USCGC Hamilton (WPG-34)
_Dec_1941.jpg)
USCGC Alexander Hamilton in 1941
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Namesake: | Alexander Hamilton |
| Operator: | United States Coast Guard |
| Builder: | New York Navy Yard |
| Laid down: | September 11, 1935 |
| Launched: | January 6, 1937 |
| Commissioned: | March 4, 1937 |
| Struck: | January 29, 1942 |
| Motto: | Unofficially, "Call me butter, I'm on a roll". |
| Fate: | Sunk at 64°06′N 22°34′W / 64.10°N 22.56°W |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Treasury-class United States Coast Guard Cutter |
| Displacement: | 2,350 tons |
| Length: | 327 ft (100 m) |
| Beam: | 41 ft (12 m) |
| Draft: | 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: |
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| Range: | 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km) |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 1938: JF-2 Grumman, V-143 |
USCGC Alexander Hamilton (WPG-34) was a Treasury-class United States Coast Guard Cutter. She was named after the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. Sunk after an attack by a German U-boat in January 1942, the Hamilton was the U.S. Coast Guard's first loss of World War II.
The design of the Alexander Hamilton was based on the U.S. Navy's Erie-class of gunboats. This Treasury-class of U.S. Coast Guard cutters was sometimes referred to as the Secretary-class.
The Hamilton was built at the New York Navy Yard for the U.S. Coast Guard. Her keel was laid on September 11, 1935 and she was launched on January 6, 1937. The U.S. Coast Guard had truncated her name to Hamilton that year, but resumed using the full name in January 1942 after a request by the U.S. Navy to avoid confusion with the destroyer USS Hamilton.
On January 29, 1942, the Hamilton was torpedoed on the starboard side by the German submarine U-132, which had been patrolling the Icelandic coast near Reykjavík. The explosion killed twenty men instantly and the total death toll was 26. After she capsized on January 30, salvage attempts were abandoned and the American destroyer USS Ericsson fired upon the wreck three times to send her to the bottom of the sea, 28 miles (45 km) from the coast.
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