In the aftermath of Hurricane Polo in the Pacific, which crossed over Baja California, the Mexican Navy has dispatched a relief force to include the 2,933-strong Brigadas de Respuesta a Emergencias and the camouflaged Buque de Apoyo Logístico (Logistics Support Vessel) ARM Isla Tiburon (BAL-01), complete with an Fuerza AeroNaval Mil Mi-8 “Hip” aboard, of which the service owns 22.
Thus:
While she looks like a WWII-era LST, Isla Tiburon and her sister, ARM Isla Holbox (BAL-02), are fairly new, built in 2010-13 at ASTIMAR in Oaxaca.
At 3,600 tons and 327 feet overall, they are the largest Mexican Navy ships built domestically.
Powered by twin 1,750 BHP diesels, they can make 12 knots and remain underway for 60 days. Carrying two LCVPs in addition to a bow ramp for beach landings, they have a large central helipad for a decent-sized helo or two (see previously mentioned 12-ton Hip).
They have an 80-man crew and sufficient weight and space to carry five WWII-vintage 40mm L60 Bofors for self-defense.
Note the LCVPs alongside her stern and her bow ramp in a very shallow sand beachline, along with three helos on deck.
The country has a long history with LSTs, having acquired three LST-542/LST-491-class ships (ex-USS Park County, Clearwater County, and Megara) from the U.S. surplus in the early 1970s, which they operated for 30 years. They still run two 1970s-vintage Newport-class LSTs they picked up in 2003: ARM Rio Papaloapan (A 411), ex-USS Newport (LST-1179), and ARM Usumacinta (A 412), ex-USS Frederick (LST-1184).
Currently, the U.S. Navy is moving forward with a Dutch (Damen) design for the first of up to 35 very similarly sized LSMs to schlep Marine Littoral Regiments around the Nine-Dash Line in the near future. A program sure to be a boondoggle if NAVSEA has its way, and it historically has.
The Damen LST 100 design, which was picked last December to be the Navy LSM– coming to a shipyard near you
Perhaps a proven design from south of the border could be a better option.
Official caption: A drone swarm launches during the XVIII Airborne Corps’ Exercise Scarlet Dragon 26-3 at Fort Bragg, N.C., Sept. 16, 2026. The exercise used layered aerial attacks to test sensor, command-and-control, and air defense integration under realistic conditions.
Photo by Army Sgt. Noe Cork, VIRIN: 260916-A-UV759-1725
During the event:
Coordinated swarms of 25 to 100 drones flew in tactical formations to stress sensors, software, and air defense crews. Scarlet Dragon’s operational stress test stacked those threats with other unmanned aircraft system profiles to evaluate the network under battlefield-like pressure.
Drones synchronize before a swarm flight during the XVIII Airborne Corps’ Scarlet Dragon 26-3 at Fort Bragg, N.C., Sept. 16, 2026. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Noe Cork)
At least the Army is “looking to the sky,” so to speak.
Wouldn’t be a bad idea to take it nationwide, down to the USCG Aux, CAP, NWS SkyWarn Spotter, and JROTC level…
The USCGC Joseph Gerczak (WPC 1126) returns to homeport at Coast Guard Base Honolulu, Sept. 8, 2026. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Mikaela McGee)
The crew of the 154-foot Sentinel (Webber) class Fast Response Cutter Joseph Gerczak (WPC-1126) returned to Honolulu last week following a 52-day/7,500nm patrol in support of Coast Guard Oceania District’s Operation Blue Pacific.
That is a serious stint for a 150-footer.
From USCG PAO:
The Joseph Gerczak crew departed Coast Guard Base Honolulu in July and traveled more than 7,500 nautical miles, making port calls in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Fiji and American Samoa. Patrolling in support of Operation Blue Pacific, the cutter’s crew worked alongside Pacific Island partners to bolster maritime security and sovereignty, counter illicit maritime activities, and protect vital marine resources.
The Joseph Gerczak crew exercised partnerships with the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Fiji through bilateral maritime law enforcement agreements.
In total, the Joseph Gerczak crew and their Pacific partners conducted 29 bilateral maritime law enforcement boardings and eight high-seas boardings in support of Operation Island Chief, a coordinated effort to detect and combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the Pacific.
Stacking FRCs deep in the Pac
Gerczak is one of three FRCs in Hawaii, with sisters USCGC Oliver Berry (WPC-1124) and William Hart (WPC-1134), all of which took part in RIMPAC last month in one way or another.
Four more FRCs are in Guam under the control of U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia: Myrtle Hazard (WPC-1139), Oliver Henry (WPC-1140), Frederick Hatch (WPC-1143), and Vincent Danz (WPC-1162).
