USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750)

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USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750)
Career (USCG) 100x35px
Ordered: January 2001
Builder: Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Cost: $641 million[1]
Laid down: March 29, 2005
Launched: September 29, 2006
Christened: November 11, 2006
Commissioned: August 4, 2008
Homeport: Alameda, California
Motto: "Legends Begin Here"
Status: Commissioned
Badge:
General characteristics
Type: National Security Cutter
Displacement: 4500 LT
Length: 418 feet (127.40 meters)
Beam: 54 feet (16.46 meters)
Draught: 30 feet (9.14 meters)
Propulsion: Combined diesel and gas
Speed: 28+ knots
Range: 12,000 nm
Complement: 113 (14 Officers)
Sensors and
processing systems:
EADS 3D TRS-16 Air Search Radar
SPQ-9B Fire Control Radar
AN/SPS-73 Surface Search Radar
AN/SLQ-32
Electronic warfare
and decoys:
AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare System
Armament: 57 mm gun and Gunfire Control System
Close-In Weapons System
2 SRBOC/ 2 NULKA countermeasures chaff/rapid decoy launcher
4 50 Caliber Machine Guns
2 M240B 7.62mm Light Machine Guns
Aircraft carried: (2) MH-65C Dolphin MCH, or (4) VUAV or (1) MH-65C Dolphin MCH and (2) VUAV
Aviation facilities: 50x80 foot flight deck, hangar for all aircraft
File:Bertholf in Water.jpg
Bertholf in the builder’s yard

USCGC Bertholf (WMSL 750) is the first Legend-class maritime security cutter of the United States Coast Guard.

It is named for Ellsworth P. Bertholf, fourth Commandant of both the Revenue Cutter Service and Coast Guard.

In 2005, construction began at Northrop Grumman's Ship Systems Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was launched on September 29, 2006,[2] christened November 11, 2006,[3] and commissioned on August 4, 2008. The vessel's home port is Alameda, California.

National Security Cutter

The Bertholf is the lead ship of the National Security Cutter design and the first large ship to be built under the Coast Guard's multi-year Deepwater acquisitions project. The NSCs are to replace the fleet's aging 378-foot Hamilton-class cutters.

Features

File:USCGC Bertholf.jpg
Installation of the main diesel engine
  • Automated weapon systems
  • Medium-caliber deck gun (57 mm) capable of stopping rogue merchant vessels far from shore
  • Helicopter launch and recovery pad with rail-based aircraft retrieval system and two aircraft hangars
  • Stern boat well for small boat launch and recovery
  • bow thruster
  • State-of-the-art C4ISR improving interoperability between Coast Guard and DoD[4]
  • Detection and defense capabilities against chemical, biological, or radiological attack
  • Advanced sensors for intelligence collection and sharing
  • Real-time tracking and seamless Common Operational Picture/Maritime Domain Awareness via integration with Rescue 21
  • Advanced state-of-the-art Ships Integrated Control System (Machinery Control, Steering, Navigation) for reduced manpower requirements and improved automation

Deepwater Controversy

The Deepwater program was subjected to public scrutiny in late 2006 and early 2007 following reports of overspending and design flaws. Specifically, the issues with the Bertholf relate to the projected life of the ship. Originally the US Coast Guard had expected the cutter to be a single-crew vessel, and spend a normal amount of time in port and underway. However, the US Coast Guard decided to implement a multi-crew system, similar but distinct to what the US Navy uses on its ballistic missile submarines. Rather than the Navy's system of two crews sharing a single hull, the CG multi-crew concept involve both multiple crews and multiple hulls. The addition of the multi-crewing enables the ship to spend more time at sea each year, but also decreases the expected lifespan of the vessel from 30 years to 20 years.

Milestones

  • The USCGC Bertholf was the first to fire the Bofors 57 mm gun aboard a U.S. vessel on the 11th of February 2008 by Electronics Technician First Class Matthew Magaro.

References

See also

External links

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