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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USCGC Campbell (WHEC-32)
ex
 USCGC Campbell (WPG-32) (1946 - 1965)
 USCGC Campbell (WAGC-32) (1942 - 1946)
 USCGC Campbell (WPG-32) (1937 - 1942)
 USCGC George W. Campbell (WPG-32) (1936 - 1937)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Romeo - Delta - Charlie
 NRDC
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons





Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Presidential Unit Citation - China Service Medal
Second Row - American Defense Service Medal (with fleet clasp) - American Campaign Medal (1) - Europe-Africa Middle East Campaign Medal (4)
Third Row - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal - Navy Occupation Service Medal
Fourth Row - National Defense Service Medal (2) - Vietnam Service Medal (2) - Philippines Presidential Unit Citation
Fifth Row - Philippines Liberation Medal - Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation w/ Gallantry Cross w/Palm - Republic of Vietnam Campaign Service Medal
Treasury Class Coast Guard Cutter:
  • Laid down, 1 May 1935, as cutter George W. Campbell at the Philadelphia Navy Yard
  • Launched, 3 June 1936
  • Commissioned USCGC George W. Campbell (WPG-32), 16 June 1936, homeported at Stapleton, N.Y. CDR E.G. Rose, USCG in Command
  • From 1936 to 1939 her assignment was to conduct search and rescue and law enforcement patrols and cadet practice cruises. During this time her official name was shortened to just Campbell
  • On 5 September 1939 President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed American neutrality in the conflict and ordered the formation of a neutrality patrol by the Navy
  • Campbell conducted five neutrality patrols between Ocotber 1939 and January 1940
  • Her next assignment was patrolling Atlantic Ocean Weather Stations providing weather data for merchant ships and weather and position reports for Pan American Airways flying boats
  • On 5 October 1940, Campbell was transferred to US Navy control and dispatched to Lisbon, Portugal, for what was nicknamed "Flagpole Duty." She was assigned to protect US nationals and maintain a US presence there.
  • On 6 June 1941 she reported to the commanding officer of the Third Naval District for duty Inshore Patrol Force
  • The Executive Order of 11 September 1941, assigned all units, vessels, and personnel of the Coast Guard were ordered to operate as part of the Navy
  • From 1942 to 1944 Campbell deployed as an Atlantic Convoy escort and flagship.
  • January and February March 1945 Campbell was at Boston Navy Yard undergoing conversion to an AGC [Amphibious Command & Control] vessel. Her designation then changed to WAGC-32
  • On May 13, 1945 she departed Norfolk bound for Panama and proceeded through the canal reaching Pearl Harbor, 27 May 1945
  • On 24 July, 1945, when she Saipan where she anchored on 3 August.
  • From Saipan she proceeded Leyte via Manila, arriving on the 22 August
  • USCG Campbell (AGC-32) was assigned to Occupation servie in the Asiatic-Pacific Area from 8 September to 9 November 1945
  • On 1 October, 1945, Campbell was anchored at Wakanoura Wan, Honshu, Japan, as flagship for Communications Service Division 103
  • Campbell departed Sasebo, 30 November reporting to District Coast Guard Office, San Diego ,21 December 1945, for further order
  • On the 23rd she proceeded to Charleston, via the Panama Canal, where she underwent a re-conversion back to her peacetime configuration for operation on ocean-weather stations
  • Campbell (WPG-32) completed modifications in early May, 1946, and then sailed to her home port of Brooklyn, New York, arriving there on 17 May
  • Campbell's next assignment was duty on the various Weather Stations in the Atlantic. Also during these post-war years the Campbell conducted many search and rescue cases and sailed on cadet practice cruises.
  • On 1 May 1965 the Treasury class vessels were re-designated as High Endurance Cutters or WHEC. This designation indicated a multi-mission ship able to operate at sea for 30-45 days without support, Campbell was re-designated WHEC-32.
  • In January 1968 Campbell joined Coast Guard Squadron Three, which consisted of high endurance cutters that were participating in the Navy's Operation Market Time interdiction effort in the waters off Vietnam.
  • Campbell next served as US Seventh Fleet station ship at Hong Kong, arriving there on 11 July 1968
  • On 31 July she completed station ship duty and departed for Subic Bay and then for home.
  • Once home Campbell returned to her traditional peace-time duties of sailing on ocean stations and conducting search and rescue operations, as well as sailing on cadet practice cruises.
  • The mid-1970s were a period of transition for the Coast Guard with the passage of the Fisheries Conservation and Management Act and the nation's shift towards increased interdiction of narcotics smugglers.
  • During this period Campbell conducted operations called for off-shore patrols of up to three weeks and became the emphasis for the Coast Guard's high endurance cutter fleet.
  • Decommissioned, 1 April 1982
  • Final Disposition, sunk as a target by the U.S. Navy,29 November 1984, in the waters off Hawaii.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 2,350 t. (lt)
    Length 327' 0"
    Beam 41' 0"
    Draft 12' 6" (max.)
