USCGC Casco (WAVP-370)

USS Casco (AVP-12) in Puget Sound on 3 March 1943. Her main battery has been increased to four 5-inch (127 mm) 38-caliber guns.
History
United States Navy
Name:	USS Casco (AVP-12)
Namesake:	Casco Bay on the coast of Maine
Builder:	Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington
Laid down:	30 May 1940
Launched:	15 November 1941
Sponsored by:	Mrs. W. J. Giles
Commissioned:	27 December 1941
Decommissioned:	10 April 1947
Honors and awards:	Three battle stars for World War II service
Fate:	Loaned to U.S. Coast Guard 19 April 1949
Acquired:	Returned by U.S. Coast Guard March 1969
Struck:	1969
Fate:	Sunk as target 15 May 1969
United States Coast Guard
Name:	USCGC Casco (WAVP-370)
Namesake:	Previous name retained
Acquired:	19 April 1949
Commissioned:	19 April 1949
Reclassified:	High-endurance cutter (WHEC-370) on 1 May 1966
Decommissioned:	21 March 1969
Fate:	Returned to U.S. Navy March 1969
General characteristics (seaplane tender)
Class and type:	Barnegat-class small seaplane tender
Displacement:	1,766 tons (light) 2,750 tons (full load)
Length:	311 ft 8 in (95.00 m)
Beam:	41 ft 1 in (12.52 m)
Draft:	13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Installed power:	6,000 horsepower (4.48 megawatts)
Propulsion:	diesel engines, two shafts
Speed:	18.6 knots (34.4 km/h)
Complement:	215 (ship's company) 367 (with aviation unit)
Sensors and processing systems:	Radar; sonar
Armament:	1 × single 5 in (130 mm) 38-caliber dual-purpose gun mount 1 × quad 40 mm antiaircraft gun mount 2 × dual 40-mm antiaircraft gun mounts 4 × dual 20 mm antiaircraft gun mounts 2 × depth charge tracks
Aviation facilities:	Supplies, spare parts, repairs, and berthing for one seaplane squadron; 80,000 US gallons (300,000 L)
General characteristics (Coast Guard cutter)
Class and type:	Casco-class cutter
Displacement:	2,528.72 tons (full load)
Length:	310 ft 6.75 in (94.6595 m) overall; 299 ft 11 in (91.41 m) between perpendiculars
Beam:	41 ft 0 in (12.50 m) maximum
Draught:	13 ft 1 in (3.99 m) maximum
Installed power:	6,000 bhp (4,500 kW)
Propulsion:	Fairbanks-Morse direct-reversing diesel engines, two shafts; 166,429 US gallons (630,000 L) of fuel
Speed:	18.6 knots (34.4 km/h) (maximum) 17.4 knots (32.2 km/h) (maximum sustained) 12.4 knots (23.0 km/h) (economic)
Range:	10,138 nautical miles (18,776 km) at 17.4 knots (32.2 km/h) 20,000 nautical miles (37,000 km) at 12.4 knots (23.0 km/h)s,
Complement:	151 (10 officers, 3 warrant officers, 138 enlisted personnel)
Sensors and processing systems:	Radar: SPS-23, SPS-29B Sonar: SQS-1
Armament:	one single 5-inch (127 mm) 38-caliber dual-purpose gun mount; 1 x Mark 10-1 antisubmarine projector

The third USS Casco (AVP-12) was a United States Navy Barnegat-class small seaplane tender in commission from 1941 to 1947. She saw service in World War II. After her decommissioning, the U.S. Navy loaned her to the United States Coast Guard, in which she served as the cutter USCGC Casco (WAVP-370), later WHEC-370, from 1949 to 1969.

Casco was laid down on 30 May 1941 at Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington. She was launched on 15 November 1941, sponsored by Mrs. W. J. Giles, and commissioned on 27 December 1941 with Commander T. S. Combs in command.

After a period patrolling and caring for seaplanes off the coast of the Pacific Northwest, Casco arrived at Sitka, Alaska, on 5 May 1942 for duty surveying Aleutian waters, laying moorings for seaplanes, and providing seaplane tender services. Based at Cold Bay, she operated at Dutch Harbor, Chernofski Harbor, Kodiak, and Nazan Bay.

While lying at anchor in Nazan Bay on 30 August 1942, Casco was torpedoed by the Japanese submarine RO-61. The resulting explosion killed five of her men and wounded 20, but prompt and clearheaded action brought flooding to a halt and got the ship underway so that she could be beached and later salvaged. Casco was refloated on 12 September 1942, and, after emergency repairs at Dutch Harbor and Kodiak, she received a thorough overhaul at Puget Sound Navy Yard.