Quote:
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Originally Posted by Puster Bill
The biggest threat isn't always the closest, either. A favorite tactic later in the war is for one escort to fix your position and have the other one do the depth charge runs.
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Which is exactly how US Coast Guard cutters
Spencer and
Duane finished off
U-175 on Apr. 17, 1943.
Duane fixed the U-boat's position, and
Spencer did the DC run.
There were only seven of the
Treasury-class cutters built for the USCG in the late thirties. One, WPG-34, the
Alexander Hamilton, was torpedoed by U-132 on 29 January, 1942, and sank sometime during the night of 30 January. Two remain afloat today
Ingham (WPG/WHEC-35), and
Taney (WPG/WHEC-37).
Ingham is at Patriot's Point in South Carolina, and
Taney is at Baltimore's Inner Harbor, Pier 5. I wish I was a good enough modeller to try adding the
Treasury-class ships to the game, as these are classic CGG cutter/escorts.
I worked on the
Taney last summer, and had a lot of time to talk with former members of her crew, as well as guys who served on her sister ships. The
Treasury-class (also known as the
Secretary-class, or simply the
327's) had almost 50 years of continual service from their creation in the late 30's until decomissioning in the eighties.
Taney was a Pearl Harbor survivor, went on to run a couple of convoys in the Atlantic, was the amphibious command ship for the invasion of Okinawa. In 1985, less than a year before decommissioning, she hauled in 160 tons of marijuana in a bust off the coast of Virginia. Not bad for a 50 year old ship!