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USCGC Unimak (WHEC-379)
ex
 USCGC Unimak (WTR-379) (1969 - 1977)
 USCGC Unimak (WHEC-379) (1966 - 1969)
 USCGC Unimak (WAVP-379) (1948 - 1966)
 USS Unimak (AVP-31) (1943 - 1948)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Bravo - Victor - Golf
 NBVG
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal

USS Unimak (AVP-31 was transferred to the US Coast Guard after World War II
Barnegat Class Small Seaplane Tender:
  • Laid down, 15 February 1941, at Associated Ship Builders Inc., Seattle, WA.
  • Launched, 27 May 1942
  • Commissioned, USS Unimak (AVP-31), 31 December 1943, CDR. Hilfort C. Owen USN in command
  • Decommissioned, 29 July 1946
  • Loaned to the US Coast Guard, 14 September 1948
  • Commissioned USCGC Unimak (WAVP-379), 3 January 1949
  • Redesignated (WHEC-379), 1 May 1966
  • Redesignated (WTR-379), 28 November 1969
  • Decommissioned, 29 May 1975
  • Recommissioned as (WHEC-379) in 1977
  • Decommissioned, 29 April 1988, and returned to the US Navy for disposal
  • Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Final Disposition, scuttled as part of an artificial reef, date and location unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,766 t.(lt) 2,800 t.(fl)
    Length 310' 9½"
    Beam 41' 2"
    Draft 12' 5"
    Speed 18.2 kts (trial)
    Complement
    USN
    Officers 14
    Enlisted 201
    USN Aviation Squadrons
    Officers 59
    Enlisted 93
    USCG
    Officers 13
    Enlisted 136
    Largest Boom Capacity 10 t.
    USCG Electronics
    Radar: SPS-23, SPS-29D
    Sonar: SQS-1
    Armament
    USN
    four single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    one quad 40mm AA gun mount
    two twin 40mm AA gun mounts
    four twin 20mm AA gun mounts
    USCG
    one single 5"/38 cal. Mk 12, Mod 1 dual purpose gun mount
    one Mk 52 Mod 3 director
    one Mk 26 fire control radar
    one Mk 11 A/S projector
    two Mk 32 Mod 5 torpedo tubes
    Fuel Capacities
    Diesel 2,055 Bbls
    Gasoline 88,000 Gals
    Propulsion
    Fairbanks-Morse, 38D8 1/2 Diesel engines
    single Fairbanks-Morse Main Reduction Gears
    Ship's Service Generators
    two Diesel-drive 100Kw 450V A.C.
    two Diesel-drive 200Kw 450V A.C.
    two propellers, 6,400shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USS Unimak (AVP-31)
    Unimak
    09433108    		 155k
    Namesake
    Unimak - Unimak Bay is a bay on the southern side of Unimak Island in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. "Unimak Island, Alaska, September 1992. Seen in this southwest-looking, low-oblique photograph is Unimak Island, Alaska, the largest island in the Aleutian chain. The major volcano on the island (snow-capped peak at the center of the photograph), Shishaldin, rises approximately 9400 feet (2860 meters) and has been active during the last 175 years, with several eruptions occurring recently. The volcano is known locally as "Smoking Moses." At the southwestern end of the island is the snow-capped Pogromni Volcano. The blue lake situated in a large volcanic caldera, which can be seen midway between the Pogromni and Shishaldin volcanoes, is the result of a now extinct volcano that collapsed." (Wikipedia)
    NASA photo - http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/EFS/photoinfo.pl?PHOTO=STS047-77-34    		 Tommy Trampp
    Unimak 87k USS Unimak (AVP-31) being christened at Associated Ship Builders Inc. Seattle, WA., 29 May 1942. The sponsor was Mrs. H. B. Berry.
    US Navy National Archives photo # 19-N-58542 a US Navy photo from the Bureau of Ships Collection now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 Bill Gonyo
    Unimak 93k USS Unimak (AVP-31) at Seattle, WA., 31 January 1944. Unimak is painted camouflage scheme/measure 32/5D in this photo.
