus on the cutter was as an aviation platform.  These cutters were designed with exhaust vents built into the transom, thereby increasing the space available for a flight deck but conversely limiting interior space.  This exhaust system proved to be problematic, however, and was removed from each cutter and replaced with a conventional stack during their renovations in the 1980s.  The Coast Guard pioneered combined ship and helicopter operations during World War II and the 210s were the culmination of that experience.  Much still had to be learned, however, and training, as well as dealing with the 210s' propensity to roll, played a large part in the cutters' early combined sea/air operations.  

Note the stern exhaust ports, flight deck and safety nets/deck railings.  The latter were lowered during air operations.  The 210s were capable of providing auxiliary power and fuel for the helicopters. 

Note the rescue basket dangling underneath the HH-52 and the lowered safety nets/deck railings that functioned as a catwalk along the length of, but still below, the flight deck.

The Diligence became something of a movie star as did her sister Dauntless when they were used to portray a Coast Guard cutter that was boarded and taken by modern-day Caribbean pirates in the 1981 motion picture "The Island," a film adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name by Peter Benchley

The 210s' top speed was 18 knots.  Although the cutters have proven to be adaptable to many different types of missions, there have been complaints of their handling in heavy seas and that they have a propensity to roll.  In fact, a beam wind could cause a list and in any rough seas rolls of more than 30° were common. 

Former crewman Mark Axevedo wrote in that "The photo was actually photographed from a USCG helicopter off of San Diego in 1976 or early 1977.  I was a petty officer (Damage Controlman) on the Yocona and was on board when this photo was taken.  The Yocona deployed 5 environmental buoys for NOAA in the mid-1970s from the Gulf of Alaska south.  The bouys were designed to collect on site weather conditions and relay the information via satellite to the National Weather Service in New Orleans.  The process of anchoring them in several miles of water depth was quite a challenge.  Most were lost or not functional within a year or two of deployment."

Note the lack of a Coast Guard stripe on the Vigilant's motor launch.  The Vigilant gained international notoriety in November, 1970, when a Soviet fisherman, Simas Kudirka, attempted to defect to the U.S. by jumping on board the cutter from his vessel, the Sovietskaya Litva.  The two ships were moored close aboard off Martha's Vineyard for discussions on international fishing issues.  The Vigilant's commanding officer, under orders from First District headquarters, permitted the Soviets to board his cutter and forcibly remove the unfortunate sailor.  The incident spawned a number of books and a movie.  Nevertheless she has had a distinguished career, as have all of her sister 210s.

The crew of the Decisive undertaking helicopter touch-down and tie-down drill with HH-52A #1463.  Note the "grid deck" apparatus on the flight deck which was used during flight operations at sea.  The rectangular grids acted as immediate wheel chocks, keeping the helicopter stationary while the flight deck crew secured the helicopter with tie-down straps.  The Coast Guard experimented with a number of landing systems and methods during the mid-1960s and continued to refine day and night flight operations well into the 1970s.  

The Sikorsky HH-52A Seaguard was the backbone of the Coast Guard's rotary-winged fleet from the time of their introduction in 1963 until the final helicopter was retired in 1989.  Ninety-nine of these versatile helicopters saw service with the Coast Guard.  

The Cuyahoga was originally commissioned in 1927 and throughout her Coast Guard career she served in a variety of capacities and on numerous missions.  She was converted to a training ship for the Reserve Training Center and OCS Academy in Yorktown, VA, in 1959.  She was the last 125-foot cutter still in service and the oldest cutter in commission when she collided with the Argentine M/V Santa Cruz II in 1978 near the mouth of the Potomac River.  The venerable cutter sank in two minutes.  Ten Coast Guardsmen and one Indonesian naval officer on an exchange program with the Coast Guard perished in the accident.

The 270-foot cutters were designed as replacements for the Treasury class cutters and their mission profile emphasized law enforcement, particularly patrolling the newly established 200-mile economic resources zone.  They were also designed as convoy escorts and anti-submarine warfare vessels and although they were not equipped with ASW equipment, space was left for their addition should it ever become necessary.  They were built with an up-to-date main battery and a sophisticated fire control system provided by the US Navy.  Final low-bids for the cutters reached $37.7 million each.

The Bear, commissioned on 4 February 1983, was the first of her class to enter service, although she was two years behind schedule.  Since each 270-foot cutter has taken the name of past cutters of note, the class is sometimes known as the "Famous Class."

USCGC Bear; no caption; photo number/photographer ; photographer unknown; probably from same series as the above photo; date is the same as well.

