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"... the 327s battled through the “Bloody Winter” of 1942-43
in the North Atlantic–fighting off German U-boats and rescuing
survivors from torpedoed convoy ships." Retired U.S. Coast
Guard Capt. John M. Waters, “The Bloody Winter”
In the quote
above, retired Coast Guard captain and book author, John Waters,
commented on the service’s ocean-going cutters, which formed the
backbone of the Navy’s convoy escort fleet in the early years of the
Battle of the Atlantic.
The “Treasury,” or 327-foot Coast Guard cutters
(sometimes referred to as the “Secretary” class), were designed to
meet changing missions of the service as it emerged from
Prohibition. To address these needs, naval architects designed the
327s to steam at the impressive speed of 23 mph equipped with ample
fuel capacity for high seas cruising. The 327s were all named for
former heads of the Department of the Treasury, including Alexander
Hamilton, Samuel Ingham, William Duane, Roger Taney, George Bibb and
John Spencer, as well as George Campbell.
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"Queen of the Fleet" U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Campbell in
camouflage paint scheme early in the war. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)
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Campbell (WPG-32) and several sister cutters saw
extensive action as convoy escorts during the Battle of the
Atlantic. In fact, the 327-foot cutter Hamilton (WPG-34) was
the first American warship lost in combat after the entry of
the U.S. into World War II. Capable of maintaining high
speed in seas that slowed Navy destroyers, the 327s were
ideal for protecting shipping in the middle of the North
Atlantic. The Campbell was the longest-lived and the most
famous of this class. Built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in
1936, the cutter earned the title “Queen of the Fleet.”
Sailing under Coast Guard Cmdr. James Hirshfield, Campbell was
assigned to convoy escort duty early in the war. Equipped with sonar
technology and direction finding equipment, Campbell, sister-cutter
Spencer and other escorts were assigned anti-submarine duty for
Convoy ON-166 returning from the United Kingdom to the U.S. in
February 1943. On Sunday, February 21, a “Wolf Pack” of over a dozen
German U-boats pounced on the convoy. That day, Campbell steamed
through waters infested with Nazi submarines, engaging numerous
U-boats sighted on the surface or located underwater by sonar.
Late on the 21st, the convoy command dispatched Campbell to
assist a torpedoed tanker left dead in the water by the convoy. When
the cutter arrived, Campbell picked-up 50 merchant mariners in
lifeboats. Meanwhile, the German submarine U-753 sent a torpedo
toward Campbell and the crippled tanker. Campbell chased down the
U-boat damaging it so badly that it had to withdraw from the battle.
The cutter returned to the tanker and shelled its bridge to ensure
destruction of classified documents mistakenly left behind by the
crew. Over the course of February 21, Campbell singlehandedly
damaged or drove off half a dozen U-boats.
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Rare photograph showing the African-American manned three-inch
battery, commanded by Louis Etheridge, honored for their gun duel
with U-606 during World War II. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)
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In the morning darkness of February 22, Campbell tried to close
the 40 miles separating it from the convoy still battling the Wolf
Pack. En route, the cutter encountered more U-boats, including a
submarine later identified as U-606, which had already sunk two
ON-166 merchant vessels and damaged a third. The U-boat had been
damaged by depth charging and surfaced hoping to attempt a daring
surface attack. Hirshfield ordered the cutter to close with U-606
striking a glancing blow to the sub and loosing two depth charges
beside it. The explosives lifted the U-boat out of the water;
however, the glancing blow had gashed the cutter’s hull below the
waterline near the engine room.
Campbell fought on as the engine room took on water. The crew
brought to bear their searchlights and heavy weapons on U-606 and
fought the Nazi predator on the surface. An all-black gun crew
manning Campbell’s three-inch battery, under gun captain Louis
Etheridge, focused their fire on the submarine’s deck and conning
tower. The gun crewmembers were later recognized for their heroism
and Etheridge became the service’s first African-American Bronze
Star Medal recipient.