    Speed 19.5 kts (max)
    Cruising Range @ 13.0 knots, 7,000 nautical miles
    Complement
    1937
    12 officers
    4 warrant officers
    107 enlisted
    1941
    16 officers
    5 warrant officers
    202 enlisted
    1966
    10 officers
    3 warrant officers
    133 enlisted
    Electronics
    1943 HF/DF
    1945 Radar - SK, SG-1
    1966 Radar AN/SPS-29D, AN/SPA-52
    1945 Fire Control Radar - Mk-26
    1966 Fire Control Radar - Mk-26 MOD 4
    1945 Sonar - QC series
    1966 Sonar - SQS-11
    Armament
    1936
    two single 5"/51 cal gun mounts
    two 6-pdrs
    one 1-pdr
    1941
    three single 5"/51 cal gun mounts
    three single 3"/50 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    four .50 caliber Browning Machine Guns
    two depth charge racks
    one"Y" gun depth charge projector
    1943
    two single 5"/51 cal gun mounts
    four single 3"/50 cal dual gun mounts
    two single 20mm/80 AA gun mounts
    one Hedgehog
    six "K" gun depth charge projectors
    two depth charge racks
    1945
    two single 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    three twin 40mm/60 AA gun mounts
    four single 20mm/80 AA gun mounts
    1946
    one single 5"/38 cal dual gun mount
    one twin 40mm;/60 AA gun mount
    eight single 20mm/80 AA gun mounts
    one Hedgehog
    1966
    one single 5"/38 MK30 Mod75 cal dual purpose gun mount w/ MK 52 MOD 3 director
    one MK 10-1 Hedgehog
    two (P&S) x Mk 32 MOD 5 TT
    four MK 44 MOD 1 torpedoes
    two .50 cal. MK-2 Browning Machine Guns
    two MK-13 high altitude parachute flare mortars
    Aircraft
    1937, Curtiss SOC-4 USCG No. V172 (1937-1938)
    1939, Grumman JF-2, USCG No. V146 (1939-)
    Fuel Capacity NSFO 135,180 gallons (547 tons)
    Propulsion
    two Westinghouse double-reduction geared turbines
    two Babcock & Wilcox sectional express, air-encased, 400 psi, 200° superheat
    two 9' three-bladed propellers, 6,200shp (1966)
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
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    Campbell
    100132301    		 137k USCGC Campbell (WAGC-32) as an amphibious force flagship, 1945. Mainmast has been added, forward 5/38 inch gun moved to deck level, and amidships superstructure built up.
    Image scanned from "US Warships of World War 11", by Paul H. Silverstone    		 Robert Hurst
    USCGC Campbell (WPG-32 / WAGC-32 / WHEC-32)
    History from USCG Historian's Office
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR Rose, Earl Griffith, USCG (RCS 1913) :RADM16 June 1936-1936
    02CDR Baylis, John Stansbury, USCG (MMA 1907) :COMO1936-1937
    03CDR Lucas, Russell Lord, USCG1937-1939
    04LCDR Wood, Russell Ernest, USCG (USCGA 1925) :VADM1939-1939
    05CDR Greenspun, Joseph, USCG (USCGA 1918) :RADMSeptember 1939-7 May 1941
    06CDR McNeil, Donald Carroll, USCG7 May 1941-1942
    07CAPT Hirschfield, James Albert, USCG (USCGA 1925) :VADM1942-May 1945
    08CAPT Cowart, Kenneth Keith, USCG (USCGA 1926) :VADMMay 1945-January 1944
    09CDR Gray, Samuel Francis, USCGJanuary 1944-December 1945
    10CDR Garfield, Montegue F., USCGDecember 1945-January 1947
    11CDR Rohnke, Oscar Carl (Gus), USCG (USCGA 1932)January 1947-January 1948
    12CAPT Jordan, Beckwith, USCG (USCGA 1925) :COMOJanuary 1948-March 1949
    13CAPT Burton, Watson Archibald, USCGMarch 1949- September 1950
    14CAPT Wuensch, Henry Jacob, USCG (USCGA 1929) :RADMSeptember 1950-October 1952
    15CAPT Fabik, Theodore Joseph, USCG (USCGA 1932October 1952-June 1954
    16CAPT Leslie, George Rowell, USCG (USCGA 1932)June 1954-1956
    17CAPT Chafee, Hubert Roe, USCG (USCGA 1933)1956-1957
    18CAPT Scheiber, Fred Jacob, USCG (USCGA 1936)1957-1959
    19CAPT Wilcox, Robert USCG, (USCGA 1936)1959-1961
    20CAPT Latimer, John Patterson, USCG (USCGA 1940)1961-1963
    21CAPT Burhorst, Paul Edward, USCG (USCGA 1940)1963-1966
    22CAPT Banner, Roger HIcks, USCG (USCGA 1943)1966-July 1967
    23CAPT Long Jr., Robert Burney, USCG USCGA 1946)July 1967-1969
    24CDR/CAPT Shuman, Sydney M., USCG1969-1971
    25CDR/CAPT Howland, David Gridley, USCG (USCGA 1953)1971-1973
    26CDR/CAPT Del Giorno, Ralph Z., USCG (USCGA 1957)1973-July 1974
    27CDR Hagstrom, Axel Jack USCGJuly 1974-1976
    28CDR Shanower, James Lowell, USCG (USCGA 19611976-June 1977
    29CAPT Wight, Richard H. (Dick), USCGJune 1977-July 1979
    30CAPT Cunningham, David Frederick, USCG (USCGA 1960)July 1979-1981
    31CDR Wright, Richard Walter, USCG (USCGA 1966)1981 1April 1982
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
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    Last Updated 1 September 2023