The 270s were designed with a large flight deck and hanger for surface/air operations.  They were capable of conducting a two-week patrol in an area "not more than 400 miles distant" with an embarked helicopter.  With this many mission requirements built in, they were, as one commentator noted, a "compromise ship."  Increased information management and communications capabilities as well as a reduction in the numbers of crewmen were accomplished utilizing new technologies, including COMDAC, a "Computerized Command, Display and Control system.  Their powerplant consisted of two 3,500 horsepower Alco diesels driving two controllable pitch propellers through twin reduction gears.

The introduction of the 270's was fraught with controversy.  There were problems during the bidding process and debate on the design and mission requirements.  The debate centered on whether or not, as one historian noted, these cutters were "small, [slow] hump-backed hybrids" or conversely "highly capable platforms."  The commandant at the time, Admiral James Gracey, stated that the 270's were "a compromise between a useful cutter and an escort.  And when one compromises, sometimes one compromises too much."  Their relatively slow 19.7 knot top speed, concerns over the ability to launch boats, limited endurance and deck space, poor towing capabilities and finally a "lack of space for adaptation to future mission requirements and over-reliance on 'black-box technology'" were the primary complaints of their vocal detractors.

The Spencer, built by the Robert E. Derecktor Company of Middletown, RI, was commissioned on 28 June 1986.  She is the third cutter to bear this name.

The Harriet Lane (WMEC-903) was the third cutter to bear this name.  The first, one of the most famous cutters of the mid-nineteenth century, had an amazing career as a cutter, a goodwill vessel, a Navy warship, and a Confederate blockade runner!  Her medium endurance descendant was commissioned 20 September 1984 at the Washington Navy Yard, the first warship to be commissioned in the nation's capital in over 100 years.

Ute, along with sister Lipan (WMEC-85), was commissioned in the Coast Guard in 1980 (compare with the Coast Guard commissioning date of sister ship Cherokee above) and both were stationed in Key West.  They were brought in to the Coast Guard fleet, along with Escape (see below), due to the delay in the delivery of the Famous class cutters and were assigned to the Seventh District.

They were decommissioned in 1988.

The Escape, a veteran of World War II, entered Coast Guard service in 1980 and served for fifteen years before being decommissioned 29 June 1995.  She was loaned to the Coast Guard after delays in 270' program put pressure on the already diminished cutter fleet.  The cutters were hard pressed to meet the demands forced on them by increasing drug and migrant interdiction problems in the Seventh District and fisheries enforcement of the 200-mile economic zone.

USCGC Evergreen (WAGL-295; WAGO-295; WLB-295; WMEC-295) began her service life as a 180-foot buoy tender.  During her career, as seen in this photograph, she also (after modifications made in 1972 which included the addition of bow thrusters, a modified superstructure, and improved electronics) served as an oceanographic cutter.  She changed designations and missions once again in 1982 when she was redesignated as a medium endurance cutter and was tasked with the duties carried out by those cutters, i.e. law enforcement, fisheries conservation management, environmental protection, and search and rescue.  She was decommissioned on 26 June 1990.

Despite all of the hand-wringing when they were first introduced, the 270s have carried out their duties admirably and have proven to be adaptable and versatile cutters.  As one prescient Coast Guard captain wrote in 1983, "in the final analysis, the verdict will be that the Bear cutters are good ships, having missed greatness by a remarkably small margin." 

The 210s received upgrades and modifications (in a program named "Midlife Maintenance Availability" or MMA) during the 1986 through 1990 time period.  The "A" class cutters had their turbines removed and all 210s had their stern exhaust systems replaced with a traditional stack.  While this modification reduced the size of the flight deck, they were still more than capable of carrying out aerial operations.  Other modifications included enlarging the superstructure area, replacing the main armament, and increasing the fire-fighting capability of the cutters.  The modifications cost approximately $20 million per cutter, well above their original cost of about $3.5 million each.

The Confidence after her MMA during a search and rescue drill.  Note the new stack, the RHIB small boat, and embarked Aérospatiale HH-65A Dolphin, the replacement for the long-lived Sikorsky HH-52A.

The Thetis was commissioned 30 June 1989.  The photo provides a good view of her flight deck and hanger.  The 270s also carry out combined air-sea operations, putting the experience developed by the 210s to good use. 

USCGC Alex Haley, formerly USS Edenton (ATS-1), a Navy salvage vessel, was originally commissioned in 1971.  She was transferred to the Coast Guard in November 1997 and underwent a conversion and refit at the Coast Guard Yard before heading for duty in the waters of Alaska.  The modifications included the removal of the forward and aft cranes and the extension of the flight deck aft.  She carries on a long tradition of the Coast Guard accepting "hand-me-down" Navy vessels, particularly tenders, tugs and salvage vessels, and putting them to good use.  Most have fit the Coast Guard mission profiles of the time quite ably.