Tag Archives: USCGC Boutwell (WHEC-719)

Tossing ASW back on the 378s

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USCGC Mellon (WHEC 717) sits in full dress at the pier before a decommissioning ceremony in Seattle on Aug. 20, 2020. USCGC Mellon was a High Endurance Cutter homeported in Seattle and served as an asset in completing Coast Guard missions around the world for 52 years. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Clark)

The Hamilton class of Coast Guard cutters served the USCG well for over 50 years, including most working the Market Time gun line off Vietnam as well as standing toe-to-toe with the Soviet Navy in the Cold War.

Equipped from the beginning as a patrol frigate, they entered service starting in 1967 with a 5″/38 DP mount and an ASW suite that included the AN/SQS-38 sonar and Mk32 torpedo tubes for launching lightweight ASW torpedoes, first the Mk44, then the Mk46. They had to requal for both surface warfare and ASW every year and often bird-dogged Russki subs, especially off New England and in Alaska waters.

1972 Hamilton-class USCGC Boutwell (WHEC-719) close aboard a Soviet Submarine. USCG Historian’s Office. 230802-G-G0000-102.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s the Hamiltons a FRAM program that replaced the 5″/38 gun with the MK 75 76mm OTO, upgraded the MK 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes to Mod 7, installed MK 36 SRBOC launchers and the AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare suite, added a CIWS and Harpoon capability, and upgraded the cutters’ air and surface search radars. This came in tandem with the ability to operate a Navy LAMPS I (Sea Sprite) helicopter should they need to clock in as convoy escorts.

Then, in 1996, the USCG got out of the ASW biz, pulling its tubes and sonar suites. Everyone figured it would never be needed again. After all, the world was at peace and sub-busting was so WWII.

In recent years, the Coast Guard retired all 13 of its long-serving Hamiltons and Uncle Sam has since gifted them to overseas allies. This included three sent to the Philippines– the former USCGC Hamilton (WHEC-715), renamed BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF-15); USCGC Dallas (WHEC-716) renamed BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16), and USCGC Boutwell (WHEC-719) as BRP Andres Bonifacio (FF-17).

Two Gregorio del Pilar-class frigates (former Hamilton-class cutters) of the Philippine Navy during naval exercises with the US Navy 

And, it seems the Philippine Navy is fitting them for ASW once more, with ELAC SONAR GmbH, a German supplier of hydroacoustic systems, announcing recently that it completed sea acceptance tests of the HUNTER 2.0 hull-mounted sonar for the class.

The company notes:

HUNTER 2.0 is a hull-mounted sonar carrying out anti-submarine warfare (ASW) in active and passive modes in shallow and deep waters for panoramic detection of submarines and other objects.

As for teeth, the PI last year contacted with the UK SEA firm for its Torpedo Launcher System (TLS) for a class of corvettes being built in South Korea. It is not a stretch they could add a few more to the contract for the old Hamiltons, and in fact, the presser at the time said clearly: “The contract follows the successful delivery of SEA’s TLS for the Philippine Navy’s frigates.”

SEA’s TLS is a weapon-agnostic, close range and rapid-reaction system capable of firing a variety of NATO-compatible standard light weight torpedoes, including the US Mk44, Mk46 and Mk54 torpedoes, UK Sting Ray, Italian A244S, French MU90 and the Korean Blue Shark.

Those RIMPAC sunsets

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Multinational ships, (left to right) guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110), guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70), Peruvian Navy maritime patrol boat BAP Ferré (PM 211) [ex-South Korean Gyeongju (PCC-758)] and the Philippine Navy frigate BRP Andrés Bonifacio (FF 17) [ex-USCGC Boutwell (WHEC-719)] sail in formation at sunset at RIMPAC 2018.

 

Farewell Boutwell,

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WHEC 719 Boutwell 378 cutter frigate Andres Bonifacio (FF17) July 21 2016

The Philippine Navy (PN) formally received its third Del Pilar-class frigate, the former Hamilton-class U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell (WHEC-719) late last month. It was a warm transfer with the ship’s decommissioning (and simultaneous striking by MARAD) and the subsequent christening and commissioning ceremonies by the PN conducted at USCG Base Alameda, California 21 July.

Boutwell commissioned on 24 June 1968,  in New Orleans, Louisiana for a cost of $14.5 million. In all, the Coast Guard got 48 years and 27 days out of her, which is a heck of a return on the investment.

WHEC 719 Boutwell 378 cutter frigate Andres Bonifacio (FF17) July 21 2016 2
The newest member of the PN took the name Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas (BRP) Andres Bonifacio (FF17).

Boutwell decommissioned after 48 years of hard charging

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SUBJ: USCGC BOUTWELL (WHEC 719) 48 YEARS OF SERVICE

1. On 16 MAR 2016, after 48 years of faithful service to our nation, CGC BOUTWELL transitioned into commission special status. Throughout her service, CGC BOUTWELL embodied and defended her motto, the Best in the West.

