The USCGC ''Courier'' (WAGR/WTR-410) was a cutter in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

converted from the ''M/V Coastal Messenger'' a

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

Type C1-M-AV1 vessel.USCG. Courier, 1952. USCG. 2010-06-04. URL:http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Courier1952.asp. Accessed: 2010-06-04. (Archived by WebCite at https://www.webcitation.org/5qEcrF5JF)

M/V ''Coastal Messenger'' (1945–1952)

Originally launched in 1945 by Froemming Brothers of

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

as the M/V ''Coastal Messenger'', the ship was to be originally named ''Doddridge'' but was changed prior to acceptance by the

Maritime Administration Maritime administrations, or flag state administrations, are the executive arms/state bodies of each government responsible for carrying out the shipping responsibilities of the state, and are tasked to administer national shipping and boating issue ...

. The ship was originally designed as an inter-island shuttle for military and naval cargoes. She was designed to receive cargo from much larger

Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...

and

Liberty ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...

s and then deliver it to U.S. forces on small outlying islands but was actually never used for that purpose due to the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In the late-1940s, the M/V ''Coastal Messenger'' was operated by both the Standard Fruit & Steamship Company and Grace Line, Inc., primarily along the coasts to northern South America. On a trip to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

she ran aground at La Salina on

Lake Maracaibo Lake Maracaibo (Spanish: Lago de Maracaibo; Anu: Coquivacoa) is a lagoon in northwestern Venezuela, the largest lake in South America and one of the oldest on Earth, formed 36 million years ago in the Andes Mountains. The fault in the northern se ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

but was freed after 11 days with extensive, though minor, damage. She was then mothballed with the reserve fleet and transferred to the control of the

Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

in 1952.

USCGC ''Courier'' WAGR-410 (1952–1964)

The United States Coast Guard Cutter ''Courier'' was acquired as part of a joint operation between the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

and the

to become a mobile transmitting facility for the

U.S. Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA), which operated from 1953 to 1999, was a United States agency devoted to " public diplomacy". In 1999, prior to the reorganization of intelligence agencies by President George W. Bush, President Bill ...

's "

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

" program. In response to an initiative, code-named Operation Vagabond, that was approved by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

and the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

and announced by the Department of State in April, 1951, the operation was designed to provide a ship-borne radio relay station to transmit Voice of America programs behind the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

. Such a vessel could move to any areas of trouble quickly, could serve as a temporary relay station as needed, and permit the use of a station where it was impractical to build a shore station. To ease political sensitivities, it was decided that the Coast Guard should operate the vessels, which in the planning stages were to have been a total of six vessels. Excessive costs kept the operation to a single vessel. Commissioned on February 15, 1952 in Hoboken, New Jersey, ''Courier's'' call sign was "Vagabond-Able".Cummings, Richard . Vagabond-Able and St. Elmo's Fire. Historytimes.com. 2010-06-04. URL:http://www.historytimes.com/fresh-perspectives-in-history/20th-century-history/cold-war/477-vagabond-able-and-st-elmos-fire. Accessed: 2010-06-04. (Archived by WebCite at https://www.webcitation.org/5qEnTlxI8) For twelve years during the 1950s and 1960s, she served as a portion of the

radio network during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, at a time when the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

had attempted to jam portions of the network. The ''Courier'' contained the most powerful communications radio transmitter ever installed on board a ship, an

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

BT-105 150-kilowatt

mediumwave Medium wave (MW) is the part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. The spectrum provides about 120 channels with more limited sound quality than FM stations on the FM broadcast band. During the daytime ...

transmitter, as well as two Collins 207B1 type 35-kilowatt

shortwave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...

transmitters as well as a

Collins Radio Company Rockwell Collins was a multinational corporation headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, providing avionics and information technology systems and services to government agencies and aircraft manufacturers. It was formed when the Collins Radio Comp ...

