Photo: US Navy
Coast Guard Cutter USCGC Alexander Hamilton WPG-34
This Treasury Class cutter was built at Brooklyn Navy Yard 1935-1937, at the
same time as the
Spencer. It acted
as a convoy escort in the North Atlantic until it was struck by a German
torpedo while towing a damaged ship to port in Reykjavik, Iceland,
ultimately resulting in the deaths of 26 of the crew of 115. It was the
first Coast Guard ship to be lost in World War II.
References
- USCGC_Alexander_Hamilton_(WPG-34),
Wikipedia (accessed 15 June 2018).
- Time
Line 1900's-2000's, Historian's Office, United States Coast Guard,
history.uscg.mil (accessed 15 June 2018)
- 800
to Get Jobs at Navy Yard on PWA's Contract,
New York Daily News 29 Jan 1934, Brooklyn Section p.1: "The [Brooklyn
Navy] yard is to build two Coast Guard cruising cutters. The amount
involved is more than $3,000,000 and the funds are to come from PWA. The
work at its peak will provide employment for 800 men and last for nearly two
years." These were the Alexander Hamilton and
the John C. Spencer, which were the only two Coast Guard cutters built
at BNY during the New Deal.