Category Archives: History

The Sunken Cutter Mohawk as Art

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File:USCGC Mohawk (WPG-78).jpg

USCG photo, USCGC Mohawk (WPG-78) in her war paint

Some beautiful photography taken aboard the 165 foot cutter Mohawk. See the CNN report.

“The World War II ship has a rich history. Sixty-nine years ago this month, the USS Mohawk was the last vessel to radio General Dwight D. Eisenhower, later President of the U.S., informing him the weather was clearing for the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

“In May last year the USS Mohawk was blown up and sunk off the coast of Sanibel Island, to be used as an artificial reef attracting exotic marine life — including a mammoth whale shark.

“But before she was an underwater gallery, the grand old ship was an important part of the U.S. naval force, launching 14 attacks against enemy submarines in the Atlantic between 1942 and 1945.

“The 1,000 ton ship survived 14 Nazi attacks and rescued more than 300 survivors from torpedoed ships during the war.”

Thanks to Patrick for bringing this to my attention.

Remembering SM1 Douglas Munro

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US Coast Guard photograph

Today is the 70th anniversary of the death of SM1 Douglas Munro, who died saving 250 Marines from almost certain death, on an isolated beach, on an infamous killing ground called Guadalcanal.

Most all of us who have served in the Coast Guard have heard the story. For background there is also the story of the unit he was part of, NOB Cactus.

I find myself asking again, will there be a Cutter Munro? It was to have been the seventh National Security Cutter, but it has been deferred indefinitely. I still feel, naming the first OPC for our Medal of Honor winner, and giving his name to the entire class, would be most appropriate.

September 1918, Seneca and Tampa

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September 1918 was a bad month for the Coast Guard, September 17 to 26, a particularly bad week. In that week, the service lost 122 men in two incidents. Eleven were lost out of the crew of the Cutter Seneca in an attempt to save the steam ship Wellington, and 111 Coast Guardsmen, along with 20 others, were lost when the Tampa was torpedoed and sank with all hands.

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Photo: Cutter Seneca (1908)

Here is a story about the memorial to these men at the National Cemetery in Arlington, VA, and efforts by the DC Chapter of the Chief Petty Officers’ Association to honor them.

Coast Guard Cutter Tampa crewmembers (1918). U.S. Coast Guard photo.

Photo: Crew members of the cutter Tampa

Previous posts about the loss of the Tampa before, here and here.

165 ft “A” Class Cutter Mohawk to be Sunk as Reef

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A Coast Guard veteran of World War II is to be buried at sea. Unfortunately, maintaining museum ships is an expensive business, and there is not enough to maintain both Ingham and Mohawk.

“Miami-Dade Historic Maritime Museum Inc., has agreed to donate the 165-foot World War II Coast Guard cutter Mohawk to Lee County to be scuttled as an artificial reef. Lee County has also been awarded a $1.5 million grant from West Coast Inland Navigation District to pay for towing the vessel from Key West, cleaning and sinking it. The preferred destination for Mohawk is the ARC Reef site in 60 feet of water.”

Hard to believe men went to war in the slow, tubby little cutter, that made the Corvettes of Monsarrat’s The Cruel Sea, look big by comparison, but she did her part: MOHAWK (1935); WPG-78 (pdf)

The 165-foot Coast Guard cutter Mohawk, now a floating museum in Key West, should be an artificial reef off Lee County by June 2012. Mohawk was involved in 14 attacks on German U-boats during World War II.

Libya, What Goes Around

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Yesterday was a bad day for the Libyan Coast Guard (here, here, and here). You have to have some sympathy for sailors who find themselves so over-matched, the largest vessel was smaller than a 110, but we can also recall that Qaddafi’s forces also tried to attack the US Coast Guard using SCUD missiles in 1986.

On the subject of “What Does It Take to Sink a Ship?”, this approximately 106 foot long, 116 ton vessel was hit by missile with a 300 pound warhead and still it managed to limp to shore, where it beached itself.

18 March 1945, CG manned DEs Sink U866

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The Naval History and Heritage Command noted, “On 18 March 1945, USS Menges (DE 320), USS Mosely (DE 321), USS Pride (DE 323) and USS Lowe (DE 325) sank the German submarine U 866 south of Nova Scotia.”

These four Destroyer Escorts were among the 30 manned by the Coast Guard.

Here is the story of one of them:

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY — NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE — WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

“Lowe

“Harry James Lowe, Jr., born 6 January 1922 In Paducah, Ky., entered naval service as a seaman apprentice 28 August 1940. He served in San Francisco from 6 December 1940 to 12 November 1942, when he was killed in action off the Solomon Islands when he refused to abandon his gun in the face of an onrushing Japanese torpedo plane. For his extraordinary heroism, Gunner’s Mate Third Class Lowe was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. (The torpedo plane crashed into his gun mount-Chuck) Continue reading →