User:PhoenixCaelestis/sandbox

Alongside her 17 sister ships, the Thetis class was designed to combat alcohol smuggling during Prohibtion. The vessels were intended to be large and fast enough to intercept large smuggler ships that loitered off the American coast. These so-called "mother ships" were an issue as they supplied alchohol to small boats that brought the drinks ashore.{{Cite book |last=Canney |first=Donald L. |title=U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue cutters, 1790-1935 |date=1995 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-1-55750-101-1 |location=Annapolis, Md}}{{Rp|page=108}} These cutters formed the outer ring of a newly-built network of cutters intended to intercept smuggling: while the Thetis and Active-classes patroled off the coast, a range of smaller cutters and boats patrolled closer to shore to create a continuous buffer of Prohibition enforcement from the open ocean to inner harbors.{{Rp|page=89,95,99,105}}

Dione was built by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Corporation in Manitowoc, Wisconsin between 1933 and late 1934. She was launched on June 30, 1934, and commissioned on October 5.{{Cite web |last=Helgason |first=Guðmundur |title=USCGC Dione (WPC 107) |url=https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/11106.html |access-date=April 20, 2025 |website=uboat.net}}{{Cite book |last=Ostrom |first=Thomas P. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_United_States_Coast_Guard_in_World_W/-_BNt02kWdIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=USCGC+%22Dione%22&pg=PA102&printsec=frontcover |title=The United States Coast Guard in World War II: A History of Domestic and Overseas Actions |date=2009-08-11 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-5371-9 |language=en}} She was named for Dione, a titaness and mother of the goddess Aphrodite in Greek mythology. She cost $258,000 US to construct.{{Cite news |date=2020-12-28 |title=Dione, 1934 |url=https://www.history.uscg.mil/Browse-by-Topic/Assets/Water/All/Article/2457405/dione-1934/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250310163634/https://www.history.uscg.mil/Browse-by-Topic/Assets/Water/All/Article/2457405/dione-1934/ |archive-date=2025-03-10 |access-date=2025-04-20 |work=United States Coast Guard |language=en-US}}

Dione was {{Convert|165|ft|m}} long, and had a beam of {{Convert|25.25|ft|m}}. When she was constructed, the ship had a draft of {{Convert|7.67|ft|m}}. She had two three-bladed propellers, powered by two 6-cylinder diesel engines, each capable of {{Convert|1,340|ihp|kW}}. The cutter could achieve a maximum speed of {{Convert|16|kn|mph km/h}} with twin three-bladed propellers. Her displacement was 337 tons while fully loaded. She was fitted with a 3-inch/23-caliber anti-aircraft gun and a 1-pounder autocannon for defense.

Dione was constructed with the goal of serving to enforce Prohibition, though the Twenty-first Amendment repealed the ban on alcohol in 1933, a year before the cutter was completed. She was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia.

In November 1937, Dione joined in on the search for survivors of the sunken cargo ship SS Tzenny Chandris, which had sunk in a storm on the night of November 12–13. Multiple lifeboats were found empty, but 15 survivors were eventually found clinging to wreckage by the cutter Mendota and were subsequently taken to Norfolk."Ships sweep sea for missing 22". The Sunday Star. Washington, DC. 14 November 1937. p. 1. Retrieved 7 March 2024 – via Library of Congress.{{Cite news |title=FREIGHTER LEAKY, SURVIVORS ASSERT; Seaman Says Crew Asked That Ship Be Turned Back Long Before She Sank |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1937/11/16/94460315.html?pageNumber=3 |access-date=2025-04-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en |issn=0362-4331}}

{{Further information|Second Happy Time|Torpedo Alley}}

File:Dione depth charges.png

THIS IS NOT COMPLETE, THE ENTIRE SECTION WILL GO INTO MORE DETAIL ON SPECIFIC ENCOUNTERS USING HICKAM'S TORPEDO JUNCTION

After the American entry into World War II, Dione was assigned to the Fifth District of the Eastern Sea Frontier (EASTSEAFRON), the United States Navy (USN) command responsible for defending American coastal waters between Canada and Jacksonville, Florida. She was assigned to anti-submarine duties, and was the only ship there to oppose German submarines, called U-boats.{{Cite book |last=Hickam |first=Homer H. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Torpedo_Junction/Sh1iAgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1 |title=Torpedo Junction: U-Boat War Off America's East Coast, 1942 |date=1996-05-03 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-1-61251-578-6 |language=en}} While filling out this duty, the cutter continued to operate out of Naval Operating Base Norfolk.

