USS Tornado

USCGC Tornado (WPC 14)
History
United States
Ordered	14 August 1997
Builder	Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana
Laid down	25 August 1998
Launched	7 June 1999
Acquired	13 March 2000
Commissioned	24 June 2000
Recommissioned	6 December 2011 (USCG)
Decommissioned	1 October 2004
Homeport	Jacksonville, Florida
Identification	MMSI number: 369987000 Callsign: NTDO
Motto	Focused Precision
Status	in active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Template:Sclass-
Displacement	331 tons
Length	179 ft (55 m)
Beam	25 ft (7.6 m)
Draught	7.5 ft (2.3 m)
Installed power	2 CAT Marine SSDG
Propulsion	4 Paxman Valenta Diesel Engines
Speed	31 knots
Boats & landing craft carried	USCG Over the Horizon
Crew	3 officers, 2 chiefs, 25 enlisted
Armament	(USN) 2 × Mk38 chain guns 2 × Mk19 grenade launchers 2 × .50 (12.7 mm) machine guns 6 × Stinger missiles

USS Tornado (PC-14) is the fourteenth and last Cyclone class patrol (coastal) ship, notable for being the only ship in the class designed with shaping features for signature management. She was laid down by Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana 25 August 1998 and launched 7 June 1999. She was commissioned by the United States Navy 24 June 2000, decommissioned 1 October 2004 and transferred to the United States Coast Guard as USCGC Tornado (WPC-14).

Class's History

The primary mission of Cyclone Class was to serve as a platform for maritime special operations, including interdiction, escort, non-combatant evacuation, reconnaissance, operational deception, intelligence collection, and tactical swimmer operations. Her small size, stealthy construction, and high speed were tailored to performing long-range Special Operations Forces (SOF) insertion and extraction and other SOF support duties, in particular US Navy Seals.

The ship's operational capabilities were designed to meet the unique requirements of its Special Warfare missions. Cyclone Class was capable of accelerating from stop to 35 knots (65 km/h) in under three minutes, then move from full ahead to 15 knots (28 km/h) astern in 60 seconds. In high-speed, hard-over turns, the ship barely heeled as the automatic stabilizers engaged.

In the mid-1990s when the Special Operations Command rejected them as too big for commando missions, and the regular surface Navy dismissed them as too small for any of its missions. The Navy began looking for ways to phase out the Tornado and her sister ships.

Operational history 2000-2010

She was commissioned by the United States Navy 24 June 2000, decommissioned 1 October 2004 and transferred to the United States Coast Guard as USCGC Tornado (WPC-14).

Tornado in the Gulf of Mexico, December 2004

Operational history 2010-Present

Tornado was transferred back to the Navy on 30 September 2011, and is once again designated PC-14.

As of January 2018, USS Tornado is the only Cyclone Class PC that still uses the MK38 25mm Mod 1 Gun System. She is also the only known ship left in the US Navy with Mod 1 Gun System. USS Tornado also holds the distinction, other than the USS Constitution, of being the last active US Navy warship with all crew served weapons.

In October of 2018, USS Tornado was a participant in the 2018 Baltimore Fleet Week.

References

•  This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.

External links

• Federation of American Scientists, Cyclone class ship characteristics
• Navsource.org ship history