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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USCGC McCulloch (WHEC-386)
ex
 USCGC McCulloch (WAVP-386) (1946 - 1966)
 USS Wachapreague (AGP-8) (1944 - 1946)


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Oscar - Delta - Alpha
 NODA
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons



Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive
Second Row - Second Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign (4) - World War II Victory Medal
Third Row - National Defense Service Medal - Philippine Presidential Unit Citation - Philippines Liberation Medal (2)

USCGC McCulloch (WHEC-386) was transferred to South Vietnam and renamed RVNS Ngo Quyen (HQ-17), later transferred to the Philippines and renamed BRP Gregorio de Pilar (PS-8)
Barnegat Class Small Seaplane Tender:
  • Laid down, 1 February 1943, at Lake Washington Shipyards, Houghton, WA.
  • Redesignated a Motor Torpedo Boat Tender, 11 May 1943
  • Launched, 10 July 1943
  • Commissioned, USS Wachapreague (AGP-8), 17 May 1944, LCDR. Harold A. Stewart, USNR, in command
  • During World War II USS Wachapreague was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater and participated in the following campaigns:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaigns
    Campaign and Dates Campaign and Dates
    Western New Guinea operations
    Designated duty in connection with motor torpedo boat operations, 29 August to 13 October 1944     		Luzon operations
    Lingayen Gulf landings, 4 to 18 January 1945
    Leyte operation, 10 July to 25 July 1945
    Leyte landings, 19 October to 18 November 1944 and 24 to 29 November 1944
    Battle of Surigao Strait, 24 to 26 October 1944     		Borneo operations
    Tarakan Island operation, 1 to 29 May 1945

