Point-class cutter

Class overview
Builders:	Coast Guard Yard 1960—63, 1970; J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp. 1966—67
Operators:	United States Coast Guard
Preceded by:	Cape-class 95' patrol boat
Succeeded by:	Marine Protector-class 87' patrol boat
Built:	1960—1970
In commission:	1960—2003
Completed:	79
Retired:	79
General characteristics 1960
Type:	Patrol Boat (WPB)
Displacement:	60—69 tons
Length:	82 ft 10 in (25.25 m)
Beam:	17 ft 7 in (5.36 m) max
Draft:	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Propulsion:	Originally (2) 600hp Cummins diesel, thru hull number 82330 ex. hulls 82314, 82318 (2) 800hp Cummins diesel, hulls 82331 and up and hull 82318 (2) 1000 hp Gas turbine, hull 82314
Speed:	16.8 knots (1960)
Range:	577 miles at maximum sustained speed of 14.5 knots 1271 miles at 10.7 knots economic speed (1960)
Complement:	domestic service, 8 men; (Vietnam service, 2 officers, 8 men)
Armament:	1960 • 1 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannon Vietnam service • 5 × M2 Browning machine guns • 1 × 81 mm M29 mortar[1]

The United States Coast Guard Point-class cutters were a class of 82-foot patrol vessels designed to replace the aging 83-foot wooden hull patrol boat being used at the time. The design utilized a mild steel hull and an aluminum superstructure. The Coast Guard Yard discontinued the building of the 95-foot Cape-class cutter in order to have the capacity to produce the 82-foot Point-class patrol boat in 1960.^[2] They served as patrol vessels used in law enforcement and search and rescue along the coasts of the United States and the Caribbean. They were replaced by the 87-foot Marine Protector-class coastal patrol boats beginning in the late 1990s.

Naming the class

Following the Coast Guard custom in place in 1960 of not naming vessels under 100 feet in length, the first 44 Point-class patrol boats were only identified by their hull number using the scheme of WPB-823xx, where 82 was the design length of the hull.^[2] Beginning in January 1964, the Coast Guard started naming all vessels 65 feet in length and over; the 82-foot patrol boats were all given geographical "Point" names.^[2][3]

Design and production

The design of the 82 foot patrol boat actually began in the early 1950s with the introduction of the 95 foot patrol boat, which was introduced to replace the aging wooden gasoline powered 83 foot patrol boats that were produced during World War II. The 95 foot patrol boat was originally developed as a search and rescue boat to replace the less capable 83 foot boat. With the outbreak of the Korean War and the requirement by the Coast Guard to secure port facilities in the United States under the Moss-Magnuson Act, the complete replacement of the 83 foot boat was deferred and the 95 foot boat was used for harbor patrols.^[2][4] With the goal of reducing manning requirements in mind, the Point-class patrol boat was designed to accommodate an 8 man crew, which was a reduction from the 15 man crews of the Cape-class cutter.^[5][6] Production started in early 1960 at the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland and continued through late December 1963, producing 44 boats. The first 30 boats were powered by two 600 horsepower Cummins diesel engines; except for 82314 (later Point Thatcher) which was powered by two 1000 horsepower gas turbine engines with controllable pitch propellers^[5] and 82318 (later Point Herron) which had two 800 horsepower Cummins diesels installed. Beginning in March 1962 with 82331 (later Point Marone), all boats were equipped with two 800 horsepower Cummins diesel engines. All were equipped with twin propellers. Eventually all boats were upgraded to the same 800 horsepower main engines used in the later production.^[2][3] In 1966 a contract for the production of 25 additional boats was awarded to J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp. of Tacoma, Washington and all 25 were equipped with the twin 800 horsepower engines of the 1962 and later Yard production. In 1970, the last 9 boats of the class were produced at the Yard utilizing the 800 horsepower design of the rest of the class.^[2] Those boats in service in 1990 were refit with Caterpillar diesel main drive engines.^[2] Engine exhaust was ported through the transom rather than through a conventional stack and this permitted a 360 degree view from the bridge; a feature that was very useful in search and rescue work as well as a combat environment.^[6]

The design specifications for the 82 foot cutter included a steel hull for durability and an aluminum superstructure to save weight. Ease of operation with a small crew size was possible because of the non-manned main drive engine spaces. Controls and alarms located on the bridge allowed one man operation of the cutter thus eliminating a live engineer watch in the engine room.^[6] Because of design, four men could operate the cutter; however, the need for resting watchstanders brought the crew size to eight men for normal domestic service.^[6] Berthing spaces were provided for thirteen so that requirements were met for passengers and extra wartime manning needs.^[6] The screws were designed for ease of replacement and could be changed without removing the cutter from the water. A clutch-in idle speed of three knots helped to conserve fuel on lengthy patrols and an eighteen knot maximum speed could get the cutter on scene quickly.^[7] Already part of the design, crews stationed in Vietnam found the air-conditioned interior especially helpful. Interior access to the deckhouse was through a watertight door on the starboard side aft of the deckhouse. The deckhouse contained the cabin for the officer-in-charge and the executive petty officer but for Vietnam service the spaces quartered the commanding officer, the executive officer and chief boatswain's mate as well as the chief engineman.^[7] The deckhouse also included a small arms locker, scuttlebutt, a small desk and head. Access to the lower deck and engine room was down a ladder. At the bottom of the ladder was the galley, mess and recreation deck which also included three bunks for first class petty officers. A watertight door at the front of the mess bulkhead led to the main crew quarters which was ten feet long and included six bunks that could be stowed, three bunks on each side. Forward of the bunks was the crew's head complete with a compact sink, shower and commode.^[7]