In December 1941, Dione's 1-pounder gun was removed. Installed in its place two racks to hold depth charges and a Y-gun depth charge launcher designed to throw depth charges over the sides of the ship.McKee, Fraser M. (January 1993), "An Explosive Story: The Rise and Fall of the Depth Charge", The Northern Mariner, III (1), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Nautical Research Society in association with the North American Society for Oceanic History: 45–58, doi:10.25071/2561-5467.767, ISSN 1183-112X, S2CID 159700228 The cutter mainly patrolled the waters between Norfolk and Morehead City, North Carolina to hunt down prowling U-boats; she also made mail runs to the lightships operating off the Outer Banks.

Dione was placed under the command of Lieutenant Nelson McCormick in January 1942. Much to McCormick's anger, the cutter seemed to be too far away whenever she raced to respond to distress signals, so the lieutenant decided to take an offensive strategy to his patrols, using Dione as a killer rather than a rescuer. After deducing that U-boats generally attacked at night and "slept" during the day, McCormick decided to abandon his usual routine in favor of grid-searching the waters off the Outer Banks for U-boats. The cutter's daytime searches would often use sonar and other sound-detection gear in an attempt to find U-boats.{{Cite web |last=Marx |first=Deborah |date=April 26, 2013 |title=National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form |url=https://web.kamihq.com/web/viewer.html?state=%7B%22ids%22%3A%5B%2215vE2X8RdP_sGel7SYOqXafQGgvtn76ys%22%5D%2C%22action%22%3A%22open%22%2C%22userId%22%3A%22116323042245880596608%22%7D&filename=undefined&kami_user_id=19085093 |access-date=April 21, 2025 |publisher=National Park Service |via=Kami}}

At the end of January, Dione dropped six depth charges after her sonar man reported an "underwater object" 20 miles off Oregon Inlet. Two airplanes soon arrived, making several runs on a rapidly spreading patch of oil. They reported to McCormick that they saw something long and narrow, raising the lieutenant's hopes of sinking a U-boat. An oar and a boat hook eventually surfaced, and when brought aboard were found to have been from the tanker Francis E. Powell, which had been sunk by U-130 on January 27.

In early February, Dione was ordered to Little Creek Section Base to pick up a new master, Lieutenant James Alger. McCormick was kept aboard Dione as an executive officer, and to command the cutter when intricate maneuvers were required. On Alger's first day, Dione's sonar operator called out an echo. Nothing was initially found, but a second echo later in the afternoon caused the cutter's new master to order depth charges dropped. After a spew of oil came to the surface, two life rafts were dispatched to collect samples—much like McCormick, Alger had Dione drop depth charges on a sunken oil tanker.

On February 12, the cutter's sonar operator reported a periscope off Dione's port beam. Alger ordered general quarters and had depth charges dropped from both the Y-gun and the rack, some going off at {{Convert|100|ft|m}} while others went off at {{Convert|50|ft|m}}. Dione rapidly accelerated, her lights and equipment going dead as the cutter's propellers came free of the water. The cutter's engines were stopped and her electrical power was restored. No U-boat was spotted, if there even was one. Dione had been "blinded by her own depth charges."

Later that same month, on February 19, the cutter towed the minesweeper USS Paramount to Morehead City after she had been grounded at the entrance to Ocracoke Inlet.{{Cite web |title=Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs.html |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=history.navy.mil |language=en-US}} Dione set off for Cape Henry late at night on February 27 to assist the torpedoed freighter North Sea. She was found by Dione early the next morning, shell holes dotted across the freighter's hull. Apparently, a U-boat's attack on North Sea had been halted to due to a storm that had tossed the U-boat about and ruined its aim. Dione towed the damaged freighter, which had lost its steering capabilities in the attack, to Little Creek by the end of the day.

