Bellefonte, 1944
WYP-373
History:
Bellefonte was acquired from the Fish & Wildlife Service and was commissioned on 6 April 1944. She had been built by the Bath Iron Works in 1926. Her mariform bow was especially constructed for ice-breaking, but her lack of stability prevented her from serving as planned. Because the submarine threat had abated by the time she entered service, she was decommissioned on 22 August 1944 and returned to the Fish & Wildlife Service. For most of her short Coast Guard career she had undergone conversion to a patrol boat, including the addition of one 3"/50, two 20mm/80, two depth charge projectors, two depth charge tracks, and two mousetraps.
Sources:
Cutter History File. USCG Historian's Office, USCG HQ, Washington, D.C.
Robert Scheina. U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1982.