HII launches US Coast Guard’s eighth national security cutter

Ingalls Shipbuilding launched the US Coast Guard’s eighth national security cutter Midgett (WMSL 757) in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on November 23.

Midgett was translated via Ingalls’ rail car system to the floating dry dock last week, and the dock was moved away from the pier on Tuesday night. With the assistance of tugboats, Midgett launched off the dock early Wednesday morning.

The cutter will be christened during a ceremony on December 9.

“As the National Security Cutter program continues to mature, we are providing our Coast Guard customer the best ships in their fleet,” said Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Cuccias. “Our shipbuilders know and understand the importance of quality in building these highly capable cutters so the men and women of the Coast Guard can perform their important national security missions.”

The ship is named to honor John Allen Midgett, who was awarded the Silver Cup by the UK Board of Trade in 1918 for the renowned rescue of 42 British sailors aboard the British tanker Mirlo after it was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of North Carolina. He was also awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal by the US Coast Guard in 1924. Midgett was a senior enlisted member of the US Lifesaving Service when it merged with the US Lighthouse Service and US Revenue Cutter Service to become today’s US Coast Guard.

Legend-class NSCs are the flagships of the Coast Guard’s cutter fleet. Designed to replace the 378-foot (115 m) Hamilton-class high-endurance cutters that entered service in the 1960s, they are 418 feet (127 m) long with a 54-foot (16.4 m) beam and displace 4,500 tons with a full load. They have a top speed of 28 knots, a range of 12,000 miles, an endurance of 60 days and a crew of 110.

NSCs include an aft launch and recovery area for two rigid hull inflatable boats and a flight deck to accommodate a range of manned and unmanned rotary wing aircraft.