2. Named in honor of Secretary George Sewall Boutwell, who served as Secretary of the Treasury under President Ulysses S. Grant, WHEC 719 was the fifth ship in the Hamilton Class cutter fleet and the third cutter to bear the name BOUTWELL. CGC BOUTWELL was launched from Avondale Shipyards in Louisiana on 17 JUN 1967, and was commissioned on 24 JUN 1968 at New Orleans, LA. CGC BOUTWELL arrived at her first homeport in Boston, MA in 1968 and would remain there until JUL 1973 when she shifted homeport to Seattle, WA. BOUTWELL changed homeport once again to Alameda, CA in OCT 1990. Finally in 2011, following the decommissioning of CGC HAMILTON, the HAMILTON crew relieved BOUTWELL’s crew and changed homeport to San Diego, CA.

3. Throughout her distinguished career, BOUTWELL served in domestic and international theaters, flexing her might in dynamic and austere environments from the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Persian Gulf, to the North Atlantic, Eastern Pacific, and Bering Sea. As her time in the Coast Guard fleet comes to a close, BOUTWELL will be remembered as an ambassador for global maritime cooperation, combatant of narco-terrorism, protector of living marine resources, and safe haven for those in distress.

4. CGC BOUTWELL leaves a long proud legacy of honorable service to her country. In the early 1980s, CGC BOUTWELL participated in one of the greatest search and rescue operations when a fire broke out in the engine room of the cruise ship PRINSENDAM. The efforts of BOUTWELL and other entities led to the rescue of over 500 survivors from frigid Alaskan waters. In the late 1980s, BOUTWELL interdicted 72 tons of marijuana on the M/V ENCOUNTER BAY, a record for a single interdiction on the West Coast at that time. In 1997, CGC BOUTWELL participated in Operation BORDER SHIELD. During this patrol, CGC BOUTWELL, with the assistance of U.S. and Mexican Naval forces, interdicted 2.7 tons of cocaine. In 2009, CGC BOUTWELL earned the Coast Guard Unit Commendation for her work as a component of the USS BOXER Expeditionary Strike Group. While patrolling the Gulf of Aden, BOUTWELL successfully demonstrated the Coast Guard’s unique capabilities to combat full spectrum threats on the high seas. Furthermore, BOUTWELL made port in Libya, a first for a U.S.Naval warship in over 40 years.

5. During her last year of service, CGC BOUTWELL continued to support counter-narcotic operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and in 2014 was awarded the U.S. Interdiction Coordinator’s Award for Maritime Interdiction and Apprehension.

6. To current and past CGC BOUTWELL crews, plank owners, shellbacks (Golden, Emerald, Horned, or otherwise), subjects of the Golden Dragon, Blue Noses, and even Pollywogs: well done. Throughout 48 years of service, CGC BOUTWELL and her crews admirably served the Coast Guard and the Nation. Congratulations and Bravo Zulu.

7. Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, Commandant, sends.

8. Internet release is authorized.

Note: this is ALCOAST 094/16, COMDTNOTE 4500

Farewell, Boutwell

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Another 378 is being sent to pasture with the looming retirement and decommissioning of USCGC Boutwell (WHEC-719), who returned from her final patrol last week, a 41-day run around the Bearing Sea.

Based out of San Diego and named for Grant’s Treasury secretary, Boutwell was laid down in 1967 during a very different time in history than we know now.

(5676 × 4580)

(5676 × 4580)

The 3250-ton Hamilton-class cutter has put in 47 years of hard service that included standing by the disabled Soviet H-2 nuclear-powered submarine in 1972, the Prinsendam ocean liner rescue in 1980, the crazy Orca incident,  shelled the Fukuyoshi Maru No. 85 ghost ship under the waves with her 5-inch deck gun (back when the USCG had 5-inch guns), and spent much time on six-week long Alaska Patrols during which she conducted surveillance operations and enforced international treaties and U.S. laws during the heart of the Cold War– often tracking multiple Soviet sonar contacts at the same time (back when the Coasties ran ASW).

More on her long and illustrious service here

She is scheduled to be modified and handed over to the Philippine Navy in coming months.

Although 36 cutters of this class were originally planned, only 12 were ever built. So far six Hamiltons have been retired and passed on to Allied navies including The Philippines who operate Gregorio del Pilar (ex-Hamilton) and Ramon Alcaraz (ex-Dallas), the Nigerians who run Okpabana (ex-Gallatin) and Thunder (ex-Chase) and the Bangladesh Navy with their Somudro Joy (ex-Jarvis) and Somudro Avijan (ex-Rush).

Boutwell‘s decommissioning will leave the USCG with only Mellon, Sherman, Morgenthau, Munro and Midgett in service (for now) from this vintage line.

Fair winds and full sails, Boutwell.

090210-N-4774B-017 SINGAPORE (Feb. 10, 2009) A full moon rises above the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Boutwell (WHEC 719) at anchor at Changi Naval Base, Singapore. Boutwell is part of the Boxer Expeditionary Strike Group and is on a scheduled deployment to the western Pacific Ocean supporting global maritime security. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Barker/Released)

090210-N-4774B-017 SINGAPORE (Feb. 10, 2009) A full moon rises above the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Boutwell (WHEC 719) at anchor at Changi Naval Base, Singapore. Boutwell is part of the Boxer Expeditionary Strike Group and is on a scheduled deployment to the western Pacific Ocean supporting global maritime security. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Barker/Released)