USCGCDuane under way in the early 1960s
History
United States
Name	USCGCDuane (WPG-33)
Namesake	William J. Duane
Builder	Philadelphia Navy Yard,Pennsylvania
Cost	$2,468,460
Yard number	CG-67
Laid down	1 May 1935
Launched	3 June 1936
Commissioned	1 August 1936
Decommissioned	1 August 1985
Identification	Call sign: NRDD
Fate	Sunk asartificial reef offKey Largo, Florida 27 November 1987
General characteristics[1]
Class & type	Treasury-classcutter
Displacement	2,350long tons (2,388 t)
Length	327 ft (100 m)
Beam	41 ft (12 m)
Draft	12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Propulsion	2 ×Westinghouse double-reduction geared turbine engines, 6,200 shp (4,623 kW) 2 ×Babcock & Wilcox sectional express, air-encased, 400 psi, 200° superheat boilers 2 × 9 ft (2.7 m) three-bladed propellers
Speed	20.5knots (38.0 km/h; 23.6 mph)
Range	8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement	1937: 123 (12 officers, 4 warrants, 107 enlisted men) 1941: 223 (16 officers, 5 warrants, 202 enlisted men) 1966: 147 (10 officers, 3 warrants, 134 enlisted men)
Electronic warfare & decoys	1942: HF/DF 1945: SC-3 50 cm radar SGa 10 cm radar Mk.26fire control radar QC series sonar 1966: AN/SPS-29D radar AN/SPS-52 radar Mk.26 MOD 4 fire control radar AN/SQS-11 sonar
Armament	1936: 2 ×5"/51 caliber guns 2 ×6-pounder guns 1 ×1-pounder gun 1941: 3 × 5"/51 caliber guns 3 ×3"/50 caliber guns 4 ×.50 cal. Browning machine guns 1 ×Y-gundepth charge projector 2 × depth charge racks 1943: 2 × 5"/51 caliber guns 4 × 3"/50 caliber guns 2 ×Oerlikon 20 mm cannons 1 ×Hedgehoganti-submarine mortar 6 ×K-gun depth charge projectors 2 × depth charge racks 1945: 2 ×5"/38 caliber guns 3 × twinBofors 40 mmautocannon 4 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannons 1946: 1 × 5"/38 caliber guns 1 × twin Bofors 40 mm autocannon 8 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannons 1 × Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar 1966: 1 × 5"/38 caliber Mark 30 Mod 75 gun, Mark 52 Mod 3 director 1 × Mark 10-1 Hedgehog 2 ×Mk 32 Mod 5torpedo tubes, 4 ×Mark 44 Mod 1 torpedoes 2 × .50 cal.M2 Browning machine guns 2 × Mark 13 high altitude parachute flare mortars
Aircraft carried	1938:Grumman JF-2 1941:Curtiss SOC-4
USCGC Duane (WPG-33)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of Florida Show map of the United States
Location	Monroe County,Florida,USA
Nearest city	Key Largo
Coordinates	25°0′25.98″N80°20′47.22″W / 25.0072167°N 80.3464500°W /25.0072167; -80.3464500
NRHP reference No.	02000494[2]
Added to NRHP	May 16, 2002

USCGCDuane (WPG-33/WAGC-6/WHEC-33) (earlier known as theUSCGCWilliam J. Duane) was acutter in theUnited States Coast Guard. Herkeel was laid on May 1, 1935, at thePhiladelphia Navy Yard,Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. She was launched on June 3, 1936, as asearch and rescue and law enforcement vessel.

TheTreasury-class Coast Guard cutters (sometimes referred to as the "Secretary" or 327-foot class) were all named for formerSecretaries of the Treasury Department. The cutterDuane was named forWilliam J. Duane, who was the third Secretary of the Treasury to serve under PresidentAndrew Jackson.

At the time of theDuane's decommissioning in 1985, she was the oldest active U.S. military vessel; the current oldest, theUSCGC Eagle, was also built in 1936 for the German military, but only commissioned into U.S. service in 1946 after being ceded as a war reparation afterWorld War II.

After fitting out, she departed the Philadelphia Navy Yard on October 16, 1936, and arrived atOakland, California on November 24. She was then assigned to temporary duty inHonolulu, and arrived there on December 9, 1936, to participate in the U.S. colonization efforts of theLine Islands in the Pacific.Duane then returned to her permanent homeport of Oakland, arriving on February 25, 1937. For the next two years, she joined theBering Sea Patrol Force for annual cruises of that area. In mid-1937 her name was shortened to merelyDuane. In September 1939 she was assigned to duty withDestroyer Division 18, conductingneutrality patrols along theGrand Banks (these patrols were known as "Grand Banks Patrols"), as ordered by PresidentFranklin Roosevelt. She departed Oakland on September 7, 1939, and arrived at her new homeport of Boston on September 22, 1939. Here she conducted four Grand Banks patrols, from October through December, 1939, completing her final patrol on January 12, 1940.

