USS ''Cook Inlet'' (AVP-36) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

''Barnegat''-class small

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

in commission from 1944 to 1946. She tended

seaplanes A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characterist ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

and earned one

battle star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

for her service. After the war, she was transferred to the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

, and was in commission as the

Coast Guard cutter United States Coast Guard Cutter is the term used by the U.S. Coast Guard for its commissioned vessels. They are or greater in length and have a permanently assigned crew with accommodations aboard. They carry the ship prefix USCGC. Histo ...

USCGC ''Cook Inlet'' (WAVP-384), later WHEC-384, from 1949 to 1971. She saw service in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

during her Coast Guard career, receiving two

campaign star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

s for her operations during the conflict. Transferred to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

in 1971, she operated as the

Republic of Vietnam Navy The Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN; - ''HQVNCH''; was the naval branch of the South Vietnamese military, the official armed forces of the former Republic of Vietnam (or South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats f ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

RVNS ''Trần Quốc Toản'' (HQ-06) until South Vietnams collapse in April 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War. She fled to the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and in 1976 was transferred to the

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) () is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an estimated strength of 24,500 active service personnel, including the 10,300-strong Philippine Marine Corps. It operates 91 combat ...

, which never commissioned her, instead using her as a source of spare parts for her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

s, the s, before discarding her in 1982.

Construction and commissioning

''Cook Inlet'' (AVP-36) was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on 23 August 1943 at Lake Washington Shipyard at

Houghton, Washington Houghton is one of the lakeside neighborhoods of the city of Kirkland, Washington. Consisting mostly of upscale, single-family homes, Houghton overlooks Lake Washington and is one of the wealthier districts of the Eastside suburbs of Seattle ...

. She was launched on 13 May 1944, sponsored by Mrs. H. K. Stubbs, wife of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Stubbs, and commissioned on 5 November 1944.

United States Navy service

World War II

''Cook Inlet'' departed

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, on January 15, 1945 and arrived at

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, on January 21, 1945. She tended

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tech ...

s at

Hilo Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...

, Hawaii, from January 25, 1945 to January 31, 1945. ''Cook Inlet'' arrived off

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

on February 26, 1945 to serve with the escort and patrol group based there, and from March 2, 1945 to March 14, 1945 was on an

air-sea rescue Air-sea rescue (ASR or A/SR, also known as sea-air rescue), and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and International Maritime Organization, IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergenc ...

station during the

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

. ''Cook Inlet'' rescued 27 survivors of downed

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

s. She was still on duty at Iwo Jima when hostilities with

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ended on August 15, 1945, bringing

to a close.

Honors and awards

''Cook Inlet'' received one

for

service.

Post-World War II

''Cook Inlet'' remained on duty off Iwo Jima until 29 November 1945, when she sailed to

Jinsen Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, for duty as station tender. She then returned to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, calling at Iwo Jima and Pearl Harbor before reaching

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, California, on 22 January 1946.

Decommissioning

''Cook Inlet'' was decommissioned and placed in reserve in the

Pacific Reserve Fleet The United States Navy maintains a number of its ships as part of a reserve fleet, often called the "Mothball Fleet". While the details of the maintenance activity have changed several times, the basics are constant: keep the ships afloat and s ...

on 31 March 1946.

United States Coast Guard service

''Barnegat''-class ships were very reliable and seaworthy and had good habitability, and the Coast Guard viewed them as ideal for ocean station duty, in which they would perform weather reporting and

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

tasks, once they were modified by having a

balloon A balloon is a flexible membrane bag that can be inflated with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. For special purposes, balloons can be filled with smoke, liquid water, granular media (e.g. sand, flour or rice), ...

shelter added aft and having

oceanographic Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...

equipment, an oceanographic

winch A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension (physics), tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a Bobb ...

, and a hydrographic winch installed. After World War II, the U.S. Navy transferred 18 of the ships to the Coast Guard, in which they were known as the ''Casco''-class cutters. The Navy loaned ''Cook Inlet'' to the Coast Guard on 20 September 1948. After undergoing conversion for Coast Guard use, she was commissioned into the Coast Guard on 15 January 1949 as USCGC ''Cook Inlet'' (WAVP-384).

