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Future US Coast Guard’s Heritage class cutter Argus (Picture source: Eastern Shipbuilding Group)
According to a tweet published by Eastern Shipbuilding Group on July 12, 2022, the company successfully transferred Offshore Patrol Cutter (Heritage class cutter) Argus Hull 1 to launch position and shifted Hull 2 for the next phase of production at Berard Transportation.
This is a routine report of progress, though it has been a long time coming, but one thing caught my eye,
“She is able to reach a top speed of 24.5 knots (45.4 km/h)…”
I had been disappointed when the request for proposal specs identified 22 knots as the acceptable threshold for speed. 25 knots was identified as the goal and I always felt it should have been the threshold. Even a couple of knots makes a big difference in their potential use as escort vessels. What we have seen repeatedly is 22.5 knots from official sources. Official sources do tend to be very conservative. Looking at the combination of length, displacement, horsepower, it has always seemed to me, they should make 24 to 25 knots max, at least in most circumstances. (Some WWI light cruisers were closely analogous.) The Wikipedia entry for the Heritage class cutters has reported a maximum speed of 24.5 for some time. Hopefully the Navy Recognition report is based on an Eastern Shipbuilding news release and represents their best estimate of maximum speed. I am hoping we get some reports of actual maximum speed from the sea trials.
