I was the MK on the Victory (52312), the 44300 and the 44400 at Yaquina Bay from about '78-'81.

To answer the original question, I believe the Detroit Diesels were the best in either boat. The scuttlebutt (i.e., I have no idea if this was true or not) going around when I was in the CG was that the CG bought many boats with Cummins engines at a time when Cummins was struggling and the government gave them the contract to keep them afloat.

Problem was (according to the rumor) was that the quality was low, and most if not all of the engines were eventually replaced with GMs. DD 6V-53s in the 44s and 6-71s in the 52s. Most engineers preferred the 6-71s for their durability, versality (you could install the blowers on either side, and the trans or the PTO on either end - they were completely swappable that way) and ease of maintenance.

The coxswains tended to like the 6V-53s (as I recall) because they accelerated faster and and had a higher RPM ceiling - but of course, the 52 weighing much more it would not have done well with the smaller 6Vs - completely different boats.

My recollection was that there were 6 52s total, but I could be wrong.