The final 327-foot (100 m) design was based on the Erie-class US Navy gunboats; the machinery plant and hull below the waterline were identical. This standardization would save money--always paramount in the Coast Guard's mind, as the cutters were built in U.S. Navy shipbuilding yards. Thirty-two preliminary designs based upon the Erie class were drawn up before one was finally selected. The healthy sheer forward and the high slope in the deck in the wardrooms was known as the "Hunnewell Hump." Commander (Constructor) F. G. Hunnewell, USCG, was the head of the Construction and Repair Department at that time.
The seven Treasury-class Coast Guard Cutters were:[1]
- USCGC Bibb (WPG-31), (original # 71)[3] launched 14 January 1937
- USCGC Campbell (WPG-32), (original # 65)[3] launched 3 June 1936
- USCGC Duane (WPG-33), (original # 67)[3] launched 3 June 1936
- USCGC Hamilton (WPG-34), (original # 69)[3] launched 10 November 1936
- USCGC Ingham (WPG-35), (original # 66)[3] launched 3 June 1936
- USCGC Spencer (WPG-36), (original # 70)[3] launched 6 January 1937
- USCGC Taney (WPG-37), (original # 68)[3] launched 3 June 1936
Displacing 2,350 tons with a 12-foot (3.7 m) draft, these ships had a maximum speed of 20 knots (37 km/h). They had crews of between 120 and 230 depending on whether they were serving in peace or wartime. The ships were originally built with two open centerline 5"/51 caliber gun mounts forward, and carried either a single Grumman JF-2 Duck or Curtiss SOC-4 aft. Various arrangements of 3"/50 and 5"/51 guns and depth charge throwers were installed aft when the planes were removed in 1940-41.[3][4] Postwar armament typically included hedgehog and an enclosed 5"/38 caliber gun mount forward and Mark 32 anti-submarine warfare torpedo tubes aft.[5]
World War II service
The "327's" were also known for their high "Kill Rate" during World War II. Campbell demonstrated Treasury-class anti-submarine warfare suitability escorting convoy HX-159 in November of 1941.[6] With a kill rate of .57 per ship, the Treasury-class were the most successful antisubmarine warships. (US Navy Destroyer Escorts had a kill rate of .1) Treasury-class cutters served as leaders of Mid-Ocean Escort Force group A3 during the winter of 1942-43.[7]
- Ingham escorted westbound convoy ONS-92.[8]
- Campbell and Ingham escorted eastbound HX-190.[9]
- Campbell, Ingham and Duane escorted westbound ONS-102.[10]
- Spencer escorted eastbound SC-95 and westbound ON-125.
- Campbell and Spencer escorted eastbound SC-100 and westbound ON-135.
- Campbell escorted eastbound HX-212 and westbound ON-145.
- Spencer escorted eastbound SC-111 and westbound ONS-156.
- Campbell and Spencer escorted eastbound HX-223 and westbound Convoy ON-166.
- Spencer escorted eastbound Convoy SC-121 and westbound ON-175.
- Spencer and Duane escorted the final A3 convoy HX-233 eastbound.[11][12]
Bibb and Ingham participated in the battles of Convoy SC-118 and Convoy SC-121.[13]
Taney served in the Pacific and was uniquely armed with four enclosed 5"/38 gun mounts in centerline positions where the Erie class gunboats mounted 6"/47 guns.[14] The six surviving cutters were converted to amphibious force flagships towards the end of World War II. "Taney" also has the distinction of being one of only two military vessels still afloat that was present during the Pearl Harbor attack, Dec 7, 1941.






