USCGC Alexander Hamilton (WPG-34)
Encyclopedia
USCGC Alexander Hamilton (WPG-34) was a . She was named after the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
United States Secretary of the Treasury
The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United...
, Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
, who was mortally wounded in a duel with Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr, Jr. was an important political figure in the early history of the United States of America. After serving as a Continental Army officer in the Revolutionary War, Burr became a successful lawyer and politician...
. Sunk after an attack by a German U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
in January 1942, the Hamilton was the U.S. Coast Guard's first loss of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Design
The design of the Alexander Hamilton was based on the U.S. NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
's Erie-class
USS Erie (PG-50)
USS Erie was the lead ship in a class of two United States Navy patrol gunboats. Launched and commissioned in 1936, she operated in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea until torpedoed and fatally damaged by a German submarine in 1942.-Prewar:...
of gunboats. This Treasury-class
USCG Treasury Class Cutter
The Treasury-class high endurance cutters were a group of seven ships launched by the United States Coast Guard between 1936 and 1937. The class were called the "Treasury-class" because they were each named for former Secretaries of the Treasury. These ships were also collectively known as the...
of U.S. Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
cutters was sometimes referred to as the Secretary-class. The 327-foot hull was designed to accommodate a hangar to deploy aircraft in response to the growing problem of narcotics smuggling
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
.
History
The Hamilton was built at the New York Navy Yard for the U.S. Coast Guard. Her keel was laid on September 11, 1935 and she was launchedShip naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on January 6, 1937. The U.S. Coast Guard had truncated her name to Hamilton that year, but resumed using the full name in January 1942 after a request by the U.S. Navy to avoid confusion with the destroyer USS Hamilton
USS Hamilton (DD-141)
The second USS Hamilton was a Wickes class destroyer in the United States Navy following World War I, later reclassified DMS-18 for service in World War II...
.
Sinking
In January 29 1942, the Hamilton was torpedoed on the starboard side by the German Type VIIC submarine U-132German submarine U-132 (1941)
German submarine U-132 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for the German Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She was laid down on 10 August 1940 by Bremer Vulkan, Bremen-Vegesack, launched on 10 April 1941 and commissioned on 29 May that year. In four patrols, U-132 sank eight ships for a total...
, which had been patrolling the Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic coast near Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
. The explosion killed seven men and injured many more. After she capsized on January 30, salvage attempts were abandoned and the American destroyer USS Ericsson
USS Ericsson (DD-440)
USS Ericsson , a , was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named after John Ericsson, who is best known for devising and building the Civil War ironclad ....
fired upon the wreck three times to send her to the bottom of the sea, 28 miles (45.1 km) from the coast.
Discovery of shipwreck
On August 19, 2009, the Icelandic Coast GuardIcelandic Coast Guard
The Icelandic Coast Guard is the service responsible for Iceland's coastal defense and maritime and aeronautical search and rescue. Origins of the Icelandic Coast Guard can be traced to 1859, when the corvette Ørnen started patrolling Icelandic waters...
discovered a shipwreck believed to be the Hamilton in Faxaflói
Faxaflói
Faxaflói , formerly known in English as Faxa Bay and Faxe Bay, is a bay in Southwest-Iceland between the peninsulas of Snæfellsnes and Reykjanes.The capital of the island, Reykjavík, is situated on its southern shore...
. After she was positively identified, Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
co-founder Paul Allen
Paul Allen
Paul Gardner Allen is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates...
flew to Iceland in August 2010 with an entourage to visit the wreck in a mini-submarine. His luxury yacht, the Octopus
Octopus (yacht)
Octopus is a megayacht owned by Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft. Delivered in 2003, it was believed to be the biggest such yacht at the time of its construction...
, arrived separately at Reykjavík Harbor for the trip.
On the 26th of June, 2011, a team of divers including Team Blue Immersions Jonas Samuelsson, Aron Arngrimsson and Valgeir Petursson left Reykjavik at 5 am departing for Alexander Hamilton wreck. At 30 miles out and 95 meters down, the wreck lies upside down. This is the first dive team that ever dived this wreck .
The dive went without any problems and the conditions were better than expected. The sea at the surface was pretty rough, and most (including Icelandic Coast Guard), warned not to take the boat out saying the dive was impossible to conduct under current conditions . Visibility at the wreck was around 4 meters. Temperature was 7 degrees celsius at 90 meters, which was warmer than divers prepared for.
During the deep dive the divers set 3 Icelandic diving records: Deepest wreck dive in Iceland, deepest sea dive in Iceland, and deepest dive ever made in Iceland.
A video of their expedition can be found here : http://vimeo.com/teamblueimmersionfx/odyssey-to-niflheimr-the-world-of-ice
See also
External links
- Alexander Hamilton at the Naval Historical CenterNaval Historical CenterThe Naval History & Heritage Command is the official history program of the United States Navy and is located at the historic Washington Navy Yard in the District of Columbia.-Mission :...
- USS Alexander Hamilton at HistoryCentral.com
- Loss of USCGC Alexander Hamilton (WPG 34) at the Destroyer History Foundation
- Wreck of USCGC Alexander Hamilton (WPG 34) at WikimapiaWikimapiaWikiMapia is a privately owned, online map and satellite imaging resource that combines Google Maps with a wiki system, allowing users to add information, in the form of a note, to any location on Earth. Users may currently use this information for free...