COMMISSIONING: USCGC McLANE was commissioned April 8, 1927 in Camden, New Jersey. She is one of 33 sisters, sometimes referred to as the "Buck-and-a-Quarter" class because of her 125 feet length. The class was authorized by President Calvin Coolidge's administration as part of an effort to enforce the Volstead Act - what we commonly call Prohibition. The Volstead Act made it illegal to produce, transport, or sell alcohol in the U.S.
PROHIBITION: Prohibition did not stop bootleggers who were eager to smuggle alcohol into the country. During the 1920's and 1930's, the bootleggers would use small boats to go from the coast to a ship waiting for them just outside the U.S. territorial line, in international waters. The ships, called "Rum Runners," were loaded with as much alcohol as they could carry. They would try to sneak past or outrun the Coast Guard to deliver their illegal cargo to U.S. consumers. McLANE and her sisters were built to intercept the bootleggers and to confiscate and destroy the illegal goods.
SERVICE: Shortly after she was commissioned, McLANE was sent to the West Coast where she served some of her Coast Guard career. Before World War II, McLANE was sent to Alaska to perform search and rescue and coastal patrol duties on the Bering Sea. When the war broke out, heavy machine guns and depth charge racks were installed.
THE WAR YEARS: World War II was a busy time for McLANE as she patrolled the frigid waters of the Bering Sea. In 1942, McLANE and a converted fishing trawler patrol boat attacked a Japanese submarine. Depth charges were dropped from McLANE's fantail. At one point the submarine fired a torpedo at McLANE. Finally, towards the end of the day and after more barrages of depth charges were dropped, a large oil slick and floating debris were sighted. Sonar contact was lost.