USCGC Pontchartrain (WHEC-70)

For other ships with the same name, see USCGC Pontchartrain.
USCGC Pontchartrain (WHEC-70), 1 September 1945. Her World War II armament of two twin dual-purpose 5"/38-caliber gun turrets is clearly visible here
History
United States
NamePontchartrain
NamesakeLake Pontchartrain, Louisiana
OperatorUnited States Coast Guard
BuilderCoast Guard Yard, Curtis Bay, Maryland
Launched29 February 1944
ChristenedOkeechobee
Commissioned28 July 1945
Decommissioned19 October 1973
ReclassifiedWPG-70 to WHEC-70
FateScrapped, 1974[1]
General characteristics
TypeOwasco-class cutter
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%).

USCGC Pontchartrain (WHEC-70) was an Owasco class high endurance cutter built for World War II service with the United States Coast Guard. The ship was commissioned just days before the end of the war and thus did not see combat action until the Korean War.

Pontchartrain was built by the Coast Guard yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland, one of only two Owasco class vessels not to be built by Western Pipe & Steel. Named after Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, the ship was commissioned as a patrol gunboat with ID number WPG-70 on 28 July 1945. Her ID was later changed to WHEC-70 (HEC for "High Endurance Cutter"—the "W" signifies a Coast Guard vessel).[2][3]

  1. ^ Western Pipe & Steel - San Pedro shipyard Archived 2007-11-15 at the Wayback Machine - Colton Company website
  2. ^ "USCG Pontchartrain " (PDF). U.S. Coast Guard History Program. United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 2012-12-17.
  3. ^ "USCG Designations". U.S. Coast Guard History Program. United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 2012-12-17.