USCGC_Morris_(WSC-147)
USCGC Morris (WSC-147), was a 125 ft (38 m) United States Coast Guard Active-class patrol boat in commission from 1927 to 1971. She was named for Robert Morris, (1734–1806) who was appointed in 1789 as United States Senator from Pennsylvania.[1] In May 1966, she was redesignated as (WMEC-147).
Active class patrol boat, 1962 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USCGC Morris |
| Namesake | Robert Morris |
| Operator |
|
| Builder | American Brown Boveri Electric Corporation, Camden, New Jersey |
| Cost | US$63,163 |
| Launched | 4 April 1927 |
| Commissioned | 19 April 1927 |
| Decommissioned | 7 August 1971 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Donated to Liberty Maritime Museum |
| Status | Museum ship at Sacramento River |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Active-class patrol boat |
| Displacement | 232 tons (trial) |
| Length | 125 ft (38 m) |
| Beam | 23 ft 6 in (7.16 m) |
| Draft | 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) |
| Installed power | After 1938 re-engining: 1,200 brake horsepower (0.9 megawatt) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed |
|
| Range | In 1945: 2,900 nautical miles (5,370 kilometers) at 10 knots; 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 kilometers) at 7 knots |
| Complement |
|
| Sensors and processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
Active-class were designed for trailing the "mother ships" along the outer line of patrol during Prohibition. They were constructed at a cost of $63,173 each. They gained a reputation for durability that was only enhanced by their re-engining in the late 1930s; their original 6-cylinder diesels were replaced by significantly more powerful 8-cylinder units that used the original engine beds and gave the vessels an additional 3 knots. All served in World War II, but two, the Jackson and Bedloe, were lost in a storm in 1944. Ten were refitted as buoy tenders during the war and reverted to patrol work afterward.
Originally designated WPC, for patrol craft, they were re-designated WSC, for sub chaser, in February 1942, during World War II. The "W" appended to the SC (Sub Chaser) designation identified vessels as belonging to the U.S. Coast Guard. Those remaining in service in May 1966 were re-designated as medium endurance cutters, WMEC.
Morris was laid down and launched by American Brown Boveri Electric Corporation, Camden on 4 April 1927. She was commissioned on 19 April 1927.
Her command was transferred to the US Navy in 1941 until 1946.
The Morris, identifiable by its "W147" marking, plays a prominent role in a 1961 episode of the television series Perry Mason entitled "The Case of the Traveling Treasure."[2]
In May 1966, she was redesignated as WMEC-147. In 1971, USCGC Morris was the last Active-class ship to be decommissioned.
Circa 2015, the Morris was preserved at the Liberty Maritime Museum in Sacramento, California.[3]
In 2019, the ship was listed for sale on Craigslist.[4]
In May 2021, it was announced that the Marine Aviation Museum in Texas had acquired the ship and preparations were underway to sail her to Texas under her own power.[5] She transited the Panama Canal in August 2021 and arrived in Galveston, Texas, on September 8, 2021.[6]
- "MORRIS WMEC 147 - NavalCoverMuseum". www.navalcovermuseum.org. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- Marks, Arthur (4 November 1961), The Case of the Travelling Treasure, Perry Mason, retrieved 1 October 2021
- "U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Morris". libertymaritime.com. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- Canney, Donald L. (1995). U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790–1935. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-1-55750-101-1.
- Flynn, Jim; Lortz, Ed; Lukas, Holger (March 2018). "Answer 39/48". Warship International. LV (January 2018): 23–25. ISSN 0043-0374.
- Johnson, Robert Irwin (1987). Guardians of the Sea, History of the United States Coast Guard, 1915 to the Present. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-0-87021-720-3.
- Scheina, Robert L. (1982). U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-0-87021-717-3.
- Scheina, Robert L. (1990). U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft, 1946–1990. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-0-87021-719-7.
Websites
- "13 May 1986". Daily Chronology of Coast Guard History. U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
- "Crawford, 1927" (asp). Cutters, Craft & U.S. Coast Guard-Manned Army & Navy Vessels. U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- "Record of Movements, Vessels of the United States Coast Guard, 1790–December 31, 1933" (PDF). U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- "R/V Crawford 1956–1969". History of WHOI Ships. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
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