Service history

North Atlantic

''Cook Inlet''s

home port A vessel's home port is the port at which it is based, which may not be the same as its port of registry shown on its registration documents and lettered on the stern of the ship's hull. In the cruise industry the term "home port" is also oft ...

was

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, throughout her Coast Guard career of almost 23 years. She served in the

North Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, where her primary duty was to serve on ocean stations to gather

meteorological Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agriculture ...

data. While on duty in one of these stations, she was required to patrol a 210-square-mile (544-square-kilometer) area for three weeks at a time, leaving the area only when physically relieved by another Coast Guard cutter or in the case of a dire emergency. While on station, she acted as an aircraft check point at the

point of no return The point of no return (PNR or PONR) is the point beyond which one must continue on one's current course of action because turning back is no longer possible, being too dangerous, physically difficult, or prohibitively expensive to be undertaken. ...

, a relay point for messages from ships and aircraft, a source of the latest weather information for passing aircraft, as a floating

laboratory, and as a

search-and-rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

ship for downed aircraft and vessels in distress, and she engaged in

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

operations. On 12 October 1953, ''Cook Inlet'' rendezvoused with the Coast Guard cutter USCGC ''Chambers'' (WDE-491) in the Atlantic to take a medical patient from ''Chambers'' which ''Chambers'' had evacuated the previous day from the

merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...

''Neva West''. She then transported that patient to medical facilities ashore. ''Cook Inlet'' took part in the

United States Coast Guard Academy The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), located in New London, Connecticut, is the United States service academies, U.S. service academy specifically for the United States Coast Guard. Founded in 1876, the academy provides education t ...

cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

cruise of August 1965. On 28 January 1966, ''Cook Inlet'' rescued survivors in of a swamped pleasure craft. Between 3 and 8 February 1966, she escorted the distressed

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

n merchant vessel ''Arion'' to

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. On 8 April 1966, she assisted the burning Norwegian passenger-freighter ''Viking Princess'', sending a fire and rescue party aboard ''Viking Princess'' to fight her fires; rushing from Guantanamo Bay,

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, in a three-hour voyage, the U.S. Navy

also assisted ''Viking Princess'', taking 13 survivors of the ship aboard from the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

merchant ship ''Chungking Victory'' and transporting them to Guantanamo Bay. In 1969, "Cook Inlet" transported Jacques Piccard and other scientific personnel to Portland after their research sub, the "Ben Franklin" surfaced after its month long, 1400 mile journey, drifting in the Gulf stream. ''Cook Inlet'' was reclassified as a

high endurance cutter The designation of high endurance cutter (WHEC) was created in 1965 when the United States Coast Guard adopted its own designation system. High endurance cutters encompass the largest cutters previously designated by the United States Navy as g ...

and re-designated WHEC-384 on 1 May 1966. Her loan period from the Navy came to an end on 26 September 1966, when she was transferred permanently from the Navy to the Coast Guard. On 8 January 1968, ''Cook Inlet'' evacuated a crewman in medical distress from the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

merchant ship ''California''.

Vietnam War

''Cook Inlet'' was assigned to Coast Guard Squadron Three in

on 2 July 1971. Coast Guard Squadron Three was tasked to operate in conjunction with U.S. Navy forces in

Operation Market Time Operation Market Time was the United States Navy, Republic of Vietnam Navy and Royal Australian Navy operation begun in 1965 to stop the flow of troops, war material, and supplies by sea, coast, and rivers, from North Vietnam into parts of Sout ...

, the interdiction of

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...

ese arms and munitions traffic along the coastline of

during the

. The squadron's other Vietnam War duties included fire support for ground forces, resupplying Coast Guard and Navy

patrol boat A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval ship, naval vessel generally designed for Coastal defence and fortification, coastal defence, Border control, border security, or law ...

s, and search-and-rescue operations. ''Cook Inlet'' served in this capacity until 21 December 1971.

=Honors and awards

= ''Cook Inlet'' earned two

s for her Vietnam War service, for: *Consolidation I 16 July 1971 – 9 August 1971, 27 August 1971 – 15 September 1971, 1 October 1971 – 24 October 1971, and 22 November 1971 – 30 November 1971 *Consolidation II 1 December 1971 – 15 December 1971

Decommissioning

The Coast Guard decommissioned ''Cook Inlet'' in South Vietnam on 21 December 1971, the day her Vietnam War tour ended.