    US Navy National Archives photo # 19-N-61152 a US Navy photo from the Bureau of Ships Collection now in the collections of the US National Archives    		 US Naval Historical Center
    USCGC Unimak (WAVP-379 / WHEC-379 / WTR-379)
    Unimak 29k USCGC Unimak (WAVP-379) underway, date and location unknown.
    USCG photo         		Ken Laesser, CG History Page
    Unimak 106k USCGC Unimak (WHEC-379) underway, date and location unknown.
    USCG photo    		 Ken Laesser, CG History Page
    Unimak
    09433109    		 48k USCGC Unimak (WHEC-379) underway in San Francisco Bay, CA., circa 1949. Unimak was loaned to the Coast Guard , 14 September 1948. After undergoing conversion for Coast Guard use, she was commissioned, 3 January 1949, as USCGC Unimak (WAVP-379). Following her conversion, she was transferred to the Atlantic where she served until 29 April 1988.
    U.S. Navy History and Heritage Command photo # 1397066448872    		 Robert Hurst
    Unimak 82k USCGC Unimak (WHEC-379) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Coast Guard photo.    		 Hazegray & Underway Web Site
    Unimak 40k USCGC Unimak (WHEC-379) underway, 8 June 1987.
    US Coast Guard photo from the Office of the Coast Guard Historian.    		 Mike Green
    USS Unimak (AVP-31)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    USS Unimak (AVP-31) Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Owen, Hilfort Craft, USN (USNA 1927)31 December 1943 - 30 September 1944
    02CDR. Thorn, William Alvah, USN (USNA 1932)30 September 1944 - March 1946
    03LCDR. Patton, Frank H., USNR (acting)March 1946 - May 1946
    >>
    USCGC Unimak (WAVP-379 / WHEC-379 / WTR-379) Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Diehl, Herman Thomas, USCG (USCGA 19303 January 1949 - 1950
    02CDR. McCabe, Frank Murray, USCG (USCGA 1935)1950 - 1951
    03LCDR. Luse, James David, USCG (USCGA 1943)1951 - 1952
    04LCDR. Cheney, Leroy Allen, USCG (USCGA 1943)1952 - 1954
    05CDR. Young, Maynard Fling, USCG (USCGA 1937)1954 - 1955
    06CDR. McGarity, Marcus Harper, USCG (USCGA 1943)1955 - 1956
    07CDR. Frost, Albert, USCG (USCGA 1942)October 1956 - 1958
    08CDR. Henry, Bernhard Russell, USCG (USCGA 1941)1958 - 1960
    09CAPT. Kendall, Louis Boyd, USCG (USCGA 1939)1960 - 1962
    10CAPT. Riley, Francis Xavier, USCG (USCGA 1943)1962 - 1964
    11CDR. Caswell, Donald Arthur, USCG (USCGA 1944)1964 - June 1966
    12CDR. Hartlove, Herbert Maurice (Herby) USCG (USCGA 1949)June 1966 - 1968
    13CDR. Cretella, Henry Anthony (Hank), USCG (USCGA 1949)1968 - 6 October 1970
    14CDR. Gannaway, Ted Lane, USCG (USCGA 1951)6 October 1970 - 1972
    15CDR. Benigno, Pasquale M., USCG (USNA 1957)1972 - 1973
    16CDR. Allen, William Perry, USCG (USNA 1953)1973 - 29 July 1974
    17CDR. Wubbold III, Joseph Henry, USCG (USCGA 1956)29 July 1974 - 31 May 1975
     Decommissioned31 May 1975 - 22 August 1977
    18CDR. Eddy, Robert C., USCG (USCGA 1961)22 August 1977 - 1979
    19CDR. Shirvinski, Adam John, USCG (USCGA 1961)1979 - 1981
    20CDR. Newlin, Charles Bennett, USCG1981 - August 1983
    21CDR. Williams, John E., USCGAugust 1983 - 1985
    22CDR. Blake, Ronald L., USCG1985 - 1987
    23CDR. Houle, Robert C., USCG1987 - 29 April 1988
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    USS Unimak (AVP-31) (Wikipedia)
    Barnegat Class Seaplane Tenders
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Ship Type Index Back To The Small Seaplane Tender (AVP) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 22 July 2022