- Yes
- No
USCGC Hamilton approaching Coast Guard Station Juneau (source- United States Coast Guard)
The USCGC Hamilton (WHEC-715) was the lead ship of the Hamilton-class (also known as Secretary-class) high endurance cutter of the United States Coast Guard. Launched in 1965, she served the US Coast Guard for almost half a century, from the Vietnam War to the War on Drugs, and today she is still alive and well as the BRP Gregorio del Pilar of the Philippine Navy.
Despite being a Coast Guard vessel, she is quite heavily armed, mounting an OTO Melara 76 mm Mark 75, two M242 Bushmaster 25 mm autocannons, and a Phalanx CIWS. Don’t let the name “cutter” fool you either; with a length of 115 m and a full load displacement of over 3,000 tons, she is bigger and heavier than many World War II destroyers. However, thanks to her combined diesel or gas propulsion, she can reach a maximum speed of 29 knots (54 km/h), and her 360˚ bow propulsion unit allows precise manoeuvres even in tight spaces. Her advanced fire control system and radars also provide excellent accuracy against both surface and air targets.
This suggestion is for her post-1992 refit, by which time her Harpoon missiles and ASW equipment had been removed. Despite only having a single Mark 75, her damage output is superior to most Rank I destroyers, and her Bushmaster autocannons and Phalanx CIWS will shred any boats and planes that come too close. She also carried a Eurocopter MH-65 Dolphin, which despite being generally unarmed can be used to provide better situation awareness.
History
USCGC Hamilton is named after the famous Alexander Hamilton, Founding Father and first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. She was launched in 1965 and commissioned in 1967. Initially, she was armed with a Mark 12 5"/38-caliber gun, two 20 mm Oerlikon autocannons, 81 mm mortars, and two triple Mk 32 torpedo tubes. Home-ported in Boston, she patrolled the Atlantic Ocean Stations Bravo, Charlie, and Delta (three weather ships stationed out at sea for meteorological observation). In 1969, she was deployed to Vietnam with Coast Guard Squadron Three, participating in Operation Market Time. During her tour, she intercepted North Vietnamese weapons being transported by sea and fired more than 4,600 rounds in support of troops ashore. After the ten-month tour, Hamilton returned to her home port in Boston and continued patrolling the Atlantic Ocean Stations. After the stations were closed in 1975, she participated in Operation Buccaneer, an effort to block shipments of marijuana and other contraband in the Windward Passage, until 1984.
From 1985 to 1988, Hamilton underwent Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) modifications at Bath Iron Works. Due to increased pressure from the Soviet Navy and in the spirit of the Regan administration’s 600-ship Navy plan, the US Navy decided to bolster the anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capabilities of the Coast Guard cutters. This involved the installation of the OTO Melara 76 mm Mark 75 gun, eight Harpoon missiles, SUBROC, Mark 36 SRBOC launchers, AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare suite, and upgrades to the torpedo tubes, sonar, and radar systems. However, with the end of the Cold War, the FRAM program was cancelled in 1992 and the Harpoon missiles and all anti-submarine armaments and systems were removed.
In 1991, Hamilton changed its home port to San Pedro, California. In 1993 and 1994, she participated in Operations Able Manner and Able Vigil, two efforts aimed at intercepting illegal immigrants. In Operation Able Manner, during which Hamilton also served as commander for seventeen cutters, nine aircraft, and five U.S. Navy vessels, a total of 25,177 immigrants from Haiti were intercepted. In Operation Able Vigil, involving twenty-nine cutters, six aircraft, and nine U.S. Navy ships, a total of 30,224 immigrants from Cuba were intercepted. Hamilton received the Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation for rescuing 135 Haitians from the sea after their sailboat capsized and sank.
Hamilton’s later years were mostly marked by involvement in drug interdiction efforts. In 1996, she served as the command and control platform for Operation Frontier Shield, focusing on intercepting narcotics attempting to enter the United States across the Panama Canal or the Caribbean. She intercepted 14 vessels carrying more than 115 tons of contraband worth 200 million dollars. In 1999, Hamilton seized over 2,700 kilograms of cocaine, and in the same year, she changed her home port to San Diego. In March 2007 Hamilton assisted the Sherman in the largest recorded maritime drug seizure to date. The two vessels intercepted the Panamanian-flagged fishing vessel Gatun in international waters that was carrying 20 metric tons of cocaine with an estimated value of 600 million dollars. In between these operations, she mostly patrolled the Bering Sea.
In 2011, USCGC Hamilton was decommissioned. In the same year, she was transferred to the Philippine Navy and became BRP Gregorio del Pilar.
Specifications
Compliment: 15 officers, 149 enlisted; later increased to a total of 173
Length: 115 m
Beam: 13 m
Displacement: approx. 3,000 metric tons at full load
Power: 2 × Fairbanks-Morse 38TD8-1/8-12 12-cylinder diesel engines, 7,000 hp (5,200 kW) total; 2 × Pratt & Whitney FT4A-6 gas turbines, 36,000 hp (27,000 kW) total
Max speed: 29 knots (54 km/h)
Electronics:
- AN/SPS-40 Air Search Radar
- AN/SPS-73 Surface Search Radar
- Mark 92 Fire Control System
Armament:
- 1x OTO Melara 76 mm Mark 75
- 2x M242 Bushmaster 25 mm Mark 38
- 1x Phalanx CIWS
- 2 × Mark 36 SRBOC launcher system
Aviation facilities for one Eurocopter MH-65 Dolphin
More pictures
Hamilton with her Harpoon missiles
Hamilton’s deck crew rush to tie down the HH-65 helicopter (source- DVIDS)
Sources
- Hamilton, 1967 (WHEC 715) > United States Coast Guard > All
- https://media.defense.gov/2018/Oct/17/2002052353/-1/-1/0/BOUTWELL1968.PDF.PDF
- https://www.uscg.mil/Portals/0/documents/CG_Cutters-Boats-Aircraft_2015-2016_edition.pdf?ver=2018-06-14-092150-230
- https://media.defense.gov/2017/Jun/27/2001769154/-1/-1/0/CUTTERDESIGN1990.PDF
- Italy 76 mm/62 (3") Compact, SR - NavWeaps
- MK 75 - 76 mm/62 Caliber Gun > United States Navy > Displayy-FactFiles
- Coast Guard Cutters Once Carried Harpoon Anti-Ship Missiles And They Could Again
- 378s: Hamilton-class Coast Guard Cutters – Fair Winds & Following Seas
- That Time They Put Anti-Ship Missiles on Coast Guard Cutters … and Could Again – Fair Winds & Following Seas