Republic of Vietnam Navy service

On 21 December 1971 – the day the Coast Guard decommissioned her – ''Cook Inlet'' was transferred to South Vietnam, which commissioned her into the

as the

RVNS ''Trần Quốc Toản'' (HQ-06). By mid-1972, six other former ''Casco''-class cutters – known in the Republic of Vietnam Navy as the s – also were in South Vietnamese service. They were the largest warships in the South Vietnamese inventory, and their 5-inch (127-millimeter) guns were South Vietnam's largest naval guns. ''Trần Quốc Toản'' and her sisters fought alongside U.S. Navy ships during the final years of the Vietnam War, patrolling the South Vietnamese coast and providing gunfire support to South Vietnamese forces ashore. When South Vietnam collapsed at the end of the Vietnam War in late April 1975, ''Trần Quốc Toản'' became a ship without a country. She fled to

Subic Bay Subic Bay is a bay on the west coast of the island of Luzon in the Philippines, about northwest of Manila Bay. An extension of the South China Sea, its shores were formerly the site of a major United States Navy facility, U.S. Naval Base Subi ...

in the

, packed with South Vietnamese

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s. On 22 and 23 May 1975, a U.S. Coast Guard team inspected ''Trần Quốc Toản'' and five of her sister ships, which also had fled to the Philippines in April 1975. One of the inspectors noted: "These vessels brought in several hundred refugees and are generally rat-infested. They are in a filthy, deplorable condition. Below decks generally would compare with a garbage scow."

Philippine Navy

The

Republic of the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...

took custody of ''Trần Quốc Toản'' after her arrival in 1975, and the United States formally transferred her to the Philippines on 5 April 1976. She did not enter

service; instead she and her sister ship were cannibalized for spare parts to allow the Philippines to keep four other sister ships – all former South Vietnamese ships known in the Philippine Navy as the s – in commission in the Philippine Navy. The former ''Trần Quốc Toản'' was discarded in 1982 and probably scrapped.United States Coast Guard Historians Office at http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/CookInlet1949.asp

References

* for USS ''Cook Inlet'' (AVP-36) * for USS ''Wilkinson'' (DL-5)
NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive USS Cook Inlet (AVP-36) USCGC Cook Inlet (WAVP-384 / WHEC-384)
* ttp://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/CookInlet1949.asp United States Coast Guard Historian's Office: ''Cook Inlet'', 1949 WHEC-384 Radio call sign: NYLWbr>United States Coast Guard Historian's Office: ''Mackinac'', 1949 WHEC-371USS Chambers (DE-391) & USCGC Chambers (WDE-491)United States Coast Guard Historian's Office: ''Gresham'', 1947 AGP-9; AVP-57; WAVP / WHEC / WAGW-387 ex-USS Willoughby Radio call sign: NODBUnited States Coast Guard Historian's Office: ''McCulloch'', 1946 WAVP / WHEC-386
* *Chesneau, Roger. ''Conways All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946''. New York: Mayflower Books, Inc., 1980. . *Gardiner, Robert. ''Conway's All the Worlds Fighting Ships 1947-1982, Part I: The Western Powers''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1983. . * Gray, Randal, Ed. ''Conways All the Worlds Fighting Ships 1947-1982 Part II: The Warsaw Pact and Non-Aligned Nations''. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1983. . * Moore, John, Captain, RN, FRGS, Ed. ''Janes Fighting Ships 1973-1974''. London: Janes Yearbooks, 1973. No ISBN.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cook Inlet (AVP-36) Barnegat-class seaplane tenders Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Republic of Vietnam Navy Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the Philippine Navy 1944 ships World War II seaplane tenders of the United States Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the United States Coast Guard Ships of the United States Coast Guard Casco-class cutters Vietnam War patrol vessels of the United States Alaska-related ships Weather ships Vietnam War frigates of South Vietnam Trần Quang Khải-class frigates Ships built at Lake Washington Shipyard