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Revenue Cutter Photo Archive

USCGC Tuscarora (CG 7)



Call sign (Early 1919):
George - Vice - Fox - Sail

Call sign (Late 1919):
Nan - Rush - Love

ex-USRC Tuscarora



Call sign (1912):
Rush - Cast - Love


Tuscarora served the Revenue Cutter Service, the U. S. Navy and the Coast Guard

Revenue Cutter:

  • Built in 1901 by the William R. Trigg Co., Richmond, VA
  • Launched 12 October 1901
  • Conducted trials 26 August 1902 at Richmond
  • Accepted 29 September 1902
  • Commissioned USRC Tuscarora 27 December 1902 at Baltimore, MD
  • Struck ledge off St. Vital Point, MI 20 June 1913. Wrecking tug Favorite towed Tuscarora to Manitowoc, WI for repairs
  • In dock for repairs 27 June - 8 July 1913
  • Acquired by the Navy 6 April 1917
  • Commissioned USS Tuscarora 7 April 1917
  • Returned to the Treasury Department 28 August 1919
  • Designated CG-7
  • Transferred to the Navy 7 September 1933
  • Returned to Coast Guard 1 November 1933 to assist with the Cuban Expedition
  • Returned to Coast Guard 1 November 1933
  • Decommissioned 1 May 1936
  • Sold in 1937 to Texas Refrigerator Steamship Lines of New York, NY for use as a banana boat
  • Sold for scrap in 1939 to the Boston Iron & Metal Company of Baltimore, Maryland.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 620 t.
    1919 - 739 t.
    1933 - 849 t.
  • Length 178'
  • Beam 30'
  • Draft 10' 11"
    1919 - 15' 3"
  • Cruising speed 4.2 kts.
  • Complement 65
    1919 - 64
  • Armament: Two 6-pounders
    1917 - One 3"/50 mount, one 6-pounder, two machine guns and two depth charge tracks
    1919 - One 3"/50 mount
  • Propulsion: Two Babcock and Wilcox single ended boilers, one vertical triple expansion steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Tuscarora 114k Original photo: U.S. Coast Guard photo
    Replacement photo: Photo from Historical Collections of the Great Lakes    		 Original photo: U.S. Coast Guard
    Replacement photo: John Spivey
    Tuscarora 107k c. 1908
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin
    U.S. Navy photo NH 71060    		 Naval History and Heritage Command
    Commanding Officers
    01CAPT(T) Hiram R. Searles, USCG1919
    Courtesy Joe Radigan
    Revenue Cutter History:

    A Native American people formerly inhabiting parts of North Carolina, with present-day populations in western New York and southeast Ontario, Canada. The Tuscarora migrated northward in the 18th century, joining the Iroquois confederacy in 1722 and adopting aspects of the Iroquois culture. Also a mountain range in south-central Pennsylvania. The name is Iroquois Indian and means
    "hemp gatherers."

    Tuscarora was built in Richmond, Virginia by the William R. Trigg Company and was launched on 12 October 1901. After trials she was accepted by the Revenue Cutter Service on 29 September 1902 and was commissioned at Baltimore, Maryland on 27 December 1902. She was assigned to duty on the Great Lakes. She was based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and her cruising grounds included the areas of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. Her main duties were customs, law enforcement, patrolling regattas, and search and rescue. Like other cutters on duty on the Great Lakes, she was laid up during the
    winter months.

    During the World War I period she operated under the Navy. On 1 October 1919 she was stationed at the Naval Station, Key West, Florida, but only long enough to undergo repairs and overhauling. After performing special duties en route north along the Atlantic coast, she resumed her permanent station at Milwaukee on 6 October 1920.

    On 17 December 1926 she was transferred to Boston, Massachusetts. By 22 March 1930 her new permanent home-port was St. Petersburg, Florida and she was assigned to the Gulf Division. During 1931 she temporarily operated out of Mobile, Alabama and then out of Section Base 21 at St. Petersburg.

    From 6 September to 1 November 1933 she assisted the Navy on the Cuban Expedition, after which she returned to St. Petersburg. Tuscarora was decommissioned on 1 May 1936, as the Coast Guard's all-out war against smuggling during the Prohibition era drew to a close.

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