File:Dione rescue.png

On March 17, Dione rescued the crew of the damaged storage tanker SS Acme, which had been torpedoed by U-124 {{Convert|1|nmi|mi km}} west of the Diamond Shoals Light Buoy.{{Cite web |title=20th Century |url=https://www.usdeadlyevents.com/category/20th-century/page/310/ |access-date=April 21, 2025 |website=Deadliest American Disasters and Large-Loss-of-Life Events}}[https://www.aukevisser.nl/mobil/index.htm "Auke Visser's MOBIL Tankers & Tugs Site".] Auke Visser. Retrieved 4 October 2016. On March 20, Dione made contact with a U-boat. A USCG airplane from the Elizabeth City Air Station dropped two depth charges with unknown results. On March 23, she responded to the distress signals of the oil tanker Naeco, torpedoed by U-124. The cutter rescued at least ten survivors from a lifeboat and two more from the water, all of whom were taken to Norfolk. Just three days later, on March 26, Dione spotted flames from the sinking oil tanker SS Dixie Arrow and headed to investigate. The tanker's survivors had already been rescued by the USN destroyer USS Tarbell, and Alger was furious after finding nothing but debris. The cutter then headed south to the waters off the village of Hatteras. On April 5, Dione responded to the torpedoed oil tanker SS Bryon D. Benson, pulling one survivor from the water.{{Cite web |last=Helgason |first=Guðmundur |title=Byron D. Benson |url=https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/1503.html |access-date=April 6, 2012 |website=uboat.net}}

File:Dione convoy escort.png

Dione rendezvoused with USS Dickerson on April 14, near the Diamond Shoals Light Buoy. Lieutenant Dick Bacchus had taken over as the cutter's navigator and executive officer, though McCormick remained aboard. The two ships began convoy work, Dione struggling to keep up with the destroyer to the point where it appeared that Dione was "like a sheep dog barking at the heels of his flock." The convoy was joined by another cutter, escorting two freighters north past North Carolina.{{Cite web |date=February 23, 2016 |title=Dickerson (Destroyer No. 157) |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/d/dickerson.html |access-date=April 22, 2025 |website=navy.history.mil |language=en-US |via=American Dictionary of Naval Fighting Ships}} After Dickerson relieved both cutters of duty, Dione headed back south for a nightly patrol.

The next morning, that of April 15, Dione met up with Dickerson once more to escort a convoy, this time consisting of two British trawlers, two American tankers, and an American freighter. The tankers were so fast that they vanished over the horizon and disappeared from the convoy's sight. Alger chose to be aggressive despite supposed to be close by the convoy, ranging out and dropping depth charges on any suspected echos to "keep the U-boat off balance."

Dione continued escorting ships alongside Dickerson, falling into a familiar routine. The tanker would conduct escort duty during the day, and would patrol for U-boats during the night. These convoys were nicknamed "bucket brigades" after the old-fashioned method of transporting buckets during a fire. Since the convoys had begun, not a single ship had been lost to U-boats near Cape Hatteras or Cape Lookout. On April 18, Dione was observed dropping depth charges on an unknown submarine, with no visible results.

On April 19, Dione arrived to escort a convoy by herself. She initially met up with eight merchant ships of varying nationalities, but was eventually joined by a British trawler and an 88-foot cutter. Alger ordered his cutter to the front of the convoy, Dione's crew becoming concerned about the number of targets in the convoy, mainly big tankers. The convoy moved past Cape Hatteras without incident, and Alger was nearing the drop-off point by 1900 hours. He had used Dione as a destroyer, screening and picking up stragglers in an attempt to keep them up. Suddenly, a torpedo appeared in the water, racing towards the cutter. A USN airplane appeared and began diving towards the convoy, Alger giving the order to turn hard to starboard and move full ahead. The torpedo meant for Dione missed the cutter but instead struck the tanker Axtell J. Byles at 2000 hours, which sank some time thereafter. Something was struck by one of Dione's depth charges. Following this incident, it was decided that the convoys should run at night to reduce the risk of casualties.

Dione began patrolling around the Wimble Shoals Buoy after her escort missions were finished, beginning demolition exercises on Axtell J. Byles' wreck on April 25. Her crew dropped depth charges on the wreck all day, hoping to discover what they had hit. On April 29, Dione was ordered back to Little Creek for repairs and rearmament.

