USCG Cutter Tampa-- Part 1: Served in Revenue Cutter Service, Coast Guard and U.S. Navy.

In the last post, I wrote that today is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of this ship by a torpedo from a German  U-boat during World War I.  I'd never heard of the ship so did some more research.  Of course, good old Wikipedia was the first place I stopped.

United States Coast Guard Cutter Tampa   The ship initially served in the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, then in the U.S. Coast Guard and finally in the U.S. Navy. Commissioned in 1912, it was used extensively in the International Ice Patrol which monitors icebergs, something founded after the sinking of the Titanic.

Its sinking on September 26, 1918, is regarded by some as the largest American combat loss during World War I.

--DaCoot

Happy 226th Birthday to the U.S. Coast Guard

In my World War II blog, Tattooed On Your Soul, I wrote about the sinking of the Coast Guard Cutter Alexander Hamilton in January 1942, the first American ship sunk in the Atlantic after Pearl Harbor.

I also came across this in today's Chicago Tribune:

In 1790 the Revenue Cutter Service, which would be united with the Life Saving Service in 1915 to form the Coast Guard was established.

During the War of 1812, Revenue Service ships were essentially Navy ships.