Active-class patrol boat

The Active-class patrol boat was one of the most useful and long-lasting in United States Coast Guard service, with 16 cutters still in use in the 1960s. The last to be decommissioned from active service was the USCGC Morris (WSC-147) in 1970; the last in actual service was the USCGC Cuyahoga (WIX-157), which sank after an accidental collision in 1978. They were designed for trailing the "mother ships" along the outer line of patrol during Prohibition. They were constructed at a cost of $63,173 each. They gained a reputation for durability that was only enhanced by their re-engining in the late 1930s; their original 6-cylinder diesels were replaced by significantly more powerful 8-cylinder units that used the original engine beds and gave the vessels an additional 3 knots. All served in World War II, but two, the USCGC Jackson (WSC-142) and USCGC Bedloe (WSC-128), were lost in a storm in 1944. Ten were refitted as buoy tenders during the war and reverted to patrol work afterward.

Originally designated WPC, for patrol craft, they were re-designated WSC, for sub chaser, in February 1942, during World War II. Those remaining in service in May 1966 were re-designated as medium endurance cutters, WMEC.