History
United States
NameWilliam Sparling
NamesakeWilliam Sparling
OperatorUnited States Coast Guard
BuilderBollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana
Sponsored byCaroline Sparling
AcquiredJuly 20, 2023[1]
CommissionedOctober 19, 2023
HomeportBoston, Massachusetts
IdentificationHull number: WPC-1154
MottoCourageous Devotion[2]
Statusin active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class and typeSentinel-class cutter
Displacement353 long tons (359 t)
Length46.8 m (154 ft)
Beam8.11 m (26.6 ft)
Depth2.9 m (9.5 ft)
Propulsion
  • 2 × 4,300 kW (5,800 shp)
  • 1 × 75 kW (101 shp) bow thruster
Speed28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph)
Range2,500 nautical miles (4,600 km; 2,900 mi)
Endurance5 days
Boats & landing
craft carried		1 × Cutter Boat - Over the Horizon Interceptor
Complement4 officers, 20 crew
Sensors and
processing systems		L-3 C4ISR suite
Armament
NotesFirst Commanding Officer LT Jacklyn Kokomoor

USCGC William Sparling (WPC-1154) is the United States Coast Guard's 54th Sentinel-class cutter.[3][4]

Design

Like her sister ships, William Sparling is designed to perform search and rescue missions, port security, and the interception of smugglers.[5] She is armed with a remotely-controlled, gyro-stabilized 25 mm autocannon, four crew served M2 Browning machine guns, and light arms. She is equipped with a stern launching ramp, that allows her to launch or retrieve a water-jet propelled high-speed auxiliary boat, without first coming to a stop. Her high-speed boat has over-the-horizon capability, and is useful for inspecting other vessels, and deploying boarding parties.

The crew's drinking water needs are met through a desalination unit.[6] The crew mess is equipped with a television with satellite reception.

Operational career

On 15 August 2022, it was announced that William Sparling would be homeported in Boston, Massachusetts.[7]

The vessel's manufacturer, Bollinger Shipyards, of Lockport, Louisiana, delivered the ship to the Coast Guard, for her sea trials, in Key West, on July 20, 2023.[1] She was commissioned at Station Portsmouth Harbor in New Castle, New Hampshire on October 19, 2023. Her sponsor was William "Bill" Sparling's widow Caroline Sparling and her first commanding officer was Lt. Jacklyn "Jackie" Kokomoor.[8][9]

Namesake

In 2010, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles "Skip" W. Bowen, who was then the United States Coast Guard's most senior non-commissioned officer, proposed that all 58 cutters in the Sentinel class should be named after enlisted sailors in the Coast Guard, or one of its precursor services, who were recognized for their heroism.[10][11] The Coast Guard chose William Sparling as the namesake of the 54th cutter.[12] Sparling, and three other Coast Guard sailors, piloted the first landing craft during the United States's first amphibious landing, in the Pacific Theater, during World War II.[13] Sparling, and his three colleagues were each awarded a Silver Star medal for this task. His colleagues Daniel Tarr, Harold Miller and Glen Harris have Sentinel-class cutters named after them.

References

  1. 1 2 "Coast Guard accepts 54th fast response cutter" (Press release). United States Coast Guard. 2023-07-21. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  2. ↑ "USCGC William Sparling (WPC 1154) Coat of Arms". The Institute of Heraldry. United States Army. 2023-09-29. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  3. ↑ "Coast Guard accepts 36th fast response cutter". United States Coast Guard. 2019-11-07. Retrieved 2020-01-15. The Coast Guard accepted delivery of the 36th fast response cutter (FRC), Daniel Tarr, in Key West, Florida, Nov. 7. The cutter will be the first of three planned FRCs stationed in Galveston, Texas.
  4. ↑ "Daniel Tarr Coast Guard Cutter Commissioned in Galveston, Texas". Eastern Shore Post. 2020-01-09. Retrieved 2020-01-15. The USCGC Daniel Tarr will be commissioned Jan. 10 in Galveston, Texas, after the Coast Guard accepted delivery of the vessel in Key West, Fla., in November.
  5. ↑ "FRC Plan B: The Sentinel Class". Defense Industry Daily. May 2, 2014. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-03. All of these boats will be named after enlisted Coast Guard heroes, who distinguished themselves in USCG or military service. The first 25 have been named, but only 8 have been commissioned...
  6. ↑ Jacqueline L. Urgo (November 19, 2016). "Coast Guard to get 'game changer' cutter to save lives and catch criminals". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on November 20, 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-19. Although the cutter is far from luxurious, its crew quarters provide slightly more room and comfort than earlier models, with larger staterooms, more toilets and sinks, greater storage space, and DirecTV access in the mess areas.
  7. ↑ "ALCGENL 150/22- AY23 Off Season Solicitation - CGC William Sparling (WPC-1154)". U.S. Coast Guard. 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2022-08-27. PSC-EPM-2 is soliciting candidates for the pre-commissioning crew of USCGC William Sparling (WPC-1154), the fifth FRC homeported in Boston, MA.
  8. ↑ O'Brien, Kelly (2023-10-19). "US Coast Guard commissions new fast response cutter in Portsmouth: Cutter named after Boatswain's Mate First Class William Sparling". WMUR 9 ABC. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  9. ↑ "Fifth New England-based fast response cutter commissioned in New Castle, New Hampshire". U.S. Coast Guard. 2023-10-23. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  10. ↑ Susan Schept (March 22, 2010). "Enlisted heroes honored". United States Coast Guard. Archived from the original on December 3, 2011. Retrieved 2013-02-01. After the passing of several well-known Coast Guard heroes last year, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles "Skip" Bowen mentioned in his blog that the Coast Guard does not do enough to honor its fallen heroes.
  11. ↑ "U.S. Coast Guard announces name for first Sentinel-class cutter". March 22, 2010. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved 2013-02-01. Previously designated to be named the Coast Guard Cutter Sentinel, the cutter Bernard C. Webber will be the first of the service's new 153-foot patrol cutters. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen approved the change of the cutter's name to allow this class of vessels to be named after outstanding enlisted members who demonstrated exceptional heroism in the line of duty. This will be the first class of cutters to be named exclusively for enlisted members of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services.
  12. ↑ "Coast Guard Aligns Names with Hull Numbers for its Sentinel-class FRCs". Seapower magazine. Washington DC. 2017-12-12. Retrieved 2017-12-09. The U.S. Coast Guard has announced the names and corresponding hull numbers for its next 20 Sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs), each vessel being named for a deceased leader, trailblazer or hero of the Coast Guard and its predecessor services of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, the U.S. Lifesaving Service and the U.S. Lighthouse Service, according to a Dec. 12 Coast Guard release.
  13. ↑ William H. Thiesen (2018-08-09). "The Long Blue Line: Tulagi's coxswains – the service's 1st Silver Star recipients". Coast Guard Compass. Retrieved 2020-01-09. For landing the Marines' first wave at Tulagi, the Navy awarded Silver Star Medals to coxswains Tarr, Sparling, Miller and Harris and advanced them in their rating. They were the first enlisted men in the Coast Guard to receive the Silver Star. All four of these heroic coxswains will be honored as Fast Response Cutter namesakes.
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