# USCGC Tiger

The USCGC Tiger (WSC-152) was an Active-class patrol boat of the United States Coast Guard. The vessel guarded the entrance to Pearl Harbor all day and night on December 7, during the Attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II.

## Design and construction

USCGC Tiger (WSC-152) was the 28th of 35 ships in the Active class patrol boat, designed to serve as a "mother ship" in support of Prohibition against bootleggers and smugglers along the coasts. They were meant to be able to stay at sea for long periods of time in any kinds of weather, and were able to expand berthing space via hammocks of the need arises, such as if a large amount of survivors were on board. Built by the American Brown Boveri Electric Corporation of Camden, New Jersey, she was laid down on 1 February 1927. The cutter was launched on 18 April 1927, transferred to the Coast Guard on 29 April 1927 and commissioned on 3 May 1927. Like the rest of her class, she was 125 feet (38 m) long, had a 22-foot-6-inch (6.86 m) beam and a 7-foot-6-inch (2.29 m) draft. A single 3-inch (76 mm) gun was mounted as the offensive weapon as launch. She was numbered as hull No. 346 before being given a name, and launched from slipway J with five other sister ships.

## Service history

Tiger was placed in commission at 11:25 am on 3 May 1927. The vessel operated out of Coast Guard Base Two in Stapleton, New York, until shifting to Norfolk, Virginia, arriving there on 6 June 1933. Subsequently, the 125 ft (38.1 m) cutter was transferred to the Territory of Hawaii and operated out of Honolulu. In mid-1941, she came under jurisdiction of the United States Navy and was assigned to the local defense force of the 14th Naval District. Equipped with depth charges and listening gear, Tiger then operated out of Honolulu Harbor in company with her sister ship USCGC Reliance and the 327 ft (99.7 m) USCGC Taney into late 1941.
On December 7, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the Pacific Fleet at its Pearl Harbor base and surrounding facilities on the island of Oahu.Tiger, patrolling off Barber's Point that morning, won her only Battle Star of the war for participation during the attack.
On December 27, 1941, Tiger came across and rescued fourteen survivors in a lifeboat of the U.S. freighter SS Prusa, which had been torpedoed and sunk by Japanese Submarine I-72 150 miles South of Oahu on December 18th. At the time Tiger was towing one of US freighter Manini's lifeboats, which had been sunk by the same submarine the day before Prusa and her survivors rescued by USS Allen DD-66 earlier that day.
On March 29th, 1942, while patrolling off of the harbor entrance, members of Tiger's crew boarded the American gasoline screw Simba and found an unauthorized passenger aboard. The ship was subsequently ordered back to Honolulu Harbor to discharge the passenger.
Tiger was based out of Honolulu Harbor for the entire war, escorting ships and convoys in and out of the harbor with Reliance, one ship on duty at a time with the other on standby in the harbor with longer breaks occasionally for upgrades and repairs.

## Fate

She was decommissioned on 12 November 1947. On 14 June 1948 the cutter was sold as Polar Merchant #257391, before being completely stripped and used as a floating hull in Tacoma, Washington in 2018.