USCGC William Flores (WPC-1103)

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Launch of William Flores

The USGC William Flores is a Sentinel class cutter of the United States Coast Guard scheduled to serve in Miami, Florida upon her commissioning.[1]

Like her sister ships, she is equipped for coastal security patrols, interdiction of drug and people smugglers, and search and rescue. Like the smaller Marine Protector class she is equipped with a stern launching ramp. The ramp allows the deployment and retrieval of her high speed water-jet powered pursuit boat without first coming to a stop. She is capable of more than 25 knots and armed with a remote controlled 25 mm M242 Bushmaster autocannon; and four crew-served Browning M2 machine guns.

She is named after seaman apprentice William Ray Flores who died during the sinking of the USCGC Blackthorn -- who is credited with saving the lives of fellow crewmembers.[2][2] In November 2011 Flores was honored by having the third of Coast Guard's Sentinel class cutters named after him.[3][4][5][6][7]

References

  1. Stephanie Young (2011-11-29). "Third fast response cutter launched". United States Coast Guard. http://coastguard.dodlive.mil/2011/11/third-fast-response-cutter-launched/. Retrieved 2012-04-21. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 Patrick McMahon (1980-02-07). "'Hard right rudder': 'Blackthorn' skipper gave command too late, crewman testifies". Petersburg Times. pp. 1, 8. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FuQnAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PVoDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6801,5003607&dq=coast-guard+william-ray-flores+. Retrieved 2011-12-02. "Twenty-three Coast Guard crewmen died in the accident. Still to come are autopay results of other crewmen, some of whose bodies are being still recovered from the bay. The body of William R. Flores was found Tuesday." 
  3. Monika Diaz (2011-11-28). "Coast Guard remembers former crewman's actions, 31 years later". WFAA. http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Coast-Guard-remembers-former-crewmans-actions-31-years-later-134642688.html. Retrieved 2011-12-02. "In January of 1980, Flores was on a Coast Guard cutter when it collided with a tanker near Tampa Bay, Florida. While some of the crew abandoned ship, Flores stayed behind. He helped trapped and injured shipmates."  mirror
  4. "USCG’s Third Fast Response Cutter Launched". Military.com. 2011-11-29. http://www.military.com/news/article/coast-guard-news/new-cg-cutter-named-for-local-hero.html. Retrieved 2011-12-02. "The vessel was named after Seaman Apprentice William Flores, who posthumously received the Coast Guard Medal, the service’s highest award for heroism not involving combat, for his role in the Jan. 28, 1980 collision between the Coast Guard Cutter Blackthorn and the tanker Capricorn."  mirror
  5. Chris Vaughn (2011-11-29). "New CG Cutter Named for Local Hero". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/11/26/3552733/new-coast-guard-cutter-bears-name.html. Retrieved 2011-12-02. "Two decades after Flores' actions, somehow overlooked in the aftermath of the Coast Guard's worst peacetime disaster, he was posthumously awarded the Coast Guard Medal, the highest decoration that service can bestow. The Coast Guard chose to name its latest fast-response cutter after Flores."  mirror
  6. "Third Fast Response Cutter Launched by Coast Guard". Maritime Executive. 2011-11-30. http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/third-fast-response-cutter-launched-by-coast-guard. Retrieved 2011-12-02.  mirror
  7. "Getting his due Coast Guard hero receives honor posthumously". Fort Worth Star Telegram. 2000-09-17. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=ST&s_site=dfw&p_multi=ST&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF9298B7BF1FC5&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved 2011-12-02. "The actions of Seaman Apprentice William Ray "Billy" Flores were somehow overlooked as officials investigated the worst peacetime disaster in Coast Guard history. But a few officers didn't forget."