Named for a Coast Guard Reservist (after eight years of active service) who was an FDNY firefighter who died with Staten Island’s Rescue Company 5 on September 11th, the ceremony was sincere.
Incidentally, Palazzo is the 63rd FRC in Coast Guard service. She will be the 14th stationed in the Central and Western Pacific between the Guam- and Hawaii-based cutters and the six of the newly formed Expeditionary Cutter Squadron (formerly the Bahrain-based PATFORSWA), which will be based on a rotational basis in the Philippines and points west.
Of note, the PI just picked up two surplus 87-foot Marine Protector-class WPBs from the USCG as well.
Meanwhile, at least two ECS FRCs, USCGC Emlen Tunnell (WPC 1145) and Charles Moulthrope (WPC 1141), were recently in Indonesia to take part in Super Garuda Shield 2026.
There, the cutters hosted Joes of the 124th Division Signal Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, for the installation of gee-whiz Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) stations– which is very interesting.
The Danes are currently hosting 400 soldiers from 11 NATO countries in a large ground force exercise in Greenland, and just wrapped up a rare joint exercise with SNMG1 and SNMCMG1 off Iceland for Operation Reassurance, along with Op Nanook Tuugaalik with the Canadian and U.S. naval forces, with the latter including the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Wichita (LCS 13),surged to the far north from sunny 102-degree Mayport.
Dutch Korps Mariniers in Greenland, finding out just how cold RIB ops can be!
Some more Dutch Korps Mariniers, with a sinking feeling their camo might not be working
Finnish special forces are in Greenland having a blast…
Meanwhile, the current batch of Greenlandic territorials, the Arktisk Basisuddannelses, are probably not loving their training. Note the new Colt Canada C8s, though…
HMCS Robert Hampton Gray performs maneuvers with HDMS Thetis and CCGS George R. Pearkes during Operation Nanook-Tuugaalik on August 21, 2026. Photo: Corporal Paquette, Canadian Armed Forces Photo
ORP Mewa and HMCS Moncton conduct a mine-screening exercise alongside FS Auvergne while sailing astern of HMCS Ville De Québec during Operation Reassurance in the North Atlantic Ocean on 16 August 2026. Corporal Gregory Cole, Canadian Armed Forces Photo
With all of this naval and coast guard ship movement, it is of interest that a shore party of tourists from a passing cruise ship (!) came upon an old Soviet naval mine in Carlsberg Fjord (Kangerterajitta Itterterilaq), north of Ittoqqortoormiit in East Greenland.
Nope. Don’t like that on your beach walk…
For reference, the closest town to where the mine was found is Scoresbysund (Ittoqqortoormiit), a 300-person hamlet just 20 miles away as the crow flies, but is about 500 miles NW by air of Reykjavík and 900 miles from Nuuk, the capital of Greenland on the opposite side of the frozen subcontinent.
A det from the Royal Danish Navy UDT group (Søværnets Dykkertjeneste) helicoptered in and zapped said mine.
As to the mine’s origin, it likely floated at least 1,200 miles across the Barents and Greenland Sea from the Northern Norwegian coast (e.g., Kirkenes) or the Kola Peninsula and could very well have been laid during WWII.
It shouldn’t be that much of a surprise, as Harpoon entered service in 1977– yes, almost 50 years ago– but the new Harpoon Coastal Defense System (HCDS) was validated at its Developmental Test (DT-1) at Point Mugu Sea Range (PMSR) in July 2026, “validating the system’s ability to engage and neutralize maritime threats.”
Boeing Photo via DVIDS 260721-O-HP119-5272
During the event, the Harpoon missile successfully launched from land and engaged the target vessel in near-shore/littoral waters.
It is planned to ship these to Taiwan, which has a $2.3B program to field 100 HCDS launchers and 400 missiles– a pretty good way to keep the local littoral their local littoral.
It should also be noted that the background concept has been extensively validated over the years, with the Royal Danish Navy fielding two 8-missile batteries of Scania 113M/320 truck-mounted quad-packed Harpoons from 1988 to 2003.
The Danish Harpoon setup. Marinens Biblioteks digitale arkiv MAB-16884
Plus, Ukraine received 20 Harpoons in 2022 from donations by Denmark, the Netherlands, the U.S., UK, and Spain for use in ground-based launchers, though little has been seen of them. Like, literally. The Ukrainians conceal them inside cargo containers to avoid the drone ka-boom.
The Danes also loved to heavily camouflage their Harpoons, so you can be sure the Taiwanese will be sure to do the same.
But, why?
So why bother with a land-based trailerable Harpoon when the Marines already have the smaller Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction Systems (NMESIS) ground-based system which carries two Kongsberg Naval Strike Missiles?
A Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System launcher deploys into position aboard Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands, Hawaii, Aug. 16, 2021. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Maj. Nick Mannweiler, released)
Well, throw weight for one. While the 13-foot/800-pound NSM is a newer and more streamlined missile, it only has a 264-pound warhead, while the 15-foot/1,500-pound Harpoon totes 500 pounds of boom and delivers it with more kinetic energy by virtue of mass and speed.
Yes, NSM has a longer published range of 100nm while the RGM-84L-4 Harpoon Block II has a published range of 75nm, but keep in mind those are public figures.
Of course, the 8-ton NMESIS with its two missiles is CH-53E/K (hoist) or C-130 (internal) aircraft compatible and built to operate in much more austere environments, ready to pop off an LCU, LSM, or LCAC onto a beach while the HCDS, based on the same HEMTT trailer as the Army’s THAAD, is more of a C-17/industrial-grade roadway kinda thing, as its weight is likely closer to 35 tons.
While HCDS is set to deliver to Taiwan to complement indigenous HF-2 and HF-3 anti-ship launchers, it might not be a bad idea for the USN to invest in a few batteries of these, for a just-in-case type of scenario. Put them in the reserves with two Marine Reserve Artillery Battalions, one staged on the East Coast, the other on the West.
Speaking of Marines and Harpoons, since you came this far, how about these great very recent shots of VMFA-232 “Red Devils” F-18C/Ds out of MCAS Iwakuni conducting an anti-ship exercise, complete with two AGM-84s under the wings along with a pair each of Sidewinders and AMRAAMS for emergency use.
Nice to see the classics.
A U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18D Hornet aircraft assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 232, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, lands on Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Yamaguchi, Japan, during a harpoon exercise, Aug. 19, 2026. VMFA-232 stands ready to integrate and seize the strategic advantage to ensure stability in the region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Alejandra Vega)
A U.S. Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornet aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 232, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, flies off the coast of Japan, Aug, 19, 2026. U.S. Marines with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 conduct aerial refueling operations in support of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, demonstrating the Marine Corps’ ability to sustain and generate combat airpower. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. David Getz)
We covered the story of the civilian-mariner-operated Homeland Security Cutter Ocean (the leased M/V Connor Bordelon) back in June.
A 257-foot/3,285 LT “Ultralight subsea intervention vessel” with a 60-ton AHC crane and a 55-foot helicopter platform, Ocean has the capacity to carry nearly 70,000 gallons of potable water, produce another 3,100 a day, and carry 122,000 gallons of transferable diesel. She also has a massive open deck that can carry a diverse mixture of CEUs, which can carry additional supplies.
Homeland Security Cutter-Ocean moored at U.S. Coast Guard Base Miami Beach, Florida, June 26, 2026. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Reese Hindmarsh)
Well, HSC Ocean is online and recently was used to conduct a replenishment at sea with the 270-foot diesel-powered Bear-class USCGC Forward (WMEC 911) in the Caribbean Sea, a historic first for the service.
Note the CEUs on HSC-Ocean’s deck
Nice to see a MK75 76mm OTO still in U.S. service
Of course, it was stationary in a near-zero sea state, but it was still an all-USCG RAS between two decent-sized non-USN/MSC vessels, which is saying something about how expeditionary warfare could look in the coming years in the West Pac or CENTCOM.
As noted by USCG Atlantic Area:
The HSC-Ocean initiative rapidly deploys leased commercial support vessel capabilities to deliver supplies, equipment, and personnel directly to our cutters underway. By integrating this commercial logistics technology, we keep our high-demand assets on station longer—enhancing our ability to save lives, strengthen border security, and ensure our crews are always ready to respond to maritime crises in the Caribbean and Western Hemisphere.
Check out these great new recruiting posters for the USCG, which show off current programs (MSRT, Blackfin MH-65Es with HITRON, etc.) in an early 1980s throwback style.
The last features a great image by Petty Officer 1st Class Tyler Robertson of Coast Guard Senior Chief Petty Officer Ilima Maiava, an aviation survival technician assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point in Kapolei, Hawaii, during training with a Barbers Point MH-65 Dolphin June 3, 2026. The station uses rescue watercraft to assist in rescue swimmer training by providing safety watch, mitigating the use of two helicopters.
It also serves as a good Segway to the new…
USCG Tactical Personal Watercraft (PWC) Program
Earlier this year, the Coast Guard stood up a program to train maritime LE folks on high-speed watercraft to intercept human smugglers and deter unlawful migration in shallow surf zones and restrictive environments where traditional pursuit boats cannot safely go.
