This Day in Coast Guard History – March 11

1941-  The Lend-Lease Program was inaugurated.  All 10 of the Coast Guard's Lake-class cutters were transferred to the Royal Navy under the program.  Two were lost in action against German forces.  These 250-foot cutters had been designed by the Coast Guard and featured a slightly raked stem and a cruiser stern.  Their innovative turbine-electric drive power plant was developed by Coast Guard Captain Quincy B. Newman.  These were the first ships to have alternating current, synchronous motor for propulsion--the whole ship ran off the main turbine.  The auxiliary generators were tied into the main generator electrically, after sufficient speed was attained.  At that point, no steam was required to drive the turbines on the auxiliary generators.  The propulsion plant achieved remarkable efficiency.

(Source: USCG Historian’s Office)