USCGC Bertholf

History
USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750)
United States
Namesake:	Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf, USCG
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:	Integrated Support Command Alameda
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)
Draft:	22.5 feet (6.86 meters)
Propulsion:	Combined diesel and gas 2 × 7.400 kW diesel engines 1 × 22.000 kW gas turbine engine^[2]
Speed:	28+ knots
Range:	12,000 nm
Complement:	113 (14 Officers)
Sensors and processing systems:	EADS TRS-3D Air Search Radar SPQ-9B Fire Control Radar AN/SPS-73 Surface Search Radar AN/SLQ-32
Electronic warfare & decoys:	AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare System 2 SRBOC/ 2 NULKA countermeasures chaff/rapid decoy launcher
Armament:	57 mm gun and Gunfire Control System 1 x 20mm Close-In Weapons System 4 x 50 Caliber Machine Guns 2 x 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

USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750) is the first Legend-class maritime security cutter of the United States Coast Guard. She is named for Commodore 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,^[3] christened November 11, 2006,^[4] and commissioned on August 4, 2008. The cutter's home port is Alameda, California. Bertholf was the first to fire the Bofors 57 mm gun aboard a U.S. vessel on the 11th of February 2008.

Operational History

On March 3, 2016, Bertholf responded to a sighting off the Pacific Coast of Panama of a semi-submersible narco-submarine, reported by a P-3 Orion.^[5] The semi-submersible surrendered to a boarding party launched from Bertholf, and four suspects were captured along with 6 tons of cocaine.^[6] The boarding party then sunk the semi-submersible.^[7]

National Security Cutter

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 1960s 378-foot Hamilton-class cutters.

Features

Automated weapon systems
Medium-caliber deck gun (57 mm) capable of stopping rogue merchant vessels far from shore^[8]
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 Department of Defense assets^[9]
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
Cassidian (EADS) TRS-3D/16-ES air search radar for area surveillance^[10]
The cutter can have a anti-terrorism/force protection suite that will include underwater sonar that will allow the cutter to scan ports, approaches, facilities and high-value assets for underwater mines and minelike devices and detect swimmers.

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 Bertholf relate to the projected life of the ship. Originally the 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.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750).

Legend-class cutters

Bertholf Waesche Stratton Hamilton James Munro Kimball Midgett

Preceded by: USCGC Mackinaw Followed by: Sentinel class

List of cutters of the United States Coast Guard

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.