Based in San Diego, the program excels in using jetskis to conduct shallow water pursuits in tight spaces, narrow channels, and shallow surf zones. The training is part of the Office of Rapid Response and Prototyping (CG-RAPTOR) Coast Guard program, which identifies, tests, and deploys new technologies, including tactical personal watercraft.
Coast Guard members conduct personal watercraft interdiction training at Coronado Beach, California, Jan. 15, 2026. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Roberto Nieves)
U.S. Coast Guard personnel demonstrate the use of jet skis during a training exercise in San Diego, California, Feb. 11, 2026. The training highlights the service’s implementation of new watercraft assets to enhance rapid response, interdiction, and maritime safety operations. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by PA2 Carmen Caver)
And yes, they use Nods and blue/green lights.
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Austin Ladner, a maritime enforcement specialist, maneuvers his personal watercraft during night operations training near San Diego on May 8, 2026. Ladner was one of the first qualified Coast Guard PWC operators and instructors; he initially trained with qualified U.S. Border Patrol personnel. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Gabriel Wisdom)
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Dugan, a maritime enforcement specialist, instructs his class of unqualified PWC operators during night operations training near San Diego on May 7, 2026. Dugan was one of the first qualified Coast Guard PWC operators and instructors; he initially trained with qualified U.S. Border Patrol personnel. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Gabriel Wisdom)
They can work directly alongside tactical pursuit boat crews as a combined unit and perform physically demanding interventions in dark, turbulent surf to stop smugglers from abandoning migrants in dangerous waters.
U.S. Coast Guard personal watercraft operators follow behind a Coast Guard boatcrew near Point Loma in San Diego on May 8, 2026. The unqualified PWC operators followed behind a boatcrew as part of a force package before simulating a pursuit by chasing their qualified instructors at high speeds. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Gabriel Wisdom)
Note the very sharp USCG insignia on the front cowling of the above image in the below inset:
260508-G-JO805-6513
The force was seen in New York Harbor during the recent Sail250 evolution as well.
Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Dorian Casey, assigned to the U.S. Coast Guard National Motor Lifeboat School in Ilwaco, Washington, operates a Coast Guard personal watercraft near the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) in New York Harbor during Sail 250, July 5, 2026. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Perry Shirzad)
You gotta admit, it sells itself as far as recruiting goes.
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Warship Wednesday 19 August 2026: Ward? Is that you?
Above we see the Edsall-class destroyer escort USS Finch (DER-328), carrying another tin can’s hull numbers and still outfitted with very real depth charges, getting ready to fire her forward 3″/50 Mark 34 mount for the cameras, circa 1969. You could say she is ready for her close up.
A WWII Atlantic Convoy veteran, Finch would later serve on the big screen in the Pacific Fleet’s first battle (as well as actual occupation duty in Chinese waters).
She also had a brief Korean War career– in Coast Guard service– recommissioned from mothballs some 75 years ago this week.
The Edsall class
A total of 85 Edsall-class destroyer escorts were cranked out in four different yards in the heyday of World War II rapid production with class leader USS Edsall (DE-129) laid down 2 July 1942 and last of class USS Holder commissioned 18 January 1944– in all some four score ships built in 19 months. The Arsenal of Democracy at work– building tin cans faster than the U-boats and Kamikazes could send them to Davy Jones.
The U.S. Navy destroyer escort USS Edsall (DE-129) underway near Ambrose Light just outside New York Harbor on 25 February 1945. The photo was taken by a blimp from Squadron ZP-12. Edsall is painted in Camouflage Measure 32, Design 3D. U.S. Navy photo 80-G-306257
These 1,590-ton expendable escorts were based on their predecessors, the very successful Cannon-class boats but used an FMR type (Fairbanks-Morse reduction-geared diesel drive) propulsion suite whereas the only slightly less prolific Cannons used a DET (Diesel Electric Tandem) drive. Apples to oranges.
Armed with enough popguns (3×3″/50s, 2x40mm, 8x20mm) to keep aircraft and small craft at bay, they could plug a torpedo into a passing enemy cruiser from one of their trio of above-deck 21-inch tubes, or maul a submarine with any number of ASW weapons including depth charges and Hedgehogs. Too slow for active fleet operations (21 knots) they were designed for coastal patrol (could float in just 125 inches of seawater), sub-chasing, and convoy escorts.
This all brings us to…
Meet Finch
Our subject is only the second U.S. Navy warship to carry the name of the small bird, following a small minesweeper/auxiliary seaplane tender (AM-9) built for the Great War and lost off Corregidor in the Philippines in 1942.
