USCGC Eagle (wallpaper 1) Ship Gallery | OceanShooter

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USCGC Eagle (wallpaper 1). USCGC Eagle ship images wallpaper gallery 1. USCGC Eagle ship pictures and images collection 1. Sailing Ship. The USCGC Eagle (WIX-327) (ex-SSS Horst Wessel) is a 295-foot (90 m) barque used as a training cutter for future officers of the United States Coast Guard. She is one of only two active commissioned sailing vessels in American military service, the other being the USS Constitution. She is the seventh U.S. Navy or Coast Guard ship to bear the name in a line dating back to 1792. Each summer, Eagle conducts cruises with cadets from the United States Coast Guard Academy and candidates from the Officer Candidate School for periods ranging from a week to two months. These cruises fulfill multiple roles; the primary mission is training the cadets and officer candidates, but the ship also performs a public relations role. Often, Eagle makes calls at foreign ports as a goodwill ambassador. The Eagle began its existence as the Horst Wessel, a ship of the Gorch Fock class. Constructed and designed by John Stanley, the Horst Wessel was an improvement on the original design. USCGC Eagle (wallpaper 1). USCGC Eagle ship images wallpaper gallery 1. USCGC Eagle ship pictures and images collection 1. She was larger in dimension and her spars were all steel, unlike Gorch Fock's wooden yards. SSS Horst Wessel began life as schiff ("ship") 508 at Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, Germany in 1936. Her keel was laid on February 15, launched on June 13, completed on September 16, and commissioned on September 17. She was the second ship in the class to be built after the class namesake, Gorch Fock. Adolf Hitler and Rudolph Hess were present at the launch and christening. The name was given in tribute to Nazi party member Horst Wessel. SSS Horst Wessel served as the flagship of the Kriegsmarine sail training fleet, which consisted of Gorch Fock, Albert Leo Schlageter and Horst Wessel. She was commanded by Captain August Thiele and was homeported in Kiel. In the three years before World War II, she undertook numerous training cruises in European waters, but also visited the Caribbean. She was decommissioned in 1939, with the onset of the war, but served as a docked training ship until her recommissioning in late 1942. Equipped with two 20mm antiaircraft guns on the bridge wings, two on the foredeck, and two quad mounts on the waist, Horst Wessel is said to have downed three Soviet aircraft and one "friendly" German aircraft in combat. The crew had realized the German aircraft they had shot down was "friendly" while it was spiraling into the sea, and set about rescuing the pilot. When he set foot on the ship, he was furious and demanded an explanation. Upon review of the logs and radio personnel, it was determined that the pilot had been using the wrong codes for the battle group, showing the now embarrassed pilot that it was actually his fault. USCGC Eagle (wallpaper 1). USCGC Eagle ship images wallpaper gallery 1. USCGC Eagle ship pictures and images collection 1.