The USCGC Mellon (WHEC-717) was a Hamilton-class high endurance cutter built for the United States Coast Guard, featuring a displacement of 2,748 tons and designed for extended oceanic operations. Constructed at Avondale Shipyards near New Orleans, Louisiana, she was laid down on July 25, 1966, launched on February 11, 1967, and commissioned on January 9, 1968. The vessel’s construction included a welded steel hull and an aluminum superstructure, and she was among the first U.S. naval vessels equipped with a combined diesel and gas turbine propulsion system. Her twin screws could produce 7,000 horsepower via diesel engines to reach 17 knots, or 36,000 horsepower through gas turbines to attain 28 knots. Her diesel engines were Fairbanks-Morse units, while her gas turbines were Pratt-Whitney models similar to those used in Boeing 707 aircraft, marking her as one of the early cutters to utilize jet aircraft-type turbines. Initially homeported in Honolulu, Mellon played a prominent role during the Vietnam War, earning two Meritorious Unit Commendations for her extensive service, which included naval gunfire support, rescue operations, medical civic programs, and training Vietnamese military personnel. Notably, in March 1970, she pursued mutineers involved in the SS Columbia Eagle incident. After Vietnam, her focus shifted to Ocean Station November in the Pacific, serving as a crucial communication link for trans-oceanic flights before moving northward to the icy waters of the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea by the mid-1970s. Mellon was involved in significant rescue missions, including the 1974 rescue of the crew from the Italian vessel Giovanna Lolli-Ghetti, and the 1980 rescue of 520 passengers and crew from the burning cruise liner MS Prinsendam in Alaska. She was modernized during the Fleet Rehabilitation and Modernization (FRAM) program between 1985 and 1989, receiving new armament including Harpoon anti-ship missiles and upgraded anti-submarine systems. She transitioned her homeport to Seattle in 1981, serving until her decommissioning on August 21, 2020. Subsequently, she was transferred to the Vietnam Coast Guard as CSB 8022, continuing her maritime service, including a visit to Guangzhou, China, in December 2023.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.