USCGC Mohawk (WPG-78) facts for kids
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Quick facts for kids History |
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 United States |
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| Name | USCGC Mohawk |
| Namesake | The Mohawk Native American tribe |
| Builder | Pusey & Jones Shipbuilders, Wilmington, Delaware |
| Cost | $499,800 |
| Laid down | 1933 |
| Launched | 1 October 1934 |
| Sponsored by | Miss Ann Gibbons (daughter of the assistant secretary of the treasury, Steven Gibbons) |
| Commissioned | 19 January 1935 |
| Decommissioned | 8 January 1946 |
| In service | 1935 |
| Out of service | 1946 |
| Stricken | 1948 |
| Homeport | Cape May, New Jersey, later Boston Mass. |
| Nickname(s) | " Mighty MO" |
| Fate | Sold 1 November 1948, Sunk as an artificial reef 2 July 2012 |
| Notes | Operated as a memorial museum |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Patrol Gunboat |
| Displacement | 1,005 tons |
| Length | 165 feet |
| Beam | 36 feet |
| Draft | 12 foot 3 inches |
| Ice class | ice breaking capabilities up to 2 feet |
| Installed power | 1,500 shp |
| Propulsion | 1× Westinghouse double-reduction geared turbine, 2× foster-wheeler 310 psi 200 deg superheat boilers |
| Speed | 13.5 kt |
| Range | (max speed=1,350 miles)(economic speed=5,079 miles) |
| Crew | 124 enlisted 10 officers |
| Sensors and processing systems |
Radar SF (1945) Sonar QCJ-3 (1945) |
| Armament | 2× 3" 50 cal deck guns. 2× "mouse trap" mortars. 2× depth charge racks. 10× "k" gun depth charge projectors. 2x 20mm anti aircraft guns in single mounts on bridge wings, 1 twin mount 20mm antiaircraft gun on fantail. 1 twin mount 50cal antiaircraft battery in a gun tub forward of bridge |
The USCGC Mohawk (WPG-78) was a special ship that belonged to the United States Coast Guard. It was the fifth ship to be named Mohawk. This ship was built by a company called Pusey & Jones in Delaware and was launched into the water on October 1, 1934. It officially started its service on January 19, 1935.
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Mohawk's Active Service
The Mohawk first helped patrol rivers and break ice. It worked on the Hudson and Delaware Rivers. When World War II began, the ship was stationed in Cape May, New Jersey. In November 1941, the Coast Guard was asked to join the United States Navy. The Mohawk was then sent to the North Atlantic. It joined the Greenland Patrol and stayed there for the entire war.
The Mohawk was very busy during the war. It attacked submarines 14 times between 1942 and 1945. For example, on August 27, 1942, a ship called the USS Laramie was hit by a torpedo. The Mohawk helped escort the damaged Laramie safely to port in Nova Scotia.
One of the Mohawk's most famous moments happened just before the D-Day invasion. This was a huge event in World War II. The Mohawk was the last ship to send a radio message to General Dwight D. Eisenhower. This message confirmed that the weather would be clear enough for the invasion to start. Soon after sending this important message, the Mohawk hit an iceberg. It got a hole in its side. After a quick fix in Greenland, it went back to the United States for full repairs.
The Mohawk also survived being accidentally attacked by friendly British planes. While on patrol near Iceland, British planes mistook it for an enemy ship. They bombed the Mohawk, damaging its main deck. The ship then returned to Boston for emergency repairs.
Awards for Mohawk's Service
The Mohawk received several awards for its brave service:
- American Defense Service Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
- World War II Victory Medal
After the War
After World War II ended, the Mohawk returned to its old homeport in Cape May. Its wartime weapons were removed. It stayed in Cape May until early 1946, when it went to New York for a special job. It came back to Cape May in February 1946. In April 1946, the Mohawk was put into a "reserve" status. This meant it had a small crew and was kept ready but not actively used.
There was an idea to change the Mohawk and its sister ships into lightships. Lightships are like floating lighthouses. However, this idea was not practical. So, in October 1947, the Mohawk was officially taken out of service. It was then stored at the Coast Guard Yard.
In July 1948, the Mohawk was no longer needed by the Coast Guard. It was put up for sale. On November 1, 1948, it was sold to the Delaware Bay and River Pilots' Association. For over 30 years, it was used as a pilot boat on the Delaware River. A pilot boat helps guide other ships safely into port.
In 1984, Charles Weymouth bought the Mohawk for just $1.00. Volunteers from Delaware helped repair the ship. The USCGC Mohawk Museum opened in 1986. It closed in the late 1990s for reasons that are not known. Later, the Mohawk was moved to Staten Island.
The Mohawk was then taken over by a company called Caribbean Transport Lines. This happened because the previous owners owed money for where the ship was docked. In 2001, the ship's situation was shared with the country through a program that helps save historic places.
USS Mohawk CGC Memorial Museum
The USS Mohawk CGC Memorial Museum was created by the Miami Dade Historical Maritime Museum. The ship was docked in Key West, Florida, at the Truman Waterfront.
Frans Boetes, who was the president of the Mohawk's Memorial Museum, found the ship in a scrap yard on Staten Island. It had been rusting there for more than 15 years. After some basic repairs, it was pulled by another boat to Miami. There, it received many more repairs. Then, it was moved to Key West and docked at the old Navy pier.
By 2012, the museum faced a difficult choice. They did not have enough money to fix the Mohawk anymore. They had to either sell it for scrap or sink it to create an artificial reef. They decided that sinking it as a memorial reef was the best way to honor the ship. This way, it would not be melted down and sold for parts.
USS Mohawk CGC Veterans Memorial Reef
Starting on May 16, 2012, the "Mighty MO" was brought to Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Here, it was cleaned and prepared to be sunk. It was sunk on July 2, 2012, about 28 nautical miles off the coast of Captiva Island. Its final job was to serve as a Veteran's Memorial artificial reef.
The Mohawk was the first military ship in the United States to be sunk specifically as a veterans memorial reef. The idea for the USS Mohawk CGC Veterans Memorial Reef came from Mike Campbell. This reef has made Southwest Florida a new and exciting place for divers to visit.
The wreck is located at 26°33.075′N 82°43.481′W / 26.551250°N 82.724683°W.