USS Finch (AM-9) taken in the summer of 1934, off Tsingtao, China, while serving in the U.S. Asiatic Fleet. 80-G-1025944
Speaking of lost in 1942, LT(j.g.) Joseph Warren Finch, Jr.,USNR, gave his last measure aboard the destroyer USS Laffey (DD-459) off Guadalcanal, aged just 22, when his ship was sunk in an action that earned it the Presidential Unit Citation. A Northwestern grad, LT Finch had just 17 months in the colors and Laffey was his first ship. The next Finch would be dedicated to him.
Our subject, the USS Finch (DE-328) was one of 66 Edsall-class destroyer escorts block ordered from the Consolidated Steel Corp of Orange, Texas on 7 August 1942. She was laid down on 29 June 1943, with sister USS Kretchmer (DE-329) laid down beside her the next day.
The future USS USS Finch side-launched on 28 August 1943, by sponsored by Miss Grace Gushing, the grieving fiancée of the late Lt. Finch.
Our greyhound was commissioned 13 December 1943, her construction spanning just 168 days. Her plankowner crew was commanded by LCDR Albert Henry Nienau, USNR (University of Washington, NROTC).
In all, Consolidated Steel had been contracted to build 111 DEs during the war, of which only nine were canceled. The last delivered by the Texas Gulf Coast yard was USS Jack W. Wilke (DE-800) on 7 March 1944.
War
Finchwas assigned to Escort Division 57 for convoy duty and arrived at Curacao in the Dutch West Indies the same day Wilke was delivered. She spent the next three months there, escorting large tankers from the Caribbean to Casablanca and Algiers on two convoys (OT.13 and OT.14) and back (TO.13/TO.14).
It was during this time that LCDR Nienau got orders to take over the newly commissioned sistership, USS Dufilho (DE 423), which was headed to the Pacific. Her new skipper was LCDR Clement D. LeHardy, who formerly commanded the USS PC-483 (PC-483) and USS SC-499 (SC-499).
Returning stateside in June 1944, Finch then spent three weeks at the Fleet Sound School in Key West in ASW exercises, followed by a two week overhaul at Boston Navy Yard and two more weeks of gunnery drills in Casco Bay, Maine, preparing for invasion work in Europe.
USS Finch (DE-328) off the Boston Navy Yard, 14 July 1944. Courtesy of A.D. Baker III NH 91575
Same as above NH 91574
Same as above NH 91573
She then took part in the periphery of the August 1944 Dragoon Landings in Southern France, screening troopships carrying 13,597 GIs as part of Convoy UGF.13 from Hampton Roads passed Gibraltar for the invasion, returning to the East Coast with empties in Convoy GUF.13.
Then came more cross Atlantic convoy work for the rest of the war in Europe.
This included four outbound CU convoys and five returning UC Convoys:
Convoy CU.41 (Sep 1944: NYC – Liverpool)
Convoy UC.41A (Oct 1944: Liverpool – NYC)
Convoy UC.47A (Dec 1944: Liverpool – NYC)
Convoy CU.47 (Nov 1944: NYC – Liverpool)
Convoy UC.53B (Jan 1945: Liverpool – NYC)
Convoy CU.59 (Feb 1945: NYC – Liverpool)
Convoy UC.59A (Mar 1945: Liverpool – NYC)
Convoy CU.65 (Apr 1945: NYC – Liverpool)
Convoy UC.65B (Apr 1945: Liverpool – NYC)
USS Brister (DE-327), Unknown DE, USS Finch (DE-328), USS Kretchmer (DE-329), USS Thomas J. Gary (DE-326). Marseille, France V.E. Day. No 2007.34.13, USS Slater collection.
Headed to the Pacific
After VE Day, our proven little escort ship prepared for Pacific Fleet duty, and arrived at Pearl Harbor 12 July 1945. She then sailed on to Guam, where on 13 August she joined a jeep carrier task force (CarDiv 27, with baby flattops USS Block Island, Gilbert Island, Kula Gulf and Salerno Bay), which upon the cessation of hostilities was ordered into Leyte 17 August.
On VJ+3, sisters USS Kretchmer (DE-329) and Thomas J. Gary (DE-326) arrived in Keelung (Chilung or Jilong, Formosa, now Taiwan) to pick up American POWs, joined the following day, the USS Brister (DE-327) and Finch, the low-draft tin cans being the largest vessels able to pull alongside the damaged piers. Finch would take aboard at least 221 former prisoners of war, 171 of which were later transferred to Santee. She carried the remaining 50 to Manila herself.
In all, the four ships took away about 1,200 prisoners of war and transferred most them to Block Island (CVE-106) and Santee (CVE-29) to be sent to Manila to prepare for their return home.
