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The Treasury-class high endurance cutters were a group of seven ships launched by the United States Coast Guard between 1936 and 1937. The class were called the "Treasury-class" because they were each named for former Secretaries of the Treasury. These ships were also collectively known as the ''"327's"'' as they were all in length.〔Silverstone 1968 p.373〕 The Treasury-class cutters proved highly adaptable, dependable, versatile and long-lived warships. Most served the United States for over 40 years, including with distinction and heroism through World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. In the words of naval historian John M. Waters, Jr., they were truly their nation's "maritime workhorses. The 327's battled through the 'Bloody Winter' of 1942-43 in the North Atlantic," with the ships heroically fighting off and destroying German U-boats, and rescuing survivors from torpedoed convoy ships. Roles of the 327s' included serving as amphibious task force flagships in WW II, pilot search and rescue (SAR) during the Korean War, and a critical component of Operation Market Time during the Vietnam War. "Most recently, these ships-that-wouldn't-die have done duty in fisheries patrol and drug interdiction. Built for only $2.5 million each, in terms of cost effectiveness we may never see the likes of these cutters again.〔Waters 1967〕 Commencing in the late 1970s the Treasury-class cutters were gradually replaced or their duties taken over by larger modern Hamilton-class 378' high endurance cutters. ==Design and construction== The 327's were designed to meet changing missions of the service as it emerged from the Prohibition era. Because the air passenger trade was expanding both at home and overseas, the Coast Guard believed that cutter-based aircraft would be essential for future high-seas search and rescue. Also, during the mid-1930s, narcotics smuggling, mostly opium, was on the increase, and long-legged, fairly fast cutters were needed to curtail it. The 327's were an attempt to develop a cutter capable of carrying an airplane in a hangar. The final design was based on the ''Erie''-class US Navy gunboats; the machinery plant and hull below the waterline were identical. This standardization would save money—always paramount in the Coast Guard's mind, as the cutters were built in U.S. Navy shipbuilding yards. Thirty-two preliminary designs based upon the Erie class were drawn up before one was finally selected. The healthy sheer forward and the high slope in the deck in the wardrooms was known as the ''"Hunnewell Hump."'' Commander (Constructor) F. G. Hunnewell, USCG, was the head of the Construction and Repair Department at that time. The seven Treasury-class Coast Guard Cutters were:〔 *, (original # 71)〔Fahey 1942 p.56〕 launched 14 January 1937 *, (original # 65)〔 launched 3 June 1936 *, (original # 67)〔 launched 3 June 1936 *, (original # 69)〔 launched 10 November 1936 *USCGC ''Ingham'' (WPG-35), (original # 66)〔 launched 3 June 1936 *, (original # 70)〔 launched 6 January 1937 *USCGC ''Taney'' (WPG-37), (original # 68)〔 launched 3 June 1936 Displacing 2,350 tons with a draft, these ships had a maximum speed of . They had crews of between 120 and 230 depending on whether they were serving in peace or wartime. The ships were originally built with two open centerline 5"/51 caliber gun mounts forward, and carried either a single Grumman JF-2 Duck or Curtiss SOC-4 aft. Various arrangements of 3"/50 and 5"/51 guns and depth charge throwers were installed aft when the planes were removed in 1940-41.〔〔Silverstone 1968 p.369〕 Postwar armament typically included hedgehog and an enclosed 5"/38 caliber gun mount forward and Mark 32 anti-submarine warfare torpedo tubes aft.〔Albrecht 1969 p.178〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Treasury-class cutter」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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