MAY + EARLY JUNE

Despite a handful of incidents, Dione's convoys were handling themselves fairly well. The ships were good at staying blacked out, and their masters did the best they could to keep up and not straggle. On June 15, a convoy Dione was escorting began maneuvering into a single-file line in preparation to enter the Chesapeake Bay. Suddenly, the fifth tanker in the line shook as water and smoke erupted from its side. The tanker, Robert C. Tuttle, began to sink as vacationers on the beaches of Virginia watched in horror. THERE'S PRESUMABLY MORE BUT IT CUTS OFF HERE

On June 24, at 1900 hours, the cutter made an underwater contact while escorting a convoy. Five minutes later, she dropped one depth charge with no results. At 1910 hours, two other ships in the convoy, SS Nordland and SS Manuela, appeared to have been torpedoed. Dione made a sweep search for the submarine, which appeared to be on the convoy's starboard side. Nordland proceeded to catch fire and sink, and her survivors were rescued by SS Norwich City.

Dione made another contact with a U-boat the next day, dropping five depth charges. As a result, large amounts of oil bubbled to the surface. A doubtful contact was made just two days later, on June 27, at 1054 hours. The cutter dropped four depth charges but yielded no results.

MISSING 3 YEARSFile:German submarine U-1228 surrenders at Portsmouth NH in May 1945.jpg

In early 1945, Dione was rearmed with two 3-inch/50-caliber guns, two 20mm/80 cannons, two "Mousetrap" anti-submarine rocket launchers, and another Y-gun.{{Cite web |last=Clancey |first=Patrick |date=May 19, 2003 |title=Ships of the U.S. Navy, 1940-1945: Coast Guard Cutters & Craft |url=https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ships/ships-cg.html |access-date=April 21, 2025 |website=www.ibiblio.org}} She was selected as one of six vessels to serve as the USN's "Surrender Group" for the First Naval District, alongside her sisters Argo and Nemesis. The role of the Surrender Group was to help escort surrendered Axis vessels to American ports where they would be acquired by the government.{{Cite web |date=August 15, 2018 |title=Florida’s ancient sub-buster |url=https://laststandonzombieisland.com/tag/165-foot-cutter/ |access-date=April 23, 2025 |website=laststandonzombieisland}}{{Cite journal |last=Theisen, PhD |first=William H. |date=Spring 2013 |title=Lieutenant Eliot Winslow, Kapitänleutnant Johann-Heinrich Fehler and the Surrender of the Nazis’ Top-Secret Submarine, U-234 |url=https://web.kamihq.com/web/viewer.html?state=%7B%22ids%22%3A%5B%221m3dSzct5lP-TkvYBHVspUEO56dY_1kWe%22%5D%2C%22action%22%3A%22open%22%2C%22userId%22%3A%22116323042245880596608%22%7D&filename=undefined&kami_user_id=19085093 |journal=Sea History |issue=142 |via=Kami}}

On May 17, Dione met up with U-1228, a German submarine that had fled to Allied waters following the German instrument of surrender on May 8. The submarine surrendered itself to the Allies, and Dione was ordered to escort the German vessel to an American port. The cutter guided U-1228 to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and it was later taken to the Portsmouth Naval Yard.{{Cite web |last=Helgason |first=Guðmundur |title=U-1228 |url=https://uboat.net/boats/u1228.htm |access-date=April 21, 2025 |website=uboat.net}}{{Cite web |date=May 17, 1945 |title=U1228 at Sea |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7330121 |access-date=April 21, 2025 |website=National Archives Catalog}}

In June 1945, Dione was relocated to the Fifth Naval District, where she was assigned to air and sea rescue duty.

[CHART WITH CONVOYS GOES HERE]

Between 1945 and 1947, Dione was used by the Coast Guard in both law enforcement and search and rescue. She spent multiple years in storage, and was recommissioned by the USCG on February 4, 1951, after a shakedown cruise in the Caribbean. The cutter was eventually re-stationed in Freeport, Texas, in 1952.{{Cite news |date=August 1951 |title=Dione is Re-Comissioned |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/U_S_Coast_Guard_Bulletin/xUOyoV_c6H8C?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Dione%22 |access-date=April 21, 2025 |work=U.S. Coast Guard Bulletin |publisher=Bureau of the Budget |volume=7}} Dione notably towed the damaged buoy tender Iris in January 1957, and remained in Freeport until the end of her service in 1963. The cutter was decommissioned on February 8, and sold on February 24, 1964.

WHO SHE WAS SOLD TO & FATE AFTERWARDS WOULD BE GOOD TO KNOW