USCG Treasury Class Cutter
_returning_from_Vietnam_1968.jpg)
Duane in 1968
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Treasury class |
| Operators: |
 United States Coast Guard
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| Completed: | 7 |
| Cancelled: | 3 |
| Lost: | 1 |
| Preserved: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Cutter |
| Displacement: | 2,216 long tons (2,252 t; 2,482 short tons) |
| Length: | 327 ft (99.67 m) o/a |
| Beam: | 41 ft (12.50 m) |
| Draught: | 12.5 ft (3.81 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 20 knots (37.0 km/h; 23.0 mph) |
| Range: | 12,300 nautical miles (22,780 km; 14,155 mi) at 11 knots (20.4 km/h; 12.7 mph) |
| Complement: | 125 |
| Armament: |
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| Aircraft carried: | 1 x Grumman JF-2 Duck or Curtiss SOC-4 |
The Treasury-class cutter was a group of seven high endurance cutters launched by the United States Coast Guard between 1936 and 1937. The class were called the "Treasury class" because they were each named for former Secretaries of the Treasury. These ships were also collectively known as the "327's" as they were all 327 feet (100 m) in length. The Treasury-class cutters proved highly adaptable, dependable, versatile and long-lived warships. Most served the United States for over 40 years, including with distinction and heroism through World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
In the words of naval historian John M. Waters, Jr., they were truly their nation's "maritime workhorses. The 327s battled through the 'Bloody Winter' of 1942-43 in the North Atlantic," with the ships heroically fighting off and destroying German U-boats, and rescuing survivors from torpedoed convoy ships. Roles of the 327s included serving as amphibious task force flagships in World War II, pilot search and rescue (SAR) during the Korean War, and a critical component of Operation Market Time during the Vietnam War. "Most recently, these ships-that-wouldn't-die have done duty in fisheries patrol and drug interdiction. Built for only $2.5 million each, in terms of cost effectiveness we may never see the likes of these cutters again."
Commencing in the late 1970s the Treasury-class cutters were gradually replaced or their duties taken over by larger modern Hamilton-class 378-foot (115 m) high endurance cutters.
The 327s were designed to meet changing missions of the service as it emerged from the Prohibition era. Because the air passenger trade was expanding both at home and overseas, the Coast Guard believed that cutter-based aircraft would be essential for future high-seas search and rescue. Also, during the mid-1930s, narcotics smuggling, mostly opium, was on the increase, and long-legged, fairly fast cutters were needed to curtail it. The Treasury class were an attempt to develop a 20-knot (37 km/h) cutter capable of carrying an airplane in a hangar.
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Wikipedia