USCGC Dallas (WHEC-716) - 1960s and 1970s

1960s and 1970s

In her earlier years, the Dallas collected meteorological and oceanographic data on "ocean station" as part of the "Gate Project", and she assisted commercial aircraft crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

During seven combat patrols off the coast of Vietnam, Dallas list of accomplishments included 161 gunfire support missions involving 7,665 rounds of her 5-inch ammunition. This resulted in 58 sampans destroyed and 29 Viet-Cong supply routes, bases, camps, or rest areas damaged or destroyed. Her 5-inch (127 mm) guns made her very valuable to the naval missions in the area.

Dallas served as a patrol vessel for the 1977 America's Cup Regatta out of Newport Rhode, Island. In September, 1978, Dallas joined in the search on Georges Bank for the Capt. Cosmo, a fishing vessel out of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Dallas encountered seas during that search as high as the bridge wings, the deck of which are 38 feet from the waterline. Dallas came upon the Queen Elizabeth II on that patrol, who reported taking a rogue wave over the bow which cracked windows on the bridge. The Captain Cosmo was lost with all hands in high seas.

In April 1979, as Dallas was wrapping up a patrol and heading into Bermuda for a weekend of R&R, she received orders to sail south to the Caribbean Island of Saint Vincent. Its volcano, La Soufriere, was threatening to erupt and Dallas might be called upon to evacuate islanders. After several days of patrolling nearby, the volcano did send a large ash plum skyward, but an evacuation was not needed.