Finch remained in the Far East until 1 April 1946, carrying mail and inspection teams, sinking floating mines (29 Sept ’45), surviving typhoons (October), supported the landing of occupation forces on Formosa, rescuing crashed aviators while on plane guard duty (LT Jack E. Perry USMCR, off Salerno Bay, 15 October), swapping out her second skipper (LeHardy) for her third (LCDR Eugene Taylor MacDonald), and spending lots of time steaming between Guam and China.
USS Finch (DE-328) at Whangpoo River, Shanghai, China, 11 February 1946. Courtesy of Richard L. Hawkins. NH 92325
She finally returned stateside, the long way round, via the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, completing a 10 month circumnavigation at Charleston, South Carolina on 29 May 1946.
Finch was decommissioned and placed in mothballs at Green Cove Springs, Florida on 4 October 1946, having made port calls at 63 harbors around the world in her 27 months of global service.
Finch did not earn any battle stars for her WWII service despite her 15 convoys, but was listed as eligible for the Occupation Service medal, with China service listed from 2-7 Sep 45, 12-22 Dec 45, and 1 Jan – 2 Apr 46.
Korean USCG service
With the dramatic surge in air and maritime traffic across some downright vacant stretches of the Pacific that came with the Korean War, the USCG was again tapped to man a growing series of Ocean Stations. Two had been formed after WWII and the Navy added another three in 1950, bringing the total to five.
These stations would serve both a meteorological purpose– with U.S. Weather Bureau personnel embarked– as well as serve as floating checkpoints for military and commercial maritime and air traffic and communication “relay” stations for aircraft on transoceanic flights crisscrossing the Pacific. Further, they provided an emergency ditch option for aircraft (a concept that had already been proved by the Bermuda Sky Queen rescue in 1947, which saw all 69 passengers and crew rescued by the cutter Bibb.)
As detailed by Scott Price in The Forgotten Service in the Forgotten War, these stations were no picnic, with the average cutter logging 4,000 miles and as many as 320 radar fixes while serving upwards of 700 hours on station.
Ocean station duty could be monotonous at one moment and terrifying the next, as the vessels rode out storms that made the saltiest sailors green. One crew member noted: “After twenty-one days of being slammed around by rough cold sea swells 20 to 50 feet high, and wild winds hitting gale force at times, within an ocean grid the size of a postage stamp, you can stand any kind of duty.”
A typical tour was composed of arriving at Midway Island for three weeks on SAR standby, three weeks on Ocean Station Victor midway between Japan and the Aleutian Islands, three weeks on SAR standby at Guam, two weeks “R and R” in Japan, three weeks on Ocean Station Sugar, three weeks on SAR standby Adak, Alaska, and then back to home port.
To stand post on these new ocean stations and backfill for other cutters detailed to the role, the Navy lent the USCG 12 mothballed Edsalls (Newell, Falgout, Lowe, Finch, Koiner, Foster, Ramsden, Rickey, Vance, Lansing, Durant, and Chambers), nine of which the service had originally operated during WWII.
To man these extra vessels and fill other wartime roles such as establishing new LORAN stations and pulling port security, the USCG almost doubled in size from just over 18,000 to 35,082 in 1952.
The conversion to Coast Guard service included a white paint scheme, an aft weather balloon shelter (they would have to launch three balloons a day in all sea states), and the fitting of a 31-foot self-bailing motor surfboat for rescues in heavy weather. The USCG designator “W” was added to the hull number, as was the number 100 so they wouldn’t be confused with Barnegat class AVPs in CG servcie.
Thus, USS Finch (DE-328) became USCGC Finch (WDE-428), under the command of CDR G. R. Boyce, Jr., USCG, on 24 August 1951.
USCG Finch (WDE 428) at Mare Island. She was in overhaul at the yard from 07 January to 16 April 1954. (U.S. Navy photo #DE 328 20362-3-54)
Stationed at Alameda, Finch served on all six Pacific Ocean Stations during the war: OS Uncle; 21 Jul-9 Aug 52, on OS Victor, on OS Sugar 30 Aug-18 Sep 52, on OS Queen 3 Nov-14 Dec 52; back on OS Uncle 15 Feb-8 Mar 53; on OS Nan 10-31 May 53. back to OS Victor 4-25 Aug 53; and finally on OS Sugar 4-25 Oct 53.
It was during this lonely service that, Finch, while taking a break from on Ocean Station Nan on SAR standby at Midway, unsuccessfully searched for “The Royal Hawaiian,” a downed Transocean Air Lines Flight 512 (N90806) DC-6A in July 1953.
