Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USCGC Coos Bay (WHEC-376)
ex
 USCGC Coos Bay (WAVP-376) (1949 - circa 1960s)
 USS Coos Bay (AVP-25) (1943 - 1949)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Bravo - Papa - Golf
 NBPG
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (2)
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal (with Asia clasp) - National Defense Service Medal

USS Coos Bay (AVP-25) was transferred to the US Coast Guard and commissioned USCGC Coos Bay (WAVP-376)
Barnegat Class Small Seaplane Tender:
  • Laid down, 15 August 1941, at Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, WA.
  • Launched, 15 May 1942
  • Commissioned USS Coos Bay (AVP-25), 16 May 1943, CDR. William Miller Jr. in command
  • During World War II USS Coos Bay was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Treasury-Bougainville operation
    Supporting air actions, 27 October 1943 to 1 May 1944     		Consolidation of Solomon Islands
    Consolidation of northern Solomon Islands, December 1943 to August 1944

  • Following World War II USS Coos Bay was assigned to Occupation service in the Far East from 13 September to 2 December 1945
  • Decommissioned, 30 April 1946, at Orange, TX.
  • Laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet, Texas Group, Orange
  • Loaned to the US Coast Guard, 5 January 1949
  • Commissioned USCGC Coos Bay (WAVP-376), 4 May 1949
  • USCGC Coos Bay was assigned to Portland ME. Coast Guard Base for her entire Coast Guard career
  • Redesignated High Endurance Cutter (WHEC-376), date unknown.
  • Decommissioned, 1 September 1966, at Boston Coast Guard Base, MA.
  • Returned to the US Navy, 2 December 1967
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 9 January 1968
  • Final Disposition, towed to sea from Curtis Bay and sunk as a bombing target, 9 January 1968
  • USS Coos Bay earned two battle stars for World War II service
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,766 t.(lt) 2,750 t.(fl)
    Length 311' 8"
    Beam 41' 1"
    Draft 13' 6"
    Speed 18.6 kts.
    Complement
    Officers 14
    Enlisted 201
    Aviation Squadrons
    Officers 59
    Enlisted 93
    Largest boom capacity 10 t.
    USN Armament
    four single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    one quad 40mm AA gun mount
    two dual 40mm AA gun mounts
    four dual 20mm AA gun mounts
    mouse-trap
    two depth charge racks
    USCG Armament
    one single 5"/38 dual purpose gun mount
    Fuel Capacities
    Diesel 1,955 Bbls.
    Gasoline 84,340 Gals.
    Propulsion
    two General Motors 12-288 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, 6,080shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USS Coos Bay (AVP-25)
    Coos Bay
    09432509    		 211k
    Namesake
    Coos Bay - Coos Bay is an S-shaped inlet where the Coos River enters the Pacific Ocean, approximately 10 miles long and two miles wide, on the Pacific Ocean coast of southwestern Oregon. The city of Coos Bay is located on its inner side. The Port of Coos Bay is the largest and deepest port between San Francisco and the Columbia River.
    Photo - Port of Coos Bay
    Map - Map of Coos Bay, US Army Corp of Engineers, Portland District    		 Tommy Trampp
    Coos Bay 105k USS Coos Bay (AVP-25) off Houghton, WA. 15 May 1943, the day of her first commissioning. She was completed with a main battery of four 5"/38 guns.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-47253, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Coos Bay 105k USS Coos Bay (AVP-25) off Houghton, WA., 15 May 1943.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-47254, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Coos Bay 105k USS Coos Bay (AVP-25) off Houghton, WA., 15 May 1943.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-47257, a US Navy Bureau of Ships photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Coos Bay 90k Overhead and port broadside views of USS Coos Bay (AVP-25) underway, 8 August 1944. The Barnegat class of small seaplane tenders were also designed to perform escort functions, being armed with four, later one, single 5/”38 dual-purpose gun mounts, quad and twin 40mm AA gun mounts, twin 20mm AA gun mounts, mouse trap anti-submarine weapons and two depth charge racks.
    Australian War Museum, Photo No.'s 302574 (upper) and 302754 (lower).    		 Mike Green
    Tangier 96k USS Coos Bay (AVP-25) (left), and Tangier (AV-8) seen from USS Chandeleur (AV-10) as Tangier steams out of Ominato, Japan, 16 October 1945.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-266022, a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    USCGC Coos Bay (WAVP-376) (WHEC-376)
    Coos Bay 58k Ex-USS Coos Bay (AVP-25) in US Coast Guard service as USCGC Coos Bay (WAVP-376) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Coast Guard photo.    		 US Coast Guard Historian's Office
    Coos Bay 82k Ex-USS Coos Bay (AVP-25) being sunk as a target, 9 January 1968, 200 km (120 mi) off the coast of Virginia by the guided missile destroyer USS Claude V. Ricketts (DDG-5), using a RIM-2 Tartar missile. Later she was attacked by 35 aircraft, and finally sunk by a AGM-12 Bullpup missile, fired by a Vought A-7A Corsair II. Robert Hurst

    For more photos and information about USS / USCGC Coos Bay, see;
  • Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
  • Barnegat Class Seaplane Tenders
  • Profile and Sky Views - Barnegat Class Small Seaplane Tenders -Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, WA.
  • US Navy Patrol Squadrons - USS Coos Bay (AVP-25)
    • USS Coos Bay (AVP-25) Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Miller Jr., William, USN :RADM16 May 1943 - 1 December 1943
    02CDR. Conley, Delbert Lawrence1 December 1943 - 2 September 1944
    USCGC Coos Bay (WAVP-376 / WHEC-376) Commanding Officers
    02CDR. Craik, John Daly, USCG (USCGA 1932) :RADMDecember 1949
    03CDR. Schmidtman, Richard Dittrich, USCG (USCGA 1932) :RADMMay 1951
    04CDR. Benkert, William Michael (Mike), USCG (USCGA 1944) :RADMJune 1952 - ?
    05CAPT. Ellis, William Bromfield, USCG (USCGA 1936) :RADMAugust 1956
    07CDR. Bailey, Claude William (Bill), USCG (USNA 1942)1962
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Back to the Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To the Service Ship Type Index Back To The Small Seaplane Tender (AVP) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 10 September 2021