WDE487
KOREAN WAR NOTES

Captains of Vance WDE487

CDR J.C. Waters USGC: 5/9/1952 - 8/18/1952 ReCommissioned
LT N.L.Scherer USCG: 8/18/1952 - 9/18/1952 Senior Officer Aboard
CDR G.T. Applegate USGC: 9/18/1952 - 8/31/1953
LT N.L.Scherer USCG: 8/31/1953 - 4/3/1954 Decommissioned

Coast Guard:

In February of 1942, the Coast Guard adopted the Navy's ship classification system whereby a vessel was designated with a two-letter abbreviation ( based on the type of ship) and its hull number. Thus, the large, sea-going cruising cutters of the first class became gunboats, or "PGs." To differentiate them from their Navy counterparts, all Coast Guard cutters were given the prefix "W" at that same time.(The W was an unused letter on the Navy's designation alphabet and was arbitrarily assigned to designate a "Coast Guard cutter"--it does not stand for any particular word.) The Coast Guard also began assigning an exclusive hull number to each cutter.

After the end of the war and the Coast Guard's transfer back to the control of the Treasury Department, the Coast Guard continued to use the Navy's system. The large, sea-going cutters were classified primarily as WPG's, WDE's, and WAVP's (Coast Guard gunboats; Coast Guard destroyer escorts; and Coast Guard seaplane tenders). This changed in 1965 when the service adopted its own designation system and these large cutters were then referred to as Coast Guard High Endurance Cutters or WHECs. The coastal cutters once known as "Cruising cutters, Second Class" and then "WPCs" (Coast Guard patrol craft) under the Navy system were now Coast Guard Medium Endurance Cutters, or WMECs. Patrol boats continued to be referred to by their Coast Guard/Navy designation, i.e. "WPBs."

During the Korean War (1950-53), the Coast Guard performed a variety of tasks. The Service established air detachments throughout the Pacific. These detachments, located at Sangley Point in the Philippines, Guam, Wake, Midway, Adak, and Barbers Point in the Hawaiian Islands conducted search and rescue to safeguard the tens of thousands of United Nations troops that were being airlifted across the Pacific. In January 1953 a PBM flying from Sangley landed in 12-foot seas in an attempt to rescue a Navy P2V crew. The Coast Guard amphibian crashed on takeoff when an engine failed. Five Coast Guard and four Navy men lost their lives. Additional weather station sites were established in the Pacific to help guard the flow of troops and supplies to Korea. Twelve destroyer escorts were transferred from the Navy to the Coast Guard to help carry out this duty. Also, a team of about 50 Coast Guardsmen were stationed in Korea, helping establish the Korean Coast Guard, which has since evolved into that country's Navy. The Coast Guard also provided communications and meteorological services plus assured port security and proper ammunition handling.

With the addition of the new stations, the Coast Guard needed to find vessels to augment the already extended cutter fleet. Fortunately a ready source existed within the mothball fleets of the Navy. The Navy turned over a number of destroyer escorts, which the Coast Guard commissioned as cutters. The old war-horses had served as convoy escorts in World War II, 30 of which had been manned by Coast Guard crews during the war. These vessels were refitted with a shelter on the stern for weather balloon storage and armed with depth charges and a variety of anti-aircraft weapons. The first two to join the Coast Guard fleet were the Koiner and the Falgout. Once commissioned, the new cutters underwent shakedown training under the supervision of the Navy and then sailed to their new homeports.

During 1950 Station Nan was the busiest of all the ocean stations, reporting that the cutters gave 357 radar fixes per patrol. Each patrol averaged over 700 hours on station. The cutters steamed an average of 4,000 miles per patrol. These numbers increased considerably after the patrols were lengthened and expanded after the start of the Korean conflict. Twenty-four cutters served on the stations that fell within the perimeters of the Korean conflict and thus, they and their crews earned the Korean Service Medal. Unsung but always ready, the cutters insured the timely and safe arrival of United Nations' troops and supplies throughout the Korean conflict.

PACIFIC STATIONS & LOCATIONS:

N   30º 00'N x 142º 00'W (later changed to 140º 00'W)
O   40º 00'N x 142º 00'W (later discontinued)
P   50º 00'N x 145º 00'W
S   48º 00'N x 162º00'E (later discontinued)
T*   29º 00'N x 135º 00''E (operated during typhoon season only)
V   34º 00'N x 164º 00'E
Q   48º 00'N x 168º 00'W

Vance was recommissioned into the Coast Guard as a Cutter and designated WDE487 on 9 May 1952. She was stationed at Honolulu, HI and served on OS QUEEN from 2-23 August 1953 and again on 4-24 October 1953. The Coast Guard then decommissioned her on 3 April 1954 and returned her to the Navy.

Click here for 1952-1954 CG History
Note: Vance in Grey paint with W487 on her hull.

Captains of Vance
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