US Coast Guard Names New Cutter for Pioneering Female Code Breaker

The U.S. Coast Guard will name the eleventh ship in its new Legend-Class National Security Cutter (NSC) program in honor of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, a pioneering code-breaker for the Coast Guard during the prohibition era and World War II.

Ordered in December 2018 and to be built at Huntington Ingalls Industries of Pascagoula, Mississippi, the NSC is considered to be one of the most technologically sophisticated vessels in the Coast Guard fleet. The 418-foot cutter is capable of operating in the most demanding open ocean environments around the globe, from the hazardous fishing grounds of the North Pacific to the vast approaches of the Eastern Pacific where crews battle transnational crime.

Replacing the 378-foot High Endurance Cutters, which have been in service since the 1960s, the Legend-Class cutters honor women and men who have a legendary status in the Coast Guard’s rich history. The names of the vessel are being chosen to honor individuals that reflect a proud diversity of missions, historical periods, and career backgrounds.