USCGC Bertholf explained

USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750) is the first maritime security cutter of the United States Coast Guard. She is named for Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf, fourth commandant of both the Revenue Cutter Service and Coast Guard.

In 2005, construction began at Northrop Grumman's Ship Systems Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was launched on September 29, 2006,^[1] christened November 11, 2006,^[2] and commissioned on August 4, 2008. The cutter's home port is Alameda, California. Bertholf was the first to fire the Bofors 57 mm gun aboard a U.S. vessel on 11 February 2008.^[3]

Operational history

On March 3, 2016, Bertholf responded to a sighting off the Pacific Coast of Panama of a semi-submersible narco-submarine, reported by a P-3 Orion.^[4] The semi-submersible surrendered to a boarding party launched from Bertholf, and four suspects were captured along with 6 tons of cocaine.^[5] The boarding party then sank the semi-submersible.^[6] During the 2012 RIMPAC exercises Bertholf detected and tracked missile threats and also provided naval gunfire support for troops ashore during the training exercise, demonstrating the capability of moving with other naval forces and being able to perform other defense operations.^[7]

On 25 March 2019, USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54), in concert with Bertholf transited the contested Taiwan Strait.^[8] On 15 April of same year, the ship visited Hong Kong, the first Coast Guard vessel to do so in seventeen years.^[9]

Legend-class cutter

Bertholf is the lead ship of the design and the first large ship to be built under the Coast Guard's multi-year Deepwater acquisitions project. The NSCs replaced the fleet's aging 1960s-era 378-foot s.

Features

Automated weapon systems
Medium-caliber deck gun (57 mm) capable of stopping rogue merchant vessels far from shore^[10]
Helicopter launch and recovery pad with rail-based aircraft retrieval system and two aircraft hangars
Stern launching ramp for small boat launch and recovery
Bow thruster
State-of-the-art C4ISR improving interoperability between Coast Guard and Department of Defense assets^[11]
Detection and defense capabilities against chemical, biological, or radiological attack
Advanced sensors for intelligence collection and sharing
Real-time tracking and seamless common operational picture/maritime domain awareness via integration with Rescue 21
Advanced state-of-the-art Ships Integrated Control System (machinery control, steering, navigation) for reduced manpower requirements and improved automation
Cassidian (EADS) TRS-3D/16-ES air search radar for area surveillance^[12]
The cutter can have an anti-terrorism/force protection suite that will include underwater sonar that will allow the cutter to scan ports, approaches, facilities and high-value assets for underwater mines and mine-like devices and detect swimmers.

External links

Notes and References

Web site: CGC Bertholf Is Launched . 29 September 2006 . Integrated Coast Guard Systems . 17 February 2019 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070928121135/http://www.icgsdeepwater.com/newsflash/092906.php . 28 September 2007.
Web site: Photo Release - Bertholf Christening Honors U.S. Coast Guard's First National Security Cutter and Celebrates Recovery Milestone . 11 November 2006 . . 17 February 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190218021434/https://newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/releases/photo-release-bertholf-christening-honors-u-s-coast-guard-s-first-national-security-cutter-and-celebrates-recovery-milestone . 18 February 2019 . live .
Web site: Full length feature of the USCGC Bertholf . U.S. Coast Guard . 1 July 2008 . YouTube . 17 February 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160527155256/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcjRzByQ-9A . 27 May 2016 . live .
Web site: Video: Coast Guard intercepts narco submarine . 28 March 2016 . Marine Log . 17 February 2019 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160427120231/http://www.marinelog.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=10761:video-coast-guard-intercepts-narco-submarine&Itemid=230 . 27 April 2016.
Web site: Video of Coast Guard's $200 million cocaine bust off Panama released . Associated Press . 29 March 2016 . . 17 February 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190218021338/https://www.foxnews.com/us/video-of-coast-guards-200-million-cocaine-bust-off-panama-released . 18 February 2019 . live .
Web site: Coast Guard cutter busts fifth cocaine sub in less than a year . Meghann . Myers . 7 August 2017 . Navy Times . 17 February 2019.
Web site: National Security Cutters Demonstrate Capabilities . Mark . Faram . 1 May 2013 . Defense Media Network . 12 February 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170213001533/https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/national-security-cutters-demonstrate-capabilities/3/ . 13 February 2017 . live .
Web site: US Navy and Coast Guard Ships pass through strategic Taiwan Strait. 25 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190325092300/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/us-navy-coast-guard-ships-pass-through-strategic-taiwan-strait/ar-BBVb9Pt%3Fli%3DBBnbfcL. 25 March 2019. live.
Web site: 隔牆有耳：美防衞隊海巡艦17年來首訪港 - 李八方. Apple Daily 蘋果日報. 2019-04-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20190416022113/https://hk.news.appledaily.com/local/daily/article/20190416/20657261. 2019-04-16. live.
Web site: Maritime Security Cutter, Large (WMSL) . GlobalSecurity.org . 25 November 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161203042152/http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/nsc.htm . 3 December 2016 . live .
Web site: National security cutter approved for classified operations . Katherine McIntire . Peters . 29 May 2009 . . 17 February 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190218081901/https://www.govexec.com/defense/2009/05/national-security-cutter-approved-for-classified-operations/29266/ . 18 February 2019 . live .
Web site: TRS 3D - MSSR 2000I . Cassidian.com . 5 March 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100924044922/http://www.cassidian.com/cassidian/int/en/business-activities/naval-systems/sensors/TRS-3D-MSSR-2000I.html . 24 September 2010.