POINT CAUTION, 1960 (WPB-82301)

March 15, 2021
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POINT CAUTION, 1960

WPB-82301


Builder:  Coast Guard Yard, Curtis Bay, MD 

Commissioned:  5 October 1960 

Decommissioned:  29 April 1970 

Disposition: Transferred to South Vietnam as Nguyen An, 29 April 1970 

Length:  82’10” oa, 78’ bp 

Navigation Draft:  5’11” max (1960) 

Beam:  17’7” max 

Displacement:  69 fl; 60 light (1960) 

Main Engines:  2 Cummins diesel (see class history) 

BHP:  1,200 

Performance, Maximum Sustained:  14.5 kts, 577-mi radius (1,200 hp, 1960)
Performance, Economic:  10.7 kts, 1,271-mi radius (1,200 hp, 1960)

Maximum Speed:  16.8 kts (1960) 

Fuel Capacity:  1,840 gal 

Complement:  8 men (1960), 2 officers, 8 men (1965) 

Electronics:

Radar:  SPN-11, CR-103 (1960), or SPS-64 

Armament: 1 x 20mm (1960), 5 x .50 cal mg, 1 x 81 mm mortar (Vietnam service)


Class history—The 82-foot patrol boats have mild steel hulls and aluminum superstructures. Longitudinally framed construction was used to save weight.

These boats were completed with a variety of power plants. 82301 through 82313, 82315 through 82317, and 82319 through 82331 were powered by two Cummins 600-hp diesels. Boats 82318 and 82332 through 82379 received two Cummins 800-hp diesels. The 82314 was fitted with two 1,000-hp gas turbines and controllable-pitch propellers. The purpose of this installation was to permit the service to evaluate the propulsion equipment. All units were eventually fitted with the 800-hp diesels. Units remaining in 1990 were re-equipped with Caterpillar diesels.

WPB 82301 through 82344 were commissioned without names; at that time the Coast Guard did not name patrol craft shorter than 100 feet. In January 1964 they were assigned names.


Ship's history:

The Point Caution was stationed at Galveston, TX, from 1960 to 1965. She was used for law enforcement and search and rescue operations. From July 1965 to April 1970, she was assigned to CG Squadron One, Division 12, Vietnam.


Sources:

Cutter History File.  USCG Historian's Office, USCG HQ, Washington, D.C.

"The 82-Foot Class Patrol Boat." U.S. Coast Guard Engineer's Digest No. 133 (Mar-Apr 1962), pp. 2-5.

Robert Scheina.  U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft, 1946-1990.  Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1990