Duane was then assigned toweather patrols in the mid-Atlantic, and also carried out a survey of the western coast ofGreenland in mid-1940. In late 1940 she was fitted with additional armaments, receiving anti-aircraft and anti-submarine weapons. On 14 June 1941 she rescued 46 survivors from the British tankerTresillian, which had been sunk byU-77. She was assigned to permanent duty with the U.S. Navy on 11 September 1941, and was designatedWPG-33. On 1 April 1942Duane was reassigned from weather patrols to convoy escort duty during thebattle of the Atlantic.

Duane was converted to a combined operations-communications headquarters ship in 1944. Upon completion, she was to have been taken over by theNavy and assigned the hull numberAGC-6. However, this plan was dropped and she was retained for Coast Guard service (her designation then becameWAGC-6).Duane was attached to the Eighth Amphibious Force in theMediterranean Sea, and took part in "Operation Dragoon", the invasion of southern France, in August 1944. She remained in the Mediterranean until July 1945, when she returned to the United States and reverted to her previous designationWPG-33.

Theocean-weather station program was permanently established by multi-national agreement soon after the end ofWorld War II. The Coast Guard was then assigned the duty of manning those stations for which the U.S. accepted responsibility. As the 327s completed conversion to ocean station vessels, each immediately deployed to their new stations. For most of the next twenty years,Duane and her sisters, exceptTaney which was stationed in the Pacific, alternated duty between weather stations "Charlie" (850 miles northeast ofSt. John's, Newfoundland), "Bravo" (250 miles northeast ofCape St. Charles,Labrador); "Delta" (located 650 miles southeast ofArgentia, Newfoundland); and "Echo" (850 miles east northeast ofBermuda). Sometime later these became known simply as "ocean stations." Although the crew probably considered these patrols boring, they were important to the continued growth and safety of international over-water commercial air flights. On 1 May 1965 all the vessels in her class were re-classified ashigh endurance cutters and she was redesignatedWHEC-33.

On 4 December 1967Duane was assigned toCoast Guard Squadron Three located off the coast ofVietnam, where she served as the flagship for Coast Guard squadron.Duane permanently departed Vietnamese waters on July 28, 1968.Duane then again returned to ocean station duty but this task was rapidly becoming obsolete. The stations were decommissioned in the early 1970s, having been overtaken by electronic aids to navigation such asLORAN. The mid-1970s were a period of transition for the Coast Guard with the passage of theFisheries Conservation and Management Act and the nation's shift towards increased interdiction ofnarcotics smugglers. These operations called for off-shore patrols of up to three weeks.

Duane left Coast Guard service and was decommissioned on August 1, 1985, as the oldest active U.S. military vessel and was laid up inBoston for the next two years.

Duane is now a historicshipwreck nearKey Largo,Florida,United States. The cutter was deliberately sunk on November 27, 1987, to create anartificial reef. It is located a mile south ofMolasses Reef. On May 16, 2002, it was added to theU.S.National Register of Historic Places.^[2]

The following decorations were awarded toDuane during her service life:^[1]

• Presidential Unit Citation
• China Service Medal
• American Campaign Medal
• American Defense Service Medal
• European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four battle stars
• Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four battle stars
• World War II Victory Medal
• Navy Occupation Service Medal
• National Defense Service Medal with one battle star
• Vietnam Service Medal with two battle stars
• Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
• Philippine Liberation Ribbon with two battle stars
• Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
• Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm and Frame Unit Citation

• "People Who Make a Difference," a 1991 episode of thePBS television seriesReturn to the Sea, includes footage of adive on the wreck ofDuane.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toUSCGC Duane (WPG-33).

• USCGCDuane at history.uscg.mil
• USCG Cutter Duane atFlorida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
• The Wreck of the Duane atFlorida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Shipwreck Trail

• Treasury-class cutters
• 1936 ships
• Ships built in Philadelphia
• Shipwrecks of the Florida Keys
• National Register of Historic Places in Monroe County, Florida
• Shipwrecks on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida
• Maritime incidents in 1987
• Ships sunk as artificial reefs
• Ships sunk as dive sites

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Commons category link from Wikidata