Of the 12 DEs loaned to the Coast Guard during Korea, nine earned Korean Service Medals between 1951 and 1954, including our Finch:
USCGC Durant; WDE 489
USCGC Falgout; WDE 424
USCGC Finch; WDE 428
USCGC Forster; WDE 434
USCGC Koiner; WDE 431
USCGC Lowe; WDE 425
USCGC Newell; WDE 442
USCGC Ramsden; WDE 482
USCGC Richey; WDE 485
Finch was decommissioned the second time (the first from the USCG) on 23 April 1954, having served 32 months in CG white during the Korean era vs 27 with the Navy in WWII. She was handed over to the Navy at Mare Island Naval Shipyard.
DER days
The DER program filled an early gap in the continental air defense system by placing a string of ships as sea-based radar platforms to provide a distant early warning line to possible attack from the Soviets. The Pacific had up to 11 picket stations while the Atlantic had as many as nine. A dozen DEs became DERs through the addition of SPS-6 and SPS-8 air search radars to help man these DEW lines as the Atlantic Barrier became fully operational in 1956 and the Pacific Barrier (which Finch took part in) by 1958.
To make room for the extra topside weight of the big radars, they gave up most of their WWII armament, keeping only their Hedgehog ASW device and two Mark 34 3-inch guns that would eventually be fitted with aluminum and fiberglass weather shields.
DER conversion of Edsall (FMR) class ships reproduced from Peter Elliot’s American Destroyer Escorts of WWII
Detail of masts. Note the WWII AAA suite, one of the 3″ guns, and centerline 21-inch tubes have been landed
Finch’s conversion began at Mare Island on 1 October 1955 and 10 months later, on 17 August 1956, reclassified as DER 328, recommissioned.
17 August 1956: Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Vallejo, Cal. – Commissioning ceremonies for USS Finch (DER 328) at Mare Island. She was converted to her DER configuration at the yard from 01 October 1955, to 12 October 1956.
(U.S. Navy photo #DER 328 30746-8-56)
Finch as DER
With her eight skipper (sixth Navy), LCDR James Keith Athow, in command, she was assigned to Escort Squadron 5 at Seattle.
The next two years consisted of quiet seaborne radar early warning duty, shifting to Pearl Harbor in September 1958, and to Treasure Island (San Francisco) in May 1960.
The 1960 Jane’s entry for her class:
Upon the disestablishment of the floating radar barriers in 1965, when the seaward extension of early warning lines was discontinued, Finch and her sisters would have probably been decommissioned but instead the Navy found another, new, mission for them.
Vietnam
Finch made five tours off the coast of Vietnam, in support of Operation Market Time, between January 1966 and October 1968, often working alongside her DER sisters. During these deployments, the ship’s primary mission was coastal interdiction, to prevent the seaborne infiltration of weapons and supplies to enemy forces. It was lonely stints of halting and searching junks, interspersed with UNREPs every few days.
She often served as a “mother ship” for up to a half dozen U.S. Navy Swift Boats (PCFs), providing logistical and personnel support for “brown water navy” operations in the Mekong River Delta.
A typical log entry from the period:
She also occasionally provided naval gunfire support ashore with her 3-inch guns. CONGA lists 16 gunfire support records for her, mostly bunched in July 1968 off Nin Thuan, and in October 1968 off Quang Ngai. During the former she was working in conjunction with the USCGC Point Young (WPB 82303).
From her October ’68 log:
Gearing-class destroyer USS Leary (DD-879) and Edsall-class destroyer escort USS Finch (DE-328) “during a Nam cruise.” Finch was a very old girl by that time….
Finch earned six campaign stars and a Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation for her tours in Southeast Asia.
Movie Star
Shifting port to Pearl Harbor on 15 January 1969, Finch, a three-war veteran, was tapped by the company filming Tora, Tora, Tora! to portray the Wickes-class Great War-era four-piper destroyer USS Ward (DD-139), which had famously sank a Japanese midget submarine just prior to the general attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December. This included picking up the old Ward’s hull numbers, although the two ships had little else in common other than size (1,600 t /306 feet oal vs 1,300 t/314 feet).
She had previously appeared in the 1960 film, The Wackiest Ship in the Army, moored outboard of sistership USS Durant (DE-389/WDE-489/DER-389) while at Pearl.
Finch’s role in Tora, Tora, Tora!, which was released in September 1970, came while she was in her fourth (and final) stint in mothballs.
She had been decommissioned at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on 3 October 1969 and placed in reserve where she swayed until September 1974 when, stricken seven months prior she was sold to the Levin Metals Corp. of San Jose for breaking.
Epilogue
All in all, Finch accumulated 18 years and 8 months in commission across her two Navy and one Coast Guard service stints, alternating with about 12 years in mothballs, which isn’t bad for an expendable war baby designed to survive a few convoys.