  • Decommissioned, 10 May 1946, at Boston and transferred to the US Coast Guard
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 5 June 1946
  • USS Wachapreague earned four battle stars for her World War II service
  • Commissioned USCGC McCulloch (WAVP-386), 25 November 1946
  • Reclassified, High Endurance Cutter (WHEC-386), 1 May 1966
  • Decommissioned and transferred to South Vietnam, 21 June 1972, renamed RVNS Ngo Kuyen (HQ-17)
  • Custody assumed by Republic of the Philippines in April 1975
  • Commissioned into the Philippine Navy as BRP Gregorio de Pilar (PS-8)
  • Sold outright to the Republic of the Philippines, 5 April 1976
  • Decommissioned by the Philippine Navy in May 1985
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,766 t.(lt) 2,470.3 t.(fl)
    Length 310' ¼"
    Beam 41'
    Draft 12' 5"
    Speed 17.6 kts.
    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
     two 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 84,340 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 Contributed By /
    Source
    USS Wachapreague (AGP-8)
    Wachapreague
    09435615    		 143k
    Namesake
    Wachapreague - The Wachapreague Channel is an inlet on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The channel winds from the town of Wachapreague, through a seaside marsh, and out to barrier islands. Between Cedar Island and Parramore Island it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. Easy access from the town of Wachapreague to the marsh and ocean makes the Wachapreague Channel a popular transit route for fishermen. The name of the channel came from the Algonquian people who resided in the area centuries ago. (Wikipedia)
    Photo - Wachapreague Inlet at Wachapreague Va.
    Map - US Army Corp of Engineers map of Wachapreague Channel    		 Tommy Trampp
    Wachapreague 104k Wachapreague (AGP-8) being launched at the Lake Washington Shipyards, Houghton, WA., 10 July 1943.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-51131, a US Navy photo from the Bureau of Ships Collection, now in the collections of the US National Archives.         		US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Wachapreague 134k USS Wachapreague (AGP-8) off Houghton, WA., 20 May 1944, three days after commissioning. Her camouflage scheme is Measure 32 Design 2Ax.
    US National Archives photo group 19-N, a US Navy photo from the Bureau of Ships Collection, now in the collections of the US National Archives.         		Russ Padden and Tim Rizzuto
    Wachapreague 71k USS Wachapreague (AGP-8) off Houghton, WA., 20 May 1944, three days after commissioning. Her camouflage scheme is Measure 32 Design 2Ax.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-69680, a US Navy photo from the Bureau of Ships Collection, now in the collections of the US National Archives.         		US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Wachapreague 82k USS Wachapreague (AGP-8) off Houghton, WA., 20 May 1944, three days after commissioning.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-69681, a US Navy photo from the Bureau of Ships Collection, now in the collections of the US National Archives.         		US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Wachapreague 89k USS Wachapreague (AGP-8) off Houghton, WA., 20 May 1944, three days after commissioning.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-69682, a US Navy photo from the Bureau of Ships Collection, now in the collections of the US National Archives.         		US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Wachapreague 94k USS Wachapreague (AGP-8) off Houghton, WA., 20 May 1944, three days after commissioning.
    US National Archives photo # 19-N-69683, a US Navy photo from the Bureau of Ships Collection, now in the collections of the US National Archives.         		US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Wachapreague 106k USS Wachapreague (AGP-8), refueling PT-194, 20 October 1944 while enroute from Palau to Leyte Gulf. In October she sailed with her sisters USS Oyster Bay (AGP-6) and Willoughby (AGP-9), an AVP, and two army craft for Leyte in the Philippines, all escorting a group of 45 PT boats. During the transit Wachapreague refueled underway all 15 of the PT boats assigned to her. A few days after arriving in the Philippines, her PT boats played a prominent role in the Battle of Surigao Strait, in which the Japanese lost two battleships, two cruisers, and several destroyers.
    US National Archives photo # 80-G-345815, a US Navy photo, now in the collections of the US National Archives.         		US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Wachapreague 26k USS Wachapreague (AGP-8) with PT boats alongside, date and location unknown.
    Photo courtesy Gustave Marinier PT-155     		Jerry Gilmartin MMC(SW) Ret PT658 curator LCI713 AFMM secretary
    USCGC McCulloch (WAVP-386 / WHEC-386)
    Wachapreague 53k USCGC McCulloch (WAVP-386) under way in the Atlantic Ocean between May 1946 and June 1971. Haze Gray & Underway
    Wachapreague 82k USCGC McCulloch (WAVP-386) under way, date and location unknown. © Richard Leonhardt
    Wachapreague 61k USCGC McCulloch (WAVP-386) moored pierside, circa 1948, location unknown. Robert Hurst
    Wachapreague 71k USCGC McCulloch (WAVP-386) at her berth at the US Coast Guard Station Boston September 1960. © Richard Leonhardt
    Wachapreague 173k USCGC McCulloch (WAVP-386) underway, date and location unknown. Ken Laesser
    Courtesy Joe Pickens BM2 USCG Ret
    Wachapreague 54k USCGC McCulloch (WAVP-386) underway, 29 September 1965, location unknown.
    US Coast Guard photo # CGY092965-08.    		 US Coast Guard Historian's Office
    USS Wachapreague (AGP-8)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    USS Wachapreague (AGP-8) Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Stewart, Harold Arthur, USNR17 May 1944 - 23 October 1945
    02LT. Simms, Ernest Edgar, USN23 October 1945 - 5 June 1946
    USCGC McCulloch (WAVP- 286 / WHEC-386) Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Hogan, Wilbur Clifton, USCG1947
    02CDR. Gannaway, Ted Lane, USCG (USCGA 1951) (exchange with USCGC Unimak)1972
    03CDR. Burt Jr., Ernest Hill, USCG (USCGA 1943)no dates
    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
    Barnegat Class Seaplane Tenders
    Profile and Sky Views - Barnegat Class Small Seaplane Tenders - Lake Washington Shipyard, Houghton, WA.
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Ship Type Index Back To The Small Seaplane Tender (AVP) Photo Index Back To The Motor Torpedo Boat Tender/Patrol Craft Tender (AGP) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 24 September 2021