USCGC Bertholf

USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750)
History
USCG
Namesake	Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf, USCG
Ordered	January 2001
Builder	Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Pascagoula, Mississippi
Cost	$641 million
Laid down	March 29, 2005
Launched	September 29, 2006
Christened	November 11, 2006
Commissioned	August 4, 2008
Homeport	Integrated Support Command Alameda
Motto	"Legends Begin Here"
Status	Commissioned
Badge
General characteristics
Type	National Security Cutter
Displacement	4500 LT
Length	418 feet (127.40 meters)
Beam	54 feet (16.46 meters)
Draft	22.5 feet (6.86 meters)
Propulsion	Combined diesel and gas 2 × 7.400 kW diesel engines 1 × 22.000 kW gas turbine engine
Speed	28+ knots
Range	12,000 nm
Complement	113 (14 Officers)
Sensors and processing systems	EADS TRS-3D Air Search Radar SPQ-9B Fire Control Radar AN/SPS-73 Surface Search Radar AN/SLQ-32
Electronic warfare & decoys	AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare System 2 SRBOC/ 2 NULKA countermeasures chaff/rapid decoy launcher
Armament	57 mm gun and Gunfire Control System Close-In Weapons System 4 50 Caliber Machine Guns 2 M240B 7.62mm Light Machine Guns
Aircraft carried	(2) MH-65C Dolphin MCH, or (4) VUAV or (1) MH-65C Dolphin MCH and (2) VUAV
Aviation facilities	50x80 foot flight deck, hangar for all aircraft

USCGC Bertholf (WMSL 750) is the first Legend-class 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, christened November 11, 2006, 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 the 11th of February 2008.[1]

National Security Cutter

Bertholf is the lead ship of the National Security Cutter design and the first large ship to be built under the Coast Guard's multi-year Deepwater acquisitions project. The NSCs are to replace the fleet's aging 378-foot Hamilton-class cutters.

Features

• Automated weapon systems
• Medium-caliber deck gun (57 mm)
• Helicopter launch and recovery pad with rail-based aircraft retrieval system and two aircraft hangars
• Stern boat well for small boat launch and recovery
• bow thruster
• State-of-the-art C4ISR improving interoperability between Coast Guard and DoD
• 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

Deepwater Controversy

The Deepwater program was subjected to public scrutiny in late 2006 and early 2007 following reports of overspending and design flaws. Specifically, the issues with Bertholf relate to the projected life of the ship. Originally the Coast Guard had expected the cutter to be a single-crew vessel, and spend a normal amount of time in port and underway. However, the US Coast Guard decided to implement a multi-crew system, similar but distinct to what the US Navy uses on its ballistic missile submarines. Rather than the Navy's system of two crews sharing a single hull, the CG multi-crew concept involve both multiple crews and multiple hulls. The addition of the multi-crewing enables the ship to spend more time at sea each year, but also decreases the expected lifespan of the vessel from 30 years to 20 years.

External links

• Bertholf home page
• Deepwater Official site about USCGS Bertholf
• National Security Cutter Home
• Team Deepwater NSC Home
• Bertholf intercepting drug boats in her first action (video)