She had 18 skippers, including two who were USCG regulars. Among the most notable was her first, Al Nienau, who, as commander of the DE USS Dufilho, was one of the first rescue ships to reach the site of the USS Indianapolis survivors– ordering his men to turn on their 24-inch searchlights to facilitate the search in the inky darkness. He passed in 2004, aged 88, survived by at least “eight devoted grandchildren and eighteen loving great grandchildren.”
The Navy has not had a third USS Finch, which is a shame.
The USCG does have a cutter named Finch these days, though it recalls S2/c Florence Ebersole Smith Finch, USCGR, a WWII SPAR who clocked in on intelligence efforts in the occupied Philippines who was later captured and tortured by the Japanese.
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Florence Finch (WPC 1157), a 154-foot Fast Response Cutter (FRC) commissioned in 2024 and based in Astoria, Oregon, and Military Sealift Command submarine support vessel USNS Eagleview (T-AGSE 3) sail alongside the Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarine USS Maine (SSBN 741) as it transits the Strait of Juan de Fuca, March 18, 2025. PA1 Steve Strohmaier
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Meminisse est ad Vivificandum – To Remember is to Keep Alive
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Sentinel (Webber) class Fast Response Cutters USCGC Douglas Denman (WPC-1149 and Forrest Rednour (WPC-1129) transit in formation during a photo exercise off the coast of San Diego, July 23, 2026. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Chris Sappey)
The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Denman (WPC 1149) returned to her homeport at Coast Guard Base Ketchikan on Saturday, following a 41-day patrol in the Eastern Pacific. Douglas Denman conducted 42 investigative boardings and queries in support of Operation Border Trident along the sea frontier south of San Diego.
That’s a lot of time underway on a 154-foot boat.
Speaking of which, we have an update on the former PATFORSWA flotilla of six 154s that fell back from Bahrain through the Straits of Malacca and appeared in Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines since the war with Iran made their old base and mission in the Persian Gulf untenable.
It has been confirmed by U.S. Undersecretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby earlier this week in a speech during a forum organized by the Stratbase Group in Makati City, PI, that four of the former PATFORSWA boats, now designated the Expeditionary Cutter Squadron (ECS), will be in that Westpac archipelago on a rotational basis. I’d imagine the other two FRCs will be in yard/workup periods in Guam, co-located with the three 154s currently based there.
The USCG is falling back on its FRCs to fill in the gaps left by the stalled $20 billion frigate-sized Offshore Patrol Cutter. The 66th of 77 planned FRCs was delivered in June, bound to be the fourth 154 sent to Guam, set to join the family in a couple of months.
Meanwhile, another sister is roaming off the coast of Panama, winning hearts and minds.
The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Robert Ward (WPC-1130) alongside Mexican, Ecuadorian, Colombian and Panamanian vessels conduct tactical signaling training during Panamax in the Pacific Ocean near Panama, Aug. 7, 2026. The exercise was designed to improve interoperability, sharpen skills, and demonstrate the ability to respond and deter threats to the region and its critical waterways. (Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class William Kirk)
Last week, the Canadian-led Operation Latitude and the U.S. Coast Guard-led Operation Frontier Sentinel overlapped in what was termed Operation Tundra Merlin in the Bering Sea.
It saw the U.S. Coast Guard Cutters Storis (WAGB 21), Fir (WLB 213), and Munro (WMSL 755) team up with the Royal Canadian Navy’s HMCS Max Bernays (AOPV 432) for a steaming evolution and photo ex conducted by an HC-130J out of Kodiak.
For reference, the red-hulled 13,000-ton Storis (formerly the polar tug Aiviq) is the country’s newest icebreaker, the black-hulled Fir is a 225-foot Juniper-class ocean-going buoy tender, and the white-hulled Munro is a 418-foot National Security Cutter. Meanwhile, Bernays is a 6,600-ton Harry DeWolf-class Arctic OPV.
The event was a five-day, 800-mile combined sail through the Bering Sea and Bering Strait to strengthen Arctic security, Jul. 20-24.
This came as the USCG monitored the Chinese research ship Xue Long, which transited north through the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and over the U.S. extended continental shelf in the Bering Sea with a declared destination of the Arctic, and the Xue Long 2, another China-flagged research vessel transiting to the Arctic.
(U.S. Coast Guard photos by Petty Officer 3rd Class Cameron Snell)
As noted by the USCG PAO:
The combined transit demonstrated seamless binational defense in the Arctic. This collaborative effort under Operation Tundra Merlin strengthened tactical integration and validated the collective ability to secure maritime approaches within the Alaskan theater of operations.
