Treasury - class cutter The Treasury - class high endurance cutters were a group of seven ships launched by the United States Coast Guard between 1936 and 1937 . The class were called the " Treasury - class " because they were each named for former Secretaries of the Treasury . These ships were also collectively known as the " " 327 ' s " " as they were all in length . The Treasury - class cutters proved to be highly adaptable , dependable , versatile and long - lived warships ; most served their country for over 40 years . In the words of naval historian John M . Waters , Jr . , they were truly their nation ' s " maritime workhorses . The 327 ' s battled , through the ' Bloody Winter ' of 1942 - 43 in the North Atlantic , fighting off German U - boats and rescuing survivors from torpedoed convoy ships . They went on to serve as amphibious task force flagships , as search and rescue ( SAR ) ships during the Korean War , on weather patrol , and as naval gunfire support ships during the Vietnam War . Most recently , these ships - that - wouldn ' t - die have done duty in fisheries patrol and drug interdiction . Built for only $ 2 . 5 million each , in terms of cost effectiveness we may never see the likes of these cutters again . " Design and construction . The 327 ' s were designed to meet changing missions of the service as it emerged from the Prohibition era . Because the air passenger trade was expanding both at home and overseas , the Coast Guard believed that cutter - based aircraft would be essential for future high - seas search and rescue . Also , during the mid - 1930s , narcotics smuggling , mostly opium , was on the increase , and long - legged , fairly fast cutters were needed to curtail it . The 327 ' s were an attempt to develop a cutter capable of carrying an airplane in a hangar . The final design was based on the " Erie " - class US Navy gunboats ; the machinery plant and hull below the waterline were identical . This standardization would save money — always paramount in the Coast Guard ' s mind , as the cutters were built in U . S . Navy shipbuilding yards . Thirty - two preliminary designs based upon the Erie class were drawn up before one was finally selected . The healthy sheer forward and the high slope in the deck in the wardrooms was known as the " " Hunnewell Hump . " " Commander ( Constructor ) F . G . Hunnewell , USCG , was the head of the Construction and Repair Department at that time . The seven Treasury - class Coast Guard Cutters were : Displacing 2 , 350 tons with a draft , these ships had a maximum speed of . They had crews of between 120 and 230 depending on whether they were serving in peace or wartime . The ships were originally built with two open centerline 5 " / 51 caliber gun mounts forward , and carried either a single Grumman JF - 2 Duck or Curtiss SOC - 4 aft . Various arrangements of 3 " / 50 and 5 " / 51 guns and depth charge throwers were installed aft when the planes were removed in 1940 - 41 . Postwar armament typically included hedgehog and an enclosed 5 " / 38 caliber gun mount forward and Mark 32 anti - submarine warfare torpedo tubes aft . World War II service . The " " 327 ' s " " were also known for their high " Kill Rate " during World War II . " Campbell " demonstrated Treasury - class anti - submarine warfare suitability escorting convoy HX - 159 in November 1941 . With a kill rate of . 57 per ship , the Treasury - class were the most successful antisubmarine warships . ( US Navy Destroyer Escorts had a kill rate of . 1 ) Treasury - class cutters served as leaders of Mid - Ocean Escort Force group A3 during the winter of 1942 - 43 . " Bibb " and " Ingham " participated in the battles of Convoy SC - 118 and Convoy SC - 121 . " Taney " served in the Pacific and was uniquely armed with four enclosed 5 " / 38 gun mounts in centerline positions where the Erie class gunboats mounted 6 " / 47 guns . The six surviving cutters were converted to amphibious force flagships towards the end of World War II . " Taney " also has the distinction of being one of only two military vessels still afloat that was present during the Pearl Harbor attack , December 7 , 1941 . Fate . With the exception of the " Hamilton " , which was torpedoed and sunk off Iceland 29 January 1942 , all of the Treasury - class ships led very long lives . The " Bibb " and " Duane " were sunk as artificial reefs off the coast of Florida in 1987 . " Campbell " was sunk by the US Navy as a dummy ship on 29 November 1984 . " Spencer " was sold 8 October 1981 for scrap . The " Taney " is currently a museum ship at the Baltimore Maritime Museum , in Baltimore , Maryland and the " Ingham " is part of the Key West Maritime Museum in Key West , Florida .