High endurance cutter

[1] The term High Endurance Cutter may refer to any of five individual ship classes that have seen service in the Coast Guard.

This was further divided in 1920 when former second class ships were designated Inshore Patrol Cutters.

Starting during Prohibition as part of the US Coast Guard's response to liquor smuggling, the service commissioned a number of ex-US Navy destroyers to enhance the fleet.

"W" was selected as it was unused in the Navy, and was thus free to be assigned without changing or confusing existing classifications.

Following the conclusion of World War II, the Coast Guard was transferred back to control of the US Treasury Department, but retained the ship classification system.