View source for United States Coast Guard Cutter

{{Short description|Commissioned vessel of the U.S. Coast Guard}}
{{Distinguish|text=[[United States Coast Guard Cutters]] hockey team}}
[[File:WMEC Harriet Lane.jpg|thumb|250px|USCGC ''[[USCGC Harriet Lane (WMEC-903)|Harriet Lane]]'', a Medium Endurance Cutter (WMEC)]]

'''United States Coast Guard Cutter''' is the term used by the [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guard]] for its [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] vessels.  They are {{convert|65|ft|m|1}} or greater in length and have a permanently assigned crew with accommodations aboard.<ref name=USCGHO1>{{cite web |title=Frequently Asked Questions |url=https://www.history.uscg.mil/Frequently-Asked-Questions/ |website=U.S. Coast Guard Historic Topics |publisher=U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office |access-date=3 March 2023}}</ref><ref name=Cutler65>{{cite book|last=Cutler|first=Deborah W. and Thomas J. Cutler|title=Dictionary of Naval Terms|year=2005|publisher=Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland|isbn=978-1-59114-150-1|page=65}}</ref>  They carry the [[ship prefix]] '''USCGC'''.

== History of the USCG cutters ==
The [[Revenue Marine]] and the [[Revenue Cutter Service]], as it was known variously throughout the late 18th and the 19th centuries, referred to its ships as [[Cutter (boat)|cutter]]s.  The term is English in origin and refers to a specific type of vessel, namely, "a small, decked ship with one [[Mast (sailing)|mast]] and [[bowsprit]], with a [[Gaff rig|gaff]] [[mainsail]] on a [[Boom (sailing)|boom]], a square yard and [[topsail]], and two [[jib]]s or a jib and a [[staysail]]."<ref name=Kemp221>Peter Kemp, ed. (1976). ''The Oxford Companion to Ships & the Sea''. London: Oxford University Press. pp. 221–222.</ref> With general usage, that term came to define any vessel of the [[United Kingdom]]'s [[HM Customs and Excise]] and the term was adopted by the [[U.S. Treasury Department]] at the creation of what would become the Revenue Marine.  Since that time, no matter what the vessel type, the service has referred to its vessels with permanently assigned crews as cutters.

===First ten cutters===
[[File:USRC Massachusetts (1791).jpg|thumb|250px|Contemporary painting of a [[Cutter_(boat)#Customs_services|Revenue Marine cutter]] (possibly [[USRC Massachusetts (1791)|USRC ''Massachusetts'']])]]

In 1790, Congress authorized the [[Secretary of the Treasury]], [[Alexander Hamilton]], to create a maritime service to enforce customs laws (1 Stat. L. 145, 175; 4 August 1790).  Alternatively known as the system of cutters, Revenue Service, and Revenue-Marine this service was officially named the Revenue Cutter Service (12 Stat. L., 639) in 1863. This service was placed under the control of the Treasury Department. The first ten cutters were:<ref name=USCGHO1 /><ref name=Willoughby3>{{cite book |last=Willoughby |first=Malcolm F. |title =The U.S. Coast Guard in World War II |url=https://archive.org/details/uscoastguardinw00will |url-access=registration |publisher =[[United States Naval Institute]] |date =1957 |location =[[Annapolis, Maryland]] |page =[https://archive.org/details/uscoastguardinw00will/page/3 3] }}</ref>

* [[USRC Vigilant (1791)|USRC ''Vigilant'']]
* [[USRC Active (1791)|USRC ''Active'']]  
* [[USRC General Green|USRC ''General Green'']]  
* [[USRC Massachusetts (1791)|USRC ''Massachusetts'']]  
* [[USRC Scammel (1791)|USRC ''Scammel'']]  
* [[USRC Argus|USRC ''Argus'']]  
* [[USRC Virginia (1791)|USRC ''Virginia'']]  
* [[USRC Diligence|USRC ''Diligence'']]  
* [[USRC South Carolina|USRC ''South Carolina'']]  
* [[USRC Eagle|USRC ''Eagle'']]

==Current USCG cutter classes and types==
[[File:USCGCPolarSea.jpg|thumb|250px|USCG icebreaker {{USCGC|Polar Sea|WAGB-11|2}}]]
[[File:WLIC Saginaw.jpg|thumb|250px|USCG [[USCG inland construction tender|Inland Construction Tender]] ''Saginaw'']]

