USCGC Unalga

USCGC Unalga (WPG-53)

Unalga in civilian service as Ulua in Marseille, France, in 1946
History
United States
Name	USCGC Unalga
Namesake	Unalga Island, Alaska, U.S.
Operator	United States Coast Guard
Builder	Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Corporation, Newport News, Virginia[1]
Cost	US$250,000[2][3]
Launched	10 February 1912[2]
Sponsored by	Miss Elizabeth Hilles[2]
Christened	10 February 1912
Commissioned	23 May 1912[2][3]
Decommissioned	10 October 1945[2]
Maiden voyage	20 April 1912, Hampton Roads, Virginia[3]
Fate	Turned over to War Shipping Administration for sale. Sold 19 July 1946.
General characteristics
Displacement	1,181 tons[2]
Length	190 ft (58 m)
Beam	32.5 ft (9.9 m)
Draft	14.1 ft (4.3 m)
Propulsion	Triple-expansion steam power-plant producing 1,300 ihp (970 kW)
Speed	Max 12.5 knots
Range	Cruising: 7.9 knots, 4200 mile range
Complement	73 (1930)
Sensors and processing systems	SF-1, SA-2 detection radars; QCL-5 sonar (1945)
Armament	2 six-pounder rapid fire guns (1912) 2 × 3"/50 cal guns, 2 x 20mm guns, 2 x depth charge racks (1943)[2]

USCGC Unalga (WPG-53) was a Miami-class cutter that served in the United States Revenue Cutter Service and later the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy. The early part of her career was spent patrolling the Pacific coast of the United States and the Bering Sea. After 1931 she did patrol work off Florida and in the Caribbean. After Unalga was sold in 1946, she was renamed after Jewish Agency leader Haim Arlosoroff and used for six months for moving Jewish refugees from Europe to Palestine before being forced to run aground by British Navy ships near Haifa.