Brooklyn Navy Yard - Photo #110 - PWA Ships

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uscgc+hamilton
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
  1. USCGC_Alexander_Hamilton_(WPG-34), Wikipedia (accessed 15 June 2018).
  2. Time Line 1900's-2000's, Historian's Office, United States Coast Guard, history.uscg.mil (accessed 15 June 2018)
  3. 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.