USCG Treasury Class Cutter

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USCGC Duane with her Grumman JF-2 Duck clearly visible towards the rear.
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USCGC Duane with her Grumman JF-2 Duck clearly visible towards the rear.

The Treasury-class high endurance cutters were a group of 7 ships launched by the US Coast Guard between 1936 and 1937. These ships were also collectively known as the "327's" as they were all 327 feet in length.

The 327's 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 327's were an attempt to develop a 20-knot cutter capable of carrying an airplane in a hangar.

The class were called the "Treasury-class" because they were each named for former Secretaries of the Treasury. Originally constructed for typical Coast Guard search and rescue missions, the ships were all converted to amphibious force flagships towards the end of World War II.

The seven Treasury-class Coast Guard Cutters were:

Displacing 2,350 tons with a 12 foot draft, these ships had a maximum speed of 20 knots. The ships also were originally built to carry either a single Grumman JF-2 Duck or Curtiss SOC-4. These planes were removed not long after their commissioning. They had crews of between 120 and 230 depending on whether they were serving in peace or wartime.

The final 327-foot design was based on the Erie-class US Navy gunboats; the machinery plant and hull below the waterline were identical. This standardization would save money--always paramount in the Coast Guard's mind, as the cutters were built in U.S. Navy shipbuilding yards. Thirty-two preliminary designs based upon the Erie class were drawn up before one was finally selected. The healthy sheer forward and the high slope in the deck in the wardrooms was known as the "Hunnewell Hump." Commander (Constructor) F. G. Hunnewell, USCG, was the head of the Construction and Repair Department at that time.

The "327's" were also known for their high "Kill Rate" during World War II. With a kill rate of .57 per ship, they were the most successful antisubmarine warships. (US Navy Destroyer Escorts had a kill rate of .1)

The Treasury-class cutters proved to be highly adaptable, dependable, versatile and long-lived warships; most served their country for over 40 years. In the words of one naval historian, John M. Waters, Jr., they were truly their nation's "maritime workhorses. The 327's battled, through the 'Bloody Winter' of 1942-43 in the North Atlantic, fighting off German U-boats and rescuing survivors from torpedoed convoy ships. They went on to serve as amphibious task force flagships, as search and rescue (SAR) ships during the Korean War, on weather patrol, and as naval gunfire support ships 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."

With the exception of the USCGC Hamilton (WPG-34), all of the Treasury-class ships led very long lives (Hamilton was torpedoed during World War II). The Bibb and Duane were sunk as artificial reefs off the coast of Florida in 1987. Campbell was sunk by the US Navy as a dummy ship on 29 November 1984. Spencer was sold 8 October 1981 for scrap. The Taney is currently a museum ship at the Baltimore Maritime Museum, in Baltimore, Maryland and the Ingham is part of the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum in South Carolina.


Treasury-class Coast Guard Cutters
Bibb | Campbell | Duane | Hamilton | Ingham | Spencer | Taney

United States Coast Guard
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