USCG Pequot - Between the Wars

84. This formal photo of the Pequot’s 49 member crew was probably taken around 1932. The white haired officer in the center of the front row between the two life preservers is believed to be the Pequot’s Commanding Officer, Chief Boatswain Nelson F. King, who was nearly 60 at the time and the 3rd most senior Chief Boatswain in the Coast Guard. On both sides of King are the ship’s non-commissioned Warrant Officers and Chief Petty Officers. In the second row we see two Senior Stewards in their combination caps and an ex-Life Saving Service member in his single breasted uniform coat. Here we can also clearly see evidence of the era in which the Pequot was built. The exterior wooden 5-panel doors and screen doors on the upper deck are more reminiscent of a beach cottage than a military ship. The use of water tight exterior doors became standard on all ships well after the Pequot was built. Click to enlarge; click again for a closer look. (Special thanks to Jim Flynn for providing details on this photo)

85. The Pequot tied up at Pier 8 East of the Boston Navy Yard. In the background is Building 104 which was demolished in 1940. If you Click the Image to see it enlarged, you can clearly see the full complement of air cowls that were used to direct outside air below decks. If you Click Again and zoom in, you can find the Union Jack flying off the bow. That flag of 48 stars against a blue field was only flown when the ship was not underway.

86. On a blustery day the Pequot crew is seen off-loading telephone poles from the fantail with the American Flag and the US Coast Guard Ensign snapping proudly in the wind up on the ship’s masts.

Click the image above to see an enlargement.

Below: The following front page newspaper article from the March 4, 1931 St. Petersburg, Florida
Evening Independent provides some insight into the mission of the Pequot before World War II.

Note: a common early problem encountered when laying cables in certain waters was a species
of marine borer, the teredo worm. These tiny creatures found their way through the cable armor
and dined on the jute insulation, exposing the conductor and causing earth faults.

87. The Pequot tied up in front of an early Coast Guard Cutter. Seeing the forest of masts and rigging behind the ship we realize that the Pequot was first in service during the maritime era when ships were still transitioning from sails to steam. The tower of Boston’s Customs House and the masts of USS Constitution can be seen in the background.
Click the image above to see an enlargement. 88. Gerald Joseph Murphy (see below) seated in the front of this group of sailors taken in the mid-1930s. His daughter believes this was taken while he was recovering from a service related injury which led to his 1938 Coast Guard discharge. (Geralyn Murphy Brousseau)

Gerald Joseph Murphy from Gloucester, Massachusetts joined the Coast Guard in 1935 at the age of 25. According to his discharge papers he spent time aboard the CGC Cayuga and then served on the Pequot before WWII as a Seaman 1st Class under the command of Chief Boatswain C. Jensen. After he was discharged on March 21st 1938 he served in the Merchant Marine during WWII.

His daughter Gerri writes that, “He always had wonderful stories and I could sit for hours listening to him tell about his travels around the world. He had one particularly funny story about a trip to south America where he got a monkey. During the war, he was on three different ships that were sunk, one in the waters near Iceland, where he nearly froze to death as he bobbed around for three days in that frigid water before being rescued by a Norwegian ship who heard their distress call.” After the war he moved to Waterbury, Connecticut where he married, raised a family, and worked as a machinist at the Anchor Fastener Company. Gerald J. Murphy passed away on March 12th 1980.

89a. The Pequot in Dry Dock - November 9th 1922.
Her twin screws were able to run forward or reverse independently. This made it possible to position the Pequot exactly where need to accurately place loop cables on the seafloor. Top speed was 12 knots with a maximum cruising radius of 1670 nautical miles. Details on the tricky business of spacing the loop cables can be found in the USN Harbor Defense Manual (below) on Pages 53 & 54. 89b. We believe this vintage Liberty Pass for Pequot sailor “J.W. Hall” was issued well before World War II. When compared to the 1940s shore passes shown in our story of Storekeeper Bill Moore we see it is an older hand written version of Coast Guard Form #2518. We see it was not typed but filled out with a liquid ink pen, and that the return mail drop sends it to New York instead of the USCG District Office in Boston. (Provided by the John Hall family with special thanks to Mary Ellen Getchel of Three Frogs Collectibles LLC)

89c. We can see from the Pequot’s official Record of Operations that between World War I and World War II she conducted cable laying and repair work while being stationed out of New London, Connecticut, the Norfolk Virginia Coast Guard Depot, and the Coast Guard base in Boston, Massachusetts. Just prior to the outbreak of WWII she served temporary duty with the Atlantic Fleet. (US Coast Guard History Office)

Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge copyright. The authors would welcome any information from people who believe their photos have been used without due credit. Some photos have been retouched to remove imperfections but otherwise they are true to the original.

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If you have comments or queries specifically about the Pequot or her Escort Ships, please contact
Chip Calamaio chipaz@cox.net, 938 E. San Miguel Avenue, Phoenix, 85014, Arizona, USA. (H) 602-279-4505.

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Research and design: Chip Calamaio and Richard Walding



89a. The Pequot in Dry Dock - November 9th 1922. Her twin screws were able to run forward or reverse independently. This made it possible to position the Pequot exactly where need to accurately place loop cables on the seafloor. Top speed was 12 knots with a maximum cruising radius of 1670 nautical miles. Details on the tricky business of spacing the loop cables can be found in the USN Harbor Defense Manual (below) on Pages 53 & 54.	89b. We believe this vintage Liberty Pass for Pequot sailor “J.W. Hall” was issued well before World War II. When compared to the 1940s shore passes shown in our story of Storekeeper Bill Moore we see it is an older hand written version of Coast Guard Form #2518. We see it was not typed but filled out with a liquid ink pen, and that the return mail drop sends it to New York instead of the USCG District Office in Boston. (Provided by the John Hall family with special thanks to Mary Ellen Getchel of Three Frogs Collectibles LLC)