USCGC Charles David Jr (WPC-1107)

The Charles David Jr moors in Key West, shortly after commissioning.
History
Name:	USCGC Charles David Jr (WPC-1107)
Namesake:	Charles Walter David Jr.
Operator:	United States Coast Guard
Builder:	Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana
Sponsored by:	Sharon David
Commissioned:	November 16, 2013
Homeport:	Key West, Florida
Motto:	Steward of the Sea
General characteristics
Class & type:	Sentinel-class cutter
Displacement:	353 long tons (359 t)
Length:	46.8 m (154 ft)
Beam:	8.11 m (26.6 ft)
Depth:	2.9 m (9.5 ft)
Propulsion:	2 × 4,300 kilowatts (5,800 shp) 1 × 75 kilowatts (101 shp) bow thruster
Speed:	28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Endurance:	5 days, 2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi) Designed to be on patrol 2,500 hours per year
Boats & landing craft carried:	1 × Over the Horizon - Jet
Complement:	4 officers, 20 crew
Sensors and processing systems:	L-3 C4ISR suite
Armament:	1 × Mk 38 Mod 2 25 mm automatic gun 4 × crew-served Browning M2 machine guns

The USCGC Charles David Jr is the seventh Sentinel-class cutter.^[1][2] Upon her commissioning she was assigned to serve in Key West, Florida, the first of six vessels to be based there.^[3] She was delivered to the Coast Guard, for testing, on August 20, 2013. She was officially commissioned on November 16, 2013.^[4]

Namesake

The vessel is named after Charles Walter David Jr., who served as a Steward's Mate 1st Class in the United States Coast Guard.^[5][6][7] David was serving aboard the USCGC Comanche escorting a convoy that included the Dorchester. David was once of the Comanche crew members who volunteered to dive into the frigid waters to rescue exhausted crew and passengers from the Dorchester. David also rescued several other Comanche crew members, who grew exhausted.

Tragically, David came down with pneumonia after the exertion of the rescue, dying a few days later. He was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal.^[5]

References

1. ↑ "Bollinger Shipyards delivers seventh Sentinel Class cutter". Lockport, Louisiana: Marine Log. 2013-08-20. Archived from the original on 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2013-08-20. The 154-foot patrol craft Charles David Jr. is the seventh vessel in the Coast Guard's Sentinel-class FRC program. To build the FRC, Bollinger Shipyards used a proven, in-service parent craft design based on the Damen Stan Patrol Boat 4708. It has a flank speed of 28 knots, state of the art command, control, communications and computer technology, and a stern launch system for the vessels 26 foot cutter boat. The FRC has been described as an operational “game changer,” by senior Coast Guard officials. 
2. ↑ Keith Magill (2013-08-20). "Bollinger delivers latest Coast Guard cutter". Daily Comet. Archived from the original on 2013-08-21. Retrieved 2013-08-21. The 154-foot Charles David Jr. was delivered Friday to the 7th Coast Guard District in Key West, Fla., where it will be commissioned in November. 
3. ↑ Rhonda Carpenter (2012-11-05). "Coast Guard Commissions Third Fast Response Cutter, William Flores". Defense Media Network. Archived from the original on 2013-01-04. The first six FRCs for District 7 will be homeported in Miami; the next six in Key West; and the remaining six in Puerto Rico. 
4. ↑ Sean Kinney (2013-11-13). "First of six new Keys Coast Guard cutters is commissioned Saturday". Key News. Archived from the original on 2013-11-14. Retrieved 2013-11-14. With commissioning set for Saturday of the fast-response cutter Charles David Jr., U.S. Coast Guard Sector Key West will take the first step in a two-year overhaul of the locally homeported fleet. 
5. 1 2 Connie Braesch (2010-11-02). "Coast Guard Heroes: Charles Walter David Jr.". United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 2013-01-04. Tragically, David died a few days later from pneumonia that he contracted during his heroic efforts to save the Dorchester’s survivors and members from his own crew. He was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his bravery, which was received by his wife and son, Kathleen and Neil David. 
6. ↑ Stephanie Young (2010-10-27). "Coast Guard Heroes". United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2012-04-20. 
7. ↑ Mary L. Landrieu (2012-03-05). "Tribute To Coast Guard Heroes". Capitol Words. Archived from the original on 2013-08-21. Retrieved 2013-01-10. Stewards-Mate First Class Charles Walter David was a cook aboard the Coast Guard cutter Comanche when the Army transport ship Dorchester was attacked by a German U-Boat off the coast of Greenland on the night of February 3, 1942. David dove into the frigid seas of the North Atlantic and helped to save the lives of 93 soldiers and many of his own crew including the ship's executive officer, who had accidentally fallen overboard.