From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
United States Coast Guard Cutter 50 Itasca pre-war |
| Class overview |
| Operators: |
 Coast Guard
 Royal Navy |
| In commission: |
5 September 1928 - 10 August 1954 |
| Completed: |
10 |
| Lost: |
3 |
| General characteristics (Banff-class sloop) |
| Type: |
sloop |
| Displacement: |
1,546 long tons (1,571 t/1,732 S/T) |
| Length: |
250 feet (76.20 m)o/a |
| Beam: |
42 feet (12.80 m) |
| Draught: |
16 feet (4.88 m) |
| Propulsion: |
- two oil-fueled Babcock & Wilcox boilers
- Curtis turbine generator
- single shaft electric motor[1]
- 3,200 ihp (2,400 kW)
|
| Speed: |
16 knots (29.6 km/h) |
| Range: |
7,542 nautical miles (13,968 km) at 12 knots (22.2 km/h) |
| Complement: |
97 USCG - 200 RN |
| Armament: |
as built
as Lake class cutter[2][3][4]
as Banff class sloop[5]
|
The Banff class sloops were a group of ten ships built as United States Coast Guard Lake class cutters. In 1941 these ships were loaned to the Royal Navy as anti-submarine warfare escorts. The transfers took place at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
- USCGC Chelan, originally cutter # 45. She was named for Lake Chelan,[3] built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Quincy, Massachusetts,[2] and launched on 19 May 1928.[5] She performed Bering Sea patrols, international ice patrols, and patrolled more regattas than other ships of the class. She became HMS Lulworth on 2 May 1941.[6] While escorting convoy OS-10 on 31 October 1941, Lulworth attacked U-96. Lothar-Günther Buchheim, author of Das Boot, was aboard U-96 at the time.[7] Lulworth sank the Italian submarine Pietro Calvi on 14 July 1942 while escorting convoy SL-115.[8] Lulworth was returned on 12 February 1946, used for spare parts and scrapped in 1947.
- USCGC Tahoe, originally cutter # 47. She was named for Lake Tahoe,[3] built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Quincy, Massachusetts,[2] and launched on 12 June 1928. She did more Coast Guard boarding work and spent more time icebreaking than other ships of the class, became HMS Fishguard on 30 April 1941.[6] She was returned on 27 March 1946, was used for spare parts and scrapped in 1947.
- USCGC Champlain, originally cutter # 48. She was named for Lake Champlain,[3] built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Quincy, Massachusetts,[2] and launched on 11 October 1928.[5] She performed international ice patrols and became HMS Sennen on 12 May 1941.[6] She escorted convoy OS-12,[9] and was credited with sinking U-954 while assigned to support group 1 defending convoy SC-130 on 19 May 1943.[2] Admiral Karl Dönitz's son Peter Dönitz was among those lost aboard U-954.[10] Sennen was returned on 27 March 1946, was redesignated USCGC Champlain and was scrapped in 1948.
- USCGC Mendota, originally cutter # 49. She was named for Lake Mendota,[3] built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Quincy, Massachusetts,[2] and launched on 27 November 1928.[5] She performed Coast Guard anti-smuggling patrols and winter cruising, and became HMS Culver on 30 April 1941.[6] She was torpedoed and sunk by U-105 on 31 January 1942 while escorting convoy SL-98 south-west of Ireland.[11][12]
- USCGC Itasca, originally cutter # 50. She was named for Lake Itasca,[3] built by General Engineering and Drydock at Oakland, California,[2] and launched on 16 November 1929.[5] She performed Bering Sea patrols, provided navigation assistance at Howland Island for Amelia Earhart's 1937 flight around the world, and became HMS Gorleston on 30 May 1941.[6] She was uniquely armed with ten .50 caliber and two 20 mm machine guns in place of the 3"/50 and four 20 mm AA guns carried by the remainder of the class.[5] She was the escort leader for convoy SL-87,[13] escorted convoy SL-118,[14] and was returned on 23 April 1946, redesignated USCGC Itasca and was scrapped in 1950.
- USCGC Saranac, originally cutter # 52. She was named for the Saranac Lakes,[3] built by General Engineering and Drydock at Oakland, California,[2] and launched on 12 April 1930.[5] She became HMS Banff on 30 April 1941,[6] was returned on 27 February 1946 and recommissioned as USCGC Tampa on 27 May 1947. She was decommissioned on 10 August 1954 and was scrapped in 1959.
- USCGC Shoshone, originally cutter # 53. She was named for Shoshone Lake at the headwaters of the Lewis River (Wyoming),[3] built by General Engineering and Drydock at Oakland, California,[2] and launched on 11 September 1930.[5] She performed Bering Sea patrols and reported more navigation law infractions than other ships of the class. She became HMS Landguard on 20 May 1941,[6] and escorted convoy SL-109.[15] While patrolling the Bay of Biscay with the 40th support group, Landguard was damaged during the first successful Henschel Hs 293 glide bomb attack on 25 August 1943.[16] Landguard was scrapped in Ceylon 1949.
- USCGC Cayuga, originally cutter # 54. She was named for Cayuga Lake,[3] built by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Staten Island,[2] and launched on 7 October 1931.[5] She performed Coast Guard anti-smuggling patrols and more United States Coast Guard Academy cadet practice cruises than other ships of the class, and became HMS Totland on 12 May 1941.[6] She escorted convoy OS-12,[17] and sank U-522 on 23 February 1943 while escorting the tanker convoy UC-1.[18] She was returned in May 1946, was recommissioned as USCGC Mocoma on 20 March 1947, was decommissioned on 8 May 1950, and scrapped in 1955.
- ^ Fahey 1942 p.57
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Kafka & Pepperburg 1946 p.694
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Fahey 1941 p.42
- ^ Fahey 1942 p.56
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lenton & Colledge 1968 p.240
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Blair 1996 p.744
- ^ Blair 1996 p.394
- ^ Blair 1996 pp.669-670
- ^ Blair 1996 p.409
- ^ Blair 1998 pp.333-334
- ^ Brown 1995 p.56
- ^ Blair 1996 p.497
- ^ Blair 1996 pp.381-383
- ^ Blair 1996 p.672
- ^ Blair 1996 p.586
- ^ Blair 1998 p.405
- ^ Blair 1996 pp.409
- ^ Blair 1998 p.197
[edit] References
- Blair, Clay (1996). Hitler's U-Boat War, The Hunters 1939-1942. Random House. ISBN 0-394-58839-8.
- Blair, Clay (1998). Hitler's U-Boat War, The Hunted 1942-1945. Random House. ISBN 0-679-45742-9.
- Brown, David (1995). Warship Losses of World War Two. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-914-X.
- Fahey, James C. (1941). The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, Two-Ocean Fleet Edition. Ships and Aircraft.
- Fahey, James C. (1942). The Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, War Edition. Ships and Aircraft.
- Kafka, Roger and Pepperburg, Roy L. (1946). Warships of the World. Cornell Maritime Press.
- Lenton, H.T. and Colledge, J.J. (1968). British and Dominion Warships of World War II. Doubleday and Company.
- Preston, Anthony (1989). Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II. Random House. ISBN 0-517-67963-9.
