Active, 1927 (WSC 125)

April 13, 2020
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Active, 1927 (WSC-125)


In action: moving; causing action or change. 


CLASS: Active Class Patrol Boat

BUILDER: American Brown Boveri Electric Corp., Camden, NJ

COMMISSIONED: 30 November 1926

DECOMMISSIONED: 2 April 1962; sold 6 September 1963

DISPLACEMENT: 232 (trial)

LENGTH: 125 feet

BEAM: 23 feet, 6 inches

DRAFT: 7 feet, 6 inches

PROPULSION: 1926: 2 x 6-cylinder diesel engines
                            1938: 2 x Cooper-Bessemer EN-9 600 bhp diesel engines

PERFORMANCE:

     Max speed: 13 knots, 1945, 2,500 mile range
     Econ. speed: 8.0 knots, 3,500 mile range

COMPLEMENT: 3 officers, 17 men

ARMAMENT: 1927: 1x 3"/27
                         1941: 1 x 3"/23, 2 x depth charge tracks
                         1945: 1 x 40mm/80 (single), 2 x 20mm/80 (single), 2 x depth charge                                      tracks, 2 x mousetraps
                         1960: 1 x 40mm/60


CLASS HISTORY:

This class of vessels was one of the most useful and long- lasting in Coast Guard service with 16 cutters still in use in the 1960’s. The last to be decommissioned from active service was the Morris in 1970; the last in actual service was the Cuyahoga, which sank after an accidental collision in 1978. They were designed for trailing the "mother ships" along the outer line of patrol during Prohibition.  They were constructed at a cost of $63,173 each. They gained a reputation for durability that was only enhanced by their re-engining in the late 1930’s; their original 6-cylinder diesels were replaced by significantly more powerful 8-cylinder units that used the original engine beds and gave the vessels 3 additional knots.  All served in World War II, but two, the Jackson and Bedloe, were lost in a storm in 1944.  Ten were refitted as buoy tenders during the war and reverted to patrol work afterward.


CUTTER HISTORY

From September 1941 to May 1942, during the World War II, USCGC Active was stationed at Stapleton, Staten Island, NY.  From June 1942 to 45, she was assigned to CINCLANT (DESLANT) and home ported at Boston, sailing out of Gronnedal, Greenland while serving on the Greenland Patrol.  She later was used on Ocean Station "A" from July 1943 to the summer of 1944.  From mid-1944 to 1945, it was used as an escort in the Caribbean, sailing out of Miami, Florida.

In 1946 Active was stationed in Boston again, but was inactive due to a shortage of personnel.  From 1947 to 1950 it was laid up in Cleveland, Ohio.  From 1951 to 1960, it was stationed at Monterey California, where it was used for aids to navigation and law enforcement.  The Active was finally used in 1961 and 62 for aids to navigation and law enforcement before being decommissioned in 1962 in Monterey, CA.