While Coast Guard Cutter Campbell’s gun
crews dueled with Nazi-manned U-606, the rest of the crew raced
against time as the engine room filled with salt water. The water
finally reached Campbell’s electrical system shorting the circuits
and dowsing the searchlights. Luckily, the U-boat had been rendered
defenseless at the same time the cutter lost power. The U-boat
commander ordered U-606 abandoned and Campbell’s guns ceased fire.
The disabled cutter lowered its boats and rescued five of the Nazi
submariners.
After the battle, Campbell’s crew continued to fight only this
time it was for the very survival of their cutter. Cmdr. James
Hirshfield believed he could lose his ship, so after offloading his
prisoners he transferred to another ship the 50 rescued merchant
mariners and all non-essential crewmembers. The cutter sat powerless
in the open ocean while the convoy pressed on to its destination.
Meanwhile, a skeleton crew jury-rigged a patch they placed over the
gash in Campbell’s hull stemming the flow of water into the engine
room. Finally, after wallowing in the North Atlantic for four days,
the cutter received a tow to St. John’s, Newfoundland. For his
actions during and after the Battle of Convoy ON-166, Hirshfield was
awarded the Navy Cross Medal, one of only a handful awarded to Coast
Guardsmen during the war. He later became a vice admiral and
two-term assistant commandant of the Coast Guard.
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U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Campbell's famed canine mascot "Sinbad", who was appointed Chief Petty Officer Dog, served aboard Campbell throughout World War II
and becoming internationally famous. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)
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Later, Campbell was fully repaired and re-gained its
place of pride within the convoy escort fleet. It was during
this wartime service that a furry member of the crew, the
dog “Sinbad,” became one of the most famous mascots in the
history of the U.S. military. The subject of film, magazine
stories, advertising and a book, Sinbad enlisted a year
after Campbell’s commissioning and served loyally throughout
the cutter’s wartime career remaining aboard Campbell even
when many of its crew were evacuated after battling U-606.
Sinbad served in the Coast Guard until his death in 1951
achieving the rate of K9C, Chief Petty Officer, Dog. He had
served aboard Campbell for nearly a dozen years.
Campbell continued to serve in the North Atlantic until Germany’s
surrender in the spring of 1945. After that, the Navy transferred
the ship to the Pacific Theater to serve as an amphibious flagship.
After World War II, the cutter returned to peacetime duties under
the Department of Treasury. Campbell was called up for combat action
again for the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. In Korea the cutter
and its crew performed search and rescue operations and ocean
station duty and, in Vietnam, provided naval gunfire support and
patrolled Vietnam’s coastal waters. During Operation “Market Time,”
Campbell destroyed or damaged 105 Viet Cong structures and steamed
over 32,000 miles in the Vietnamese War Zone.
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U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Campbell conducting one of many naval gunfire support missions during a tour in Vietnam. (U.S. Coast Guard courtesy photo)
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After the war, Campbell returned home and performed
search and rescue, law enforcement, military readiness and
maritime interdiction duties. The cutter was homeported in
New York City until 1969 before morning to Portland, Maine.
In 1974, the cutter changed homeports again, this time to
Port Angeles, Washington. There the ship continued its
peacetime duties until decommissioning in 1982. At the time
of its decommissioning, Campbell was the oldest vessel in
the active-duty U.S. fleet. After decommissioning, the Coast
Guard turned over Campbell to the U.S. Navy for use as a
target. The Navy sank the vessel on Nov. 29, 1984, during a
fleet readiness exercise in the waters off Hawaii.
The Treasury-class cutters proved very dependable, versatile
and long-lived warships, most serving for over 40 years.
Retired Coast Guard captain and book author, John Waters
would write about Campbell and its sister cutters, “Built
for only $2.5 million each, in terms of cost effectiveness
we may never see the likes of these cutters again.”
Campbell’s illustrious 46-year career spanned World War II,
the Korean and Vietnam wars, and many more productive years.
The cutter was one of hundreds that have served the long
blue line.
By William H. Thiesen, Atlantic Area Historian, USCG
Provided
through
Coast
Guard
Copyright 2017
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