USCGC Androscoggin

USCGC Androscoggin (WHEC-68), in the Gulf of Mexico, 13 August 1958
History
United States
Name	Androscoggin
Operator	United States Coast Guard
Builder	Western Pipe & Steel
Cost	US$4,239,702 (hull and machinery)[1]
Launched	16 September 1945
Acquired	26 September 1946
Commissioned	26 September 1946
Decommissioned	27 February 1973
Fate	Sold for scrap, 7 October 1974
General characteristics [1][2]
Type	Owasco-class cutter
Displacement	1,978 full (1966) 1,342 light (1966)
Length	254 ft (77.4 m) oa. 245 ft (74.7 m) pp.
Beam	43 ft 1 in (13.1 m)
Draft	17 ft 3 in (5.3 m) (1966)
Installed power	4,000 shp (3,000 kW) (1945)
Propulsion	1 × Westinghouse electric motor driven by a turbine, (1945)
Speed	17 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)
Complement	10 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	1945: 2 × twin 5 in/38 cal. dual-purpose gun mounts 2 × quad 40 mm AA gun mounts 2 × depth charge tracks 6 × "K" gun depth charge projectors 1 × Hedgehog projector. 1966: 1 × 5 in/38 cal. dual-purpose gun mount 1 × Hedgehog projector
Notes	Fuel capacity: 141,755 gal (Oil, 95%).

USCGC Androscoggin (WHEC-68) was an Owasco-class high endurance cutter built for World War II service with the United States Coast Guard. The war ended before the ship was completed and consequently Androscoggin did not see wartime service until the Vietnam War.

Androscoggin was built by Western Pipe & Steel at the company's San Pedro shipyard. Named after Androscoggin Lake, Maine, she was commissioned as a patrol gunboat with ID number WPG-68 on 26 September 1946. Her ID was later changed to WHEC-68 (HEC for "High Endurance Cutter" - the "W" signifies a Coast Guard vessel).^[3]