Office of Cutter Forces

Aircraft, Boats, and Cutters: Cutters

378-foot High Endurance Cutter (WHEC)

The 378-foot High Endurance Cutter class are the largest cutters, aside from the three major Icebreakers, ever built for the Coast Guard. They are powered by diesel engines and gas turbines, and have controllable-pitch propellers. Equipped with a helicopter flight deck, retractable hangar, and the facilities to support helicopter deployment, these 12 cutters were introduced to the Coast Guard inventory in the 1960s. Beginning in the 1980s and ending in 1992, the entire class was modernized through the Fleet Renovation and Modernization (FRAM) program. The first of the class was the Hamilton (WHEC-715) commissioned in 1967. Highly versatile and capable of performing a variety of missions, these cutters operate throughout the world's oceans.

CGC Rush

378-foot WHECs in Service:

  • BOUTWELL (WHEC 719)  Alameda, CA
  • CHASE (WHEC 718)  San Diego, CA
  • DALLAS (WHEC 716)  Charleston, SC
  • GALLATIN (WHEC 721)  Charleston, SC
  • HAMILTON (WHEC 715)  San Diego, CA
  • JARVIS (WHEC 725)  Honolulu, HI
  • MELLON (WHEC 717)  Seattle, WA
  • MIDGETT (WHEC 726)  Seattle, WA
  • MORGENTHAU (WHEC 722)  Alameda, CA
  • MUNRO (WHEC 724)  Alameda, CA
  • RUSH (WHEC 723)  Honolulu, HI
  • SHERMAN (WHEC 720)  Alameda, CA

Characteristics:

Length:
378 ft
Beam:
43 ft
Displacement:
3,300 tons
Power Plant:
2 Pratt & Whitney Gas Turbines, 2 Fairbanks-Morse Diesel Engines
Commissioned:
1967

 
Last Modified 11/18/2008