History

Domestic service

A total of 79 Point-class cutters were used for law enforcement and search and rescue patrol boats beginning in 1960. The cutters were mostly co-located with Coast Guard stations along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts. Point-class cutters were phased out in the late 1990s by the introduction of the Marine Protector-class coastal patrol boat with the last Point-class cutter being decommissioned in 2003.^[8][9]

Vietnam service

Gun crew on board USCGC Point Comfort (WPB-82317) firing 81mm mortar during bombardment of suspected Viet Cong staging area one mile behind An Thoi.(August 1965)

At the request of the U.S Navy, 26 of the Point-class cutters were transported to Vietnam to serve with Coast Guard crews under U.S. Navy control during Operation Market Time. Coast Guard Squadron One was commissioned at Alameda, California 27 May 1965 and immediately began training and preparation for overseas deployment. All were later given to the South Vietnamese Navy as part of the Vietnamization of the war effort.^[10]

Replacement

When planning the replacement for the Point-class cutter, designers took into consideration the need for different berthing arrangements that would accommodate a mixed gender crew. Another important feature lacking on the Point class cutter that was desired on a replacement was a stern launch ramp for the rapid deployment of the cutter's small boat for use in search and rescue missions and in law enforcement work. Both of these requirements were designed into the Marine Protector-class that began replacing the Point class cutters during the late 1990s.^[8] The last Point class cutter was replaced in 2003.^[9]

Commissioning, homeport, and disposition information

Legend:       Denotes Vietnam service       Denotes construction by J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp.

Notes

Footnotes

Citations

References cited

External links

• "Point" Class 82-foot WPBs Coast Guard Historian's website
• CG-275-1: Organization Manual For Coast Guard Patrol Boats WPB's 82' and 83', August, 1959 Coast Guard Historian's website

Point-class cutter  United States Coast Guard Point Caution Point Hope Point Young Point League Point Partridge Point Jefferson Point Glover Point White Point Arden Point Garnet Point Verde Point Swift Point Slocum Point Thatcher Point Clear Point Mast Point Comfort Point Herron Point Orient Point Kennedy Point Lomas Point Hudson Point Grace Point Grey Point Dume Point Cypress Point Banks Point Gammon Point Welcome Point Ellis Point Marone Point Roberts Point Highland Point Ledge Point Countess Point Glass Point Divide Point Bridge Point Chico Point Batan Point Lookout Point Baker Point Wells Point Estero Point Judith Point Arena Point Bonita Point Barrow Point Spencer Point Franklin Point Bennett Point Sal Point Monroe Point Evans Point Hannon Point Francis Point Huron Point Stuart Point Steele Point Winslow Point Charles Point Brown Point Nowell Point Whitehorn Point Turner Point Lobos Point Knoll Point Warde Point Heyer Point Richmond Point Barnes Point Brower Point Camden Point Carrew Point Doran Point Harris Point Hobart Point Jackson Point Martin  Republic of Vietnam Navy Nguyen An Tran Lo Le Phuoc Duc Bui Viet Thanh Le Ngoc An Dao Van Dang Le Dinh Hung Pham Ngoc Chau Le Van Nga Nguyen Ngoc Thach Huynh Van Duc Dam Thoai Dao Thuc Nguyen Kim Hung Huynh Van Ngan Van Dien Dang Van Hoanh Ho Dang La Huynh Bo Truong Tien Ho Duy Ngo Van Quyen Nguyen Dao Nguyen Han Le Ngoc Thanh Truong Ba  Costa Rica Civil Guard Colonel Alfonso Monje Pancho Carrasco Juan Rafael Mora Santamaria  Mexican Navy Punto Mastun Punto Morro  Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard Bacolet Point Galera Point Corozal Point Crown Point  Bolivarian Armada of Venezuela Albatros Alcatraz Pelecano Petrel  Coast Guard of Georgia Tsonte Dadiani General Mazniashvili  Dominican Navy Aires Antares Sirius  Colombian Navy Cabo Corrientes Cabo Tiburon Cabo de la Vela Cabo Mangalares  Panamanian Public Forces 3 de Noviembre 28 de Noviembre 10 de Noviembre 4 de Noviembre 5 de Noviembre  Argentine Navy Punta Mogotes Rio Santiago  Jamaica Defence Force Savanna Point Belmont Point  Ecuadorian Navy 23 de Mayo  Azerbaijani Navy S-201  Royal Antigua and Barbuda D.F. Hermitage  Fuerza Naval de El Salvador PM-12  Saint Lucia Coast Guard Alphonse Reynolds  Philippine Navy Alberto Navaret Abraham Campo  Turkmenistan Navy Merjin List of United States Coast Guard cutters