51J-type receiver.U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Courier. United States Coast Guard. 2010-06-04. URL:http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Courier_WAGR410_Photos.asp. Accessed: 2010-06-04. (Archived by WebCite at https://www.webcitation.org/5qEcH1yCd) President Harry S. Truman visited the ''Courier'' on March 4, 1952, when the ship docked in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and he used the occasion to broadcast a major policy speech beamed at

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

and the

. On April 18, 1952, during the ''Courier's'' shakedown cruise to the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

, using the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

KU2XAJ, tests were performed at 1700–2300 on 6110 and 9690 kc. shortwave (35 kW), and 1510 kc. medium wave (150 kW). The broadcasts closed with the playing of the Panamanian National Anthem and the

Star Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bo ...

. The ''Courier'' initially used a $18,000 35' × 69'

barrage balloon A barrage balloon is a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe collision risk to aircraft, making the attacker's approach more difficult. Early barra ...

that held the medium wave antennae aloft. The ''Courier'' carried 5 of these balloons, but on more than one occasion the balloon broke free. Eventually it was decided to replace the balloon with a mast-supported wire antenna. The ''Courier'' also held the record for longest deployment overseas - from 17 July 1952 to 13 August 1964, she spent no time in United States territorial waters being stationed instead off the island of

Rhodes, Greece Rhodes ( el, Ρόδος, ''Ródos'' ) is the principal city and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is the seat and a m ...

during that time. ''Courier'' was decommissioned on 25 August 1964 upon her return to

Yorktown, Virginia Yorktown is a census-designated place (CDP) in York County, Virginia. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1682. Yorktown's population was 195 as of the 2010 census, while York Cou ...

and turned over to the Coast Guard Reserve Training Center at Yorktown, Virginia. Placed in "out of commission, in Reserve" status, beginning July 1, 1965, ''Courier'' provided dockside training in merchant marine safety and dangerous cargo handling for the next year.

USCGC ''Courier'' WTR-410 (1966–1972)

The USCGC ''Courier'' WTR-410 was recommissioned into the Coast Guard at Yorktown, Virginia on 30 April 1966. Here the ''Courier's'' mission was to serve as a mobile operational training platform with qualified personnel attached and to aid by giving guidance during operational Port Security training at various sites during two week active duty for training periods. The ''Courier's'' area of operation covered the

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

, the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

, and the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

In June 1970 the suffered damage to her bow after colliding with the ''Courier'', who also suffered bow damage in the Chesapeake Bay. USCGC Courier 410-WAGR WTR MARAD

The ''Courier's'' homeport remained the Reserve Training Center in Yorktown and she finished her Coast Guard career as a training vessel for reservists. She carried accommodations for 220 trainees, patrol boats, and communication equipment. Her small boats were used to train reservists in harbor patrols while her cargo handling equipment was employed to train reservists in handling dangerous cargoes. MARAD 3A Documents final decommission for USCGC Courier 410 WAGR WTR

MARAD 3A Documents final decommission for USCGC Courier 410 WAGR WTR

MARAD 3B backside MARAD record for final decommission USCGC Courier 410 WAGR WTR

USCGC Courier 410-WAGR/WTR was decommissioned in 1972 and scrapped in 1977.

Pirate radio inspiration

It has sometimes been claimed that the ''Courier's'' offshore broadcasts directly inspired such offshore

pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially w ...

stations as

Radio Mercur Radio Mercur was a Danish offshore broadcasting commercial radio station. It started regular transmission on 2 August 1958 and ceased officially on 31 July 1962, followed by 3 days of transmissions from 13 to 15 August 1962. Later broadcasting to ...

and

Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Alan Crawford initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. ...

. A balloon-raised antenna similar to that used by the ''Courier'' was also attempted by the pirate

Laser 558 Laser 558 was an offshore pirate radio station launched in May 1984 using disc jockeys from the US. It broadcast from the Panama-registered ship MV Communicator in international waters in the North Sea. Within months the station had a large audi ...

in 1984, with similar results.

Notable accomplishments

* Contained the most powerful communications radio transmitter ever installed on board a ship. * Longest deployment overseas - from 17 July 1952 to 13 August 1964.

References

External links

http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Courier_WAGR410_Photos.asp USCG IMAGEShttp://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Courier1952.asp USCG DATA USCGC Courier 410-WAGR Photo Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Courier Ships of the United States Coast Guard Radio ships Ships built in Milwaukee Cold War ships 1945 ships