USS Casco ( AVP - 12 ) The third USS " Casco " ( AVP - 12 ) was a United States Navy " Barnegat " - class small seaplane tender in commission from 1943 to 1947 . Construction and commissioning . " Casco " was laid down on 30 May 1941 at Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton , Washington . She was launched on 15 November 1941 , sponsored by Mrs . W . J . Giles , and commissioned on 27 December 1941 with Commander T . S . Combs in command . World War II service . North Pacific operations . After a period patrolling and caring for seaplanes off the coast of the Pacific Northwest , " Casco " arrived at Sitka , Alaska , on 5 May 1942 for duty surveying Aleutian waters , laying moorings for seaplane s , and providing seaplane tender services . Based at Cold Bay , she operated at Dutch Harbor , Chernofski Harbor , Kodiak , and Nazan Bay . Torpedoed while at anchor . While lying at anchor in Nazan Bay on 30 August 1942 , " Casco " was torpedo ed by the Japan ese submarine " RO - 61 " . The resulting explosion killed five of her men and wounded 20 , but prompt and clearheaded action brought flooding to a halt and got the ship underway so that she could be beached and later salvaged . " Casco " was refloated on 12 September 1942 , and , after emergency repairs at Dutch Harbor and Kodiak , she received a thorough overhaul at Puget Sound Navy Yard . Continued North Pacific operations . " Casco " returned to duty in the Aleutian Islands in March 1943 , operating at Constantine Harbor , Amchitka , as tender to Fleet Air Wing Four ( FAW - 4 ) . In May 1943 she moved to Attu , to care for the seaplanes conducting antisubmarine patrol and search missions in support of the United States Army ' s invasion of Attu , guarding against further Japanese reinforcement or penetration of the Aleutians . " Casco " s service in these waters where weather was often as formidable an enemy as the Japanese ended in November 1943 , when she left for overhaul at Puget Sound Navy Yard . Central Pacific operations . " Casco " arrived in the Marshall Islands in February 1944 to tend seaplanes of patrol squadrons at Majuro and Kwajalein during the American occupation of those atolls , and later at Eniwetok until September 1944 . Temporarily assigned to carry cargo for the buildup for the invasion of the Philippine Islands , she shuttled between Saipan , Ulithi Atoll , and the Palau Islands until November 1944 , then returned to seaplane tender duty , in the Palaus until January 1945 , and at Ulithi until April 1945 . After overhaul at Saipan , she arrived in Kerama Retto on 25 April 1945 to care not only for seaplanes , but also for a motor torpedo boat squadron , all engaged in the American invasion and occupation of Okinawa . " Casco " returning to the United States West Coast in July 1945 for upkeep , and was there when hostilities with Japan ceased and World War II came to an end on 15 August 1945 . Honors and awards . " Casco " received three battle stars for World War II service . Post - World War II U . S . Navy service . Her upkeep completed in September 1945 , " Casco " returned to the Philippines in October 1945 . Departing for the United States in April 1946 , she then briefly assumed training duties at Galveston , Texas . Decommissioning . " Casco " was decommissioned on 10 April 1947 and laid up in the Atlantic Reserve Fleet at Orange , Texas . United States Coast Guard service . The U . S . Navy loaned " Casco " to the United States Coast Guard on 19 April 1949 . The Coast Guard commissioned her as USCGC " Casco " ( WAVP - 370 ) the same day , and redesignated her WHEC - 370 in 1966 . During her Coast Guard career , her primary duty was to patrol ocean stations in the North Atlantic Ocean , providing weather reporting services and engaging in search - and - rescue and law - enforcement operations . Final disposition . The Coast Guard returned " Casco " to the U . S . Navy in March 1969 , and she was struck from the Naval Vessel Register . She was sunk as a target in the North Atlantic at latitude 36°40 ' North , longitude 24°16 ' West on 15 May 1969 . Torpedoed twice , she sank at 16 : 33 hours , less than five minutes after the second torpedo struck her on her starboard side .