#barque

The Eagle, also known as USCGC Eagle (identification number: WIX-327), is a barque belonging to the United States Coast Guard. It serves as a training ship for officer cadets of the US Coast Guard. Until 1945, the ship, which belongs to the Gorch Fock class, was used by the German Navy as a sailing training ship.

After the reconstruction of the Kriegsmarine in the mid-1930s, the Gorch Fock was no longer sufficient for training purposes. Based on the same plans, but with a slightly longer hull, this second sailing training ship was therefore built by Blohm & Voss for the inspection of the navy's education system. After its launch on 13 June 1936, the ship initially had no figurehead and only bare masts. The sails were attached at the fitting-out quay. Soon afterwards, the ship received its figurehead in the form of an imperial eagle and its name, Horst Wessel, named after the SA Sturmführer.