USCGC Rollin A. Fritch (WPB-1119)

Rollin Fritch prepares to head to her homeport, Cape May, New Jersey, on September 1, 2016.

USCGC Rollin A. Fritch (WPB-1119) is the US Coast Guard's 19th Sentinel-class cutter, and the first to be homeported outside of the Caribbean. She will be based in Cape May, New Jersey.[1]

Like her sister ships she was built in the Bollinger shipyards, in Lockport, Louisiana.[2] She was delivered for her sea trials on August 23, 2016, and commissioned on November 17, 2016.[1][3]

Design

Sentinel-class cutters, like Rollin A. Fritch, are designed with an endurance of five days, and 2,950 nautical miles (5,460 km).[4][5] She is armed with a 25 mm autocannon, gyro-stabilized, and fired from a sensor equipped remote weapons station on the bridge, supplemented by four crew-served Browning machine guns. Her maximum speed is in excess of 28 knots (52 km/h).

They carry a waterjet-propelled high-speed pursuit boat, deployed and retrieved via a stern launching ramp.[4][5] The ramp allows the pursuit boat to be deployed and retrieved without bringing the cutter to a stop.

Operational duty

Rollin A. Fritch, like her sister ships, is designed for search and rescue, and the interception of smugglers.[1] Her high-speed waterjet-propelled pursuit boat, launched from her stern launching ramp, make her a potent weapon for the interception of smugglers.

Namesake

In 2010, Charles "Skip" W. Bowen, who was then the United States Coast Guard's most senior non-commissioned officer, proposed that all 58 cutters in the Sentinel class should be named after enlisted sailors in the Coast Guard, or one of its precursor services, who were recognized for their heroism.[6][7] In 2014 the Coast Guard announced that Rollin A. Fritch a Coast Guard seaman who earned a posthumous Silver Star for his service on the transport USS Callaway during World War II would be the namesake of the 19th cutter.[1][8][9] Fritch served as a gunner who was seen bravely firing his anti-aircraft gun at a Kamikaze suicide plane right up until it struck the bridge where his gun was sited.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Jacqueline L. Urgo (2016-11-19). "Coast Guard to get 'game changer' cutter to save lives and catch criminals". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2016-11-19. Although the cutter is far from luxurious, its crew quarters provide slightly more room and comfort than earlier models, with larger staterooms, more toilets and sinks, greater storage space, and DirecTV access in the mess areas.
  2. ↑ Ashley Herriman (2016-08-25). "Coast Guard takes delivery of FRCs 18 and 19". Archived from the original on 2016-08-26. Retrieved 2016-08-26. The decision to homeport the Rollin Fritch in New Jersey officially marks the expansion of FRC operations outside the Bahamas and the Caribbean. The Coast Guard plans to station FRCs in virtually every coastal state, but so far the first 17 FRCs have been stationed in either Florida or Puerto Rico.
  3. ↑ "Acquisition Update: Coast Guard Accepts 19th Fast Response Cutter". US Coast Guard. 2016-08-23. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
  4. 1 2 "Bollinger delivers FRC Rollin Fritch to Coast Guard". Bollinger Shipyards: Marine Log. 2016-08-23. Archived from the original on 2016-08-24. The Coast Guard took delivery of the cutter today in Key West, FL, and is scheduled to commission the vessel in Cape May, NJ, in November.
  5. 1 2 Eric Haun (2016-08-23). "Bollinger Delivers 19th FRC to the USCG". Marine Link. Archived from the original on 2016-08-24. Retrieved 2016-08-23. All previous cutters have been stationed in the 7th Coast Guard District in Florida or San Juan, Puerto Rico. The decision to homeport the Rollin Fritch in Cape May, N.J. is significant because it expands the footprint of FRC operations beyond the Bahamas and the Caribbean.
  6. ↑ Susan Schept (2010-03-22). "Enlisted heroes honored". United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on 2011-12-03. Retrieved 2013-02-01. After the passing of several well-known Coast Guard heroes last year, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles "Skip" Bowen mentioned in his blog that the Coast Guard does not do enough to honor its fallen heroes.
  7. ↑ "U.S. Coast Guard announces name for first Sentinel-class cutter". 2010-03-22. Retrieved 2013-02-01. Previously designated to be named the Coast Guard Cutter Sentinel, the cutter Bernard C. Webber will be the first of the service's new 153-foot patrol cutters. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen approved the change of the cutter's name to allow this class of vessels to be named after outstanding enlisted members who demonstrated exceptional heroism in the line of duty. This will be the first class of cutters to be named exclusively for enlisted members of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services.
  8. ↑ "FRC Plan B: The Sentinel Class". Defense Industry Daily. 2014-05-02. Archived from the original on 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2014-04-03. All of these boats will be named after enlisted Coast Guard heroes, who distinguished themselves in USCG or military service. The first 25 have been named, but only 8 have been commissioned...
  9. ↑ Algis J. Laukaitis (2015-01-12). "U.S. Coast Guard names new cutter after war hero". Lincoln Journal Star. Archived from the original on 2015-01-15. Retrieved 2016-08-24. Fuller said Rollin was the youngest of seven kids in her dad's family and although the Coast Guard lists his birthplace as Pawnee City, Rollin was born in Blue Rapids, Kansas, about 56 miles southwest of Pawnee City.
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