Owasco-class cutter

USCGC Owasco (WPG-39), 1945. Her World War II armament of twin 5"/38 cal gun turrets is apparent here.
Class overview
NameOwasco class
Builders
Operators United States Coast Guard
Preceded byWind class
Succeeded byHamilton class
Built1944–1946
In commission1945–1974
Completed13
Scrapped13
General characteristics
TypeCutter
Displacement
  • 1,978 full (1966)
  • 1,342 light (1966)
Length
  • 254 ft (77.4 m) oa.
  • 245 ft (74.7 m) pp.
Beam43 ft 1 in (13.1 m)
Draft17 ft 3 in (5.3 m) (1966)
Installed power4,000 shp (3,000 kW) (1945)
Propulsion1 × Westinghouse electric motor driven by a turbine, (1945)
Speed17 knots (31 km/h; 20 mph).
Range
  • 6,157 mi (9,909 km) at 17 knots
  • 10,376 mi (16,699 km) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) (1966)
Complement10 officers, 3 warrants, 130 enlisted (1966)
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Detection Radar: SPS-23, SPS-29, Mk 26, Mk 27 (1966)
  • Sonar: SQS-1 (1966)
Armament
NotesFuel capacity: 141,755 gal (Oil, 95%).

The Owasco-class cutter was a 255-foot (78 m) 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 Pontchartrain—were constructed by the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland. Initially heavily armed for World War II service and designated patrol gunboats (WPG) under the United States Navy designation system, the vessels were stripped of much of their armament shortly after the war, and in 1965 were redesignated high endurance cutters (WHEC) after the Coast Guard adopted its own designation system.[1][2]

  1. ^ "USCG Owasco" (PDF). U.S. Coast Guard History Program. United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
  2. ^ "USCG Designations". Coast Guard History. United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 2012-12-17.