* 420' Icebreaker [[USCGC Healy (WAGB-20)|''Healy'']] (WAGB)
* 418' [[National Security Cutter]] (WMSL) 
* 399' [[Polar-class icebreaker]] (WAGB) 
* 360' [[Heritage-class_cutter|Offshore Patrol Cutter]] (WMSM)
* 295' {{USCGC|Eagle|WIX-327|6}} (WIX) 
* 282' [[Edenton-class salvage and rescue ship]], converted to [[Medium Endurance Cutter]] (WMEC) 
* 270' and 210' [[Medium Endurance Cutter]] (WMEC) 
* 240' {{USCGC|Mackinaw|WLBB-30|6}} (WLBB) 
* 225' [[USCG seagoing buoy tender|Seagoing Buoy Tender]] (WLB)
* 175' [[Keeper-class cutter|Coastal Buoy Tender]] (WLM)
* 160' [[USCG inland construction tender|Inland Construction Tender]] (WLIC)
* 154' [[Sentinel-class cutter]] (WPC) 
* 140' [[Bay-class icebreaking tug]] (WTGB)
* 100' [[USCG inland buoy tender|Inland Buoy Tender]] (WLI) 
* 100' [[USCG inland construction tender|Inland Construction Tender]] (WLIC) 
* 87' [[Marine Protector-class coastal patrol boat]] (WPB)
* 75' [[River Buoy Tender]] (WLR)
* 75' [[USCG inland construction tender|Inland Construction Tender]] (WLIC)
* 65' [[River Buoy Tender]] (WLR)
* 65' [[USCG inland buoy tender|Inland Buoy Tender]] (WLI)
* 65' [[USCG 65' Small harbor tug|Small Harbor Tug]] (WYTL)

==Historic USCG cutter classes and types==
[[File:WLB Firebush.jpg|thumb|250px|USCG {{Sclass|Iris|buoy tender}} ''[[USCGC Firebush (WLB-393)|Firebush]]'']]
[[File:WDE Durant.jpg|thumb|250px|USCG {{Sclass|Edsall|cutter|1}} ''[[USS Durant (DER-389)|Durant]]'']]

* 378' [[High endurance cutter]] (WHEC)
* 327' {{Sclass2|Treasury|cutter|1}} (WPG)
* 311' {{Sclass|Casco|cutter|1}} (WAVP)
* 306' {{Sclass|Edsall|cutter|1}} (WDE)
* 269' {{Sclass2|Wind|icebreaker|1}} (WAGB)
* 255' {{Sclass|Owasco|cutter|1}} 
* 250' {{Sclass2|Lake|cutter|1}}
* 240' {{Sclass|Tampa|cutter|1}}
* 230' [[USCGC Storis (WMEC-38)|Light Icebreaker]], redesignated [[Medium Endurance Cutter]] (WMEC) 
* 213' {{Sclass|Diver|rescue and salvage ship|1}}
* 213' [[Medium Endurance Cutter]] (WMEC)
* 205' {{Sclass|Cherokee|fleet tug|1}}, converted to (WAT) cutter, redesignated ([[medium endurance cutter|WMEC]]) 
* 180' [[USCG seagoing buoy tender|Seagoing buoy tender]] (WLB)
* 180' [[Oceanographic vessel]] (WAGO)
* 165' {{Sclass|Thetis|patrol boat}}
* 165' {{Sclass|Algonquin|patrol boat|1}} 
* 165' {{Sclass|Tallapoosa|boat|1}} 
* 157' {{Sclass2|Red|coastal buoy tender}} (WLM)
* 133' {{Sclass2|White|coastal buoy tender}} (WLM)
* 125' {{Sclass|Active|patrol boat|1}} (WSC)
* 123' [[Patrol boat (Deepwater Modified)]] ([[USCG Patrol Boat|WPB]])
* 110' [[Island-class patrol boat]] (WPB)
* 110' {{Sclass|Calumet|harbor tug}} (WYTM)
* 110' {{Sclass|Apalachee|harbor tug|1}} (WYTM)
* 110' {{Sclass|Manitou|harbor tug|1}} (WYTM)
* 95' {{sclass2|Cape|cutter|1}} (WPB)
* 82' {{sclass2|Point|cutter|1}} (WPB)

==See also==
* [[List of equipment of the United States Coast Guard]]
* [[United States Ship]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

{{US Coast Guard navbox}}
{{Warship types of the 19th & 20th centuries}}

[[Category:Ships of the United States Coast Guard| ]]
[[Category:Ship prefixes]]
[[Category:Ship types]]