USCGC Androscoggin (WHEC-68)
USCGC Androscoggin (WHEC-68), in the Gulf of Mexico, 13 August 1958
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Class and type: | Owasco class cutter |
| Name: | Androscoggin |
| Operator: | United States Coast Guard |
| Builder: | Western Pipe & Steel |
| Acquired: | 26 September 1946 |
| Commissioned: | 26 September 1946 |
| Decommissioned: | 27 February 1973 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, 7 October 1974 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 1,342 tons light, 1,978 fully loaded (1966) |
| Length: | 254’oa; 245’bp |
| Beam: | 43’1” |
| Draft: | 17’3” (1966) |
| Propulsion: | 1 Westinghouse electric motor driven by a turbine, shaft horsepower 4,000 (1945) |
| Speed: | 17 knots |
| Range: | 6,157-miles @17.0 knots, 10,376-miles @10 knots (1966) |
| Complement: | 10 officers, 3 warrants, 130 men (1966) |
| Sensors and processing systems: |
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| Armament: | 1 x 5”/38 Mk 12m Mod 6; 1 x Mk 52 Mod 3 director; 1 x 26-4 fire control radar; 1 x Mk 10 Mod 1 A/S projector; 2 x Mk 32 ASW TT |
| Notes: | WPS Hull No. 155 |
USCGC Androscoggin (WHEC-68) was an Owasco class high endurance cutter built for World War II service with the United States Coast Guard. The war ended before the ship was completed and consequently Androscoggin did not see wartime service until the Vietnam war.
Androscoggin was built by Western Pipe & Steel at the company's San Pedro shipyard. Named after Androscoggin Lake, Maine, she was commissioned as a patrol gunboat with ID number WPG-68 on 26 September 1946. Her ID was later changed to WHEC-68 (HEC for "High Endurance Cutter" - the "W" signifies a Coast Guard vessel).
Androscoggin was stationed at Boston, Massachusetts, in 1947 and 1948. She was used primarily on ocean station duty in the North Atlantic. From 1948 to 3 July 1949, she was stationed at New York City.
Decommissioned 1949
She was decommissioned and stored at the Coast Guard Yard, Curtis Bay, Maryland, from 31 October 1949 to 8 May 1950.
Recommissioned 1950
On 8 May 1950, Androscoggin received the crew from cutter Mocoma, was recommissioned, and stationed at Miami Beach, Florida, until 27 February 1973.
Androscoggin was now used primarily for law enforcement and search and rescue operations, but also served several ocean station tours. On 29 and 30 May 1952, she towed a disabled Navy PBM Mariner aircraft from 60 miles southeast of Miami to Miami, Florida. In 1956, she served on Campeche Patrol. In April and May 1956, she was assigned special duty relating to Loran-C testing and visited Ecuador, Jamaica, Colombia, and Panama. In July 1956, she served on the annual reserve cruise to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. From 17 April to 4 July 1959, she shared International Ice Patrol duty with the Acushnet. She sailed to Reykjavík, Iceland, in January 1960 on a special mission.
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