U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Ingham Maritime Museum
With over 50 years of service around the work, USCGC INGHAM is a quintessential portrait of Coast Guard history from 1936 to 1988.
The 327-foot cutters 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-1930's, 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 20-knot cutter capable of carrying an airplane in a hangar.