In the 1960s there was a continuation
of the Ocean Stations Program. These were
100 square mile areas where cutters would
report on meteorological data, collect
oceanographic data, and provide emergency
rescue sites for ships and aircraft.
In 1965, the US Coast Guard took over all the ice-breaking for the United States with the transfer of the last of the U. S. Navy ’s Icebreakers. Also in 1965, the USCG changed the classification of the WPG and WAVP to WHEC (High Endurance Cutters)and WPC and WSC became WMEC (Medium Endurance Cutters). 1965 also saw the start of USCG operations in the Vietnam War with seventeen 82 foot Point-class boats of Squadron One.
In July of 1965, eight of the 82’ class started operating out of Da Nang as Division 12, and nine more operated out of An Thoi in the Gulf of Thailand as Division 11. In Feb. of 1966 they were joined by nine more 82’ boats of Division 13 that would operate from Cat Lo, northeast of the Mekong Delta. The boats assigned to each division are shown in Table 1 on page 28.
On 11 August, 1966 the USCGC Point Welcome was mistakenly attacked by two F-4C Phantom IIs and a B-57 Canberra of the US Air Force. Two men were killed and eleven wounded, the damage to the cutter took three months to repair.
In 1967 The Coast Guard was
transferred from the Treasury Department
to the Department of Transportation. May
of 1967 also saw the first deployment of the
WHEC cutters of Squadron Three. This
would be the . rst of eight deployments by
Squadron Three from May 1967 to January
1972. The cutters assigned are listed in
Table 2 on page 28.
The Coast Guard started turning over
the 82’ cutters of Squadron One to the
Vietnamese Navy in May 1969 and by
Aug. 1970 all 26 boats had been transferred
and Squadron One was disestablished. In
January 1971, the first of seven WHECs
were turned over to the Vietnamese Navy
and by July, 1972 all seven had been turned
over. Squadron Three was disestablished in
Jan. 1972.
| Old Name | New Name |
|---|---|
| Yakutat | HQ-3 Tran Nhat Duat |
| Absecon | HQ-15 Tham Ngu Lao |
| Bering Strait | HQ-2 Tran Quang Khai |
| Cook Inlet | HQ-5 Tran Binh Trong |
| Chineoteaque | HQ-16 Ly Thoung Kiet |
| Castle Rock | HQ-6 Tran Quoc Toan |
| McMulloch | HQ-17 Ngo Kuyen |
By 1973 all the 311’ cutters except USCGC Unimak (used for training)had been decommissioned. The last of the 255’ cutters were decommissioned in 1974.
In April 1975, the last Coastguardman left Vietnam, ending its role in the war. With the fall of South Vietnam, all but one of the ex-Coast Guard cutters escaped to the Philippines. Four of these ships were. used by their navy until 1985, and the other two used as parts hulks. HQ-15 (ex-USCGC Absecon)was captured by North Vietnam, who renamed her Pham Ngu Lao, and is still operational. At one time the Pham Ngu Lao carried two SS-N-2 off one of their stricken Komar class missile boats.
Map by US Coast Guard
Semper Paratus
- U.S. Coast Guard Operations in Vietnam 1960-75
Annex A: Coast Guard Ship Stats
Annex B: Aircraft
Annex C1, J1, K1: Naval Surface Guns, Naval Radars, Sonar Systems
BT
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