USCGC Mellon (WHEC-717)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

USCGC Mellon (WHEC-717) shown with Harpoon missile aft of 76mm gun.
USCGC Mellon (WHEC-717) shown with Harpoon missile launcher aft of the 76mm gun.
Career
Builder: Avondale Shipyards
Laid down: July 25, 1966
Launched: February 11, 1967
Commissioned: January 9, 1968
Homeport: Seattle, Washington
Fate: Active
General characteristics
Displacement: 3,250 tons
Length: 378 ft (115 m)
Beam: 43 ft (13 m)
Draught: 15 ft (4.6 m)
Propulsion: Two diesel engines and two gas turbine engines
Speed: 29 knots
Range: 14,000 miles
Endurance: 45 days
Complement: 167 personnel
Sensors and
processing systems:
AN/SPS-40 air-search radar
Armament: Otobreda 76 mm, Phalanx CIWS

USCGC Mellon (WHEC-717) is a U. S. Coast Guard high endurance cutter based out of Seattle, Washington. Laid down July 25, 1966 at Avondale Shipyards near New Orleans, Louisiana. Named for Andrew W. Mellon the 49th Secretary of the Treasury from 1921-1932 and launched February 11, 1967 by Mrs. John W. Warner Jr. sponsor and granddaughter of Andrew Mellon. Mellon was commissioned January 9, 1968. Received FRAM upgrades from 1985 to 1989.

Mellon was the first and only USCG cutter to be fitted with the Harpoon missile, test firings were also conducted in January 1990. She also received an anti-submarine warfare suite including the AN/SQS-26 sonar and Mark 46 torpedoes. The ASW suite and Harpoon capability were removed due to fiscal constraints, but served as a proof of capability for all USCG cutters.[1]

[edit] External links