Balsam,
1941
WAGL-62
/ WLB-62
Call
Sign: NRZB
Builder: Zenith
Dredge Company, Duluth MN
Builder's
Number: bn-CG-88
Cost:
$916,109
Length: 180'
oa; 170' bp
Beam: 37'
1" mb
Draft: 12'
max (1945); 14' 7" max (1966)
Displacement: 935
fl (1945); 1,026 fl (1966), 700 light (1966)
Keel
Laid: 25 October 1941
Launched: 15
April 1942
Commissioned: 14
October 1942
Decommissioned: 6
March 1975
Status: Sold
13 September 1977
Propulsion: 1
electric motor connected to 2 Westinghouse generators driven by 2
Cooper-Bessemer-type GND-8, 4-cycle diesels; single screw
Top
speed: 13.0 kts sustained (1945); 11.9 kts sustained (1966)
Economic
speed: 8.3 kts (1945); 8.5 kts (1966)
Complement: 6
officers, 74 enlisted (1945); 3 officers, 2 warrants, 42 enlisted (1962)
Electronics:
Radar: SL-1
(1945); SPS-23 (1966)
Sonar: WEA-2 (1945);
UNQ-1 (1966)
Armament: 1-3"/50
(single), 2-20mm/80 (single), 2 depth charge tracks, 2 Mousetraps, 4 Y-guns
(1945); None (1966)
Class
History:
When
the US Coast Guard absorbed the Bureau of Lighthouses on 1 July 1939, Juniper,
a 177-foot all welded steel buoy tender, was under construction and
plans for a successor were on the drawing board. Plans initiated by the
Bureau of Lighthouses called for the construction of several identical buoy
tenders to replace existing coastal buoy tenders. The preliminary designs
generated by the Bureau were for a vessel similar to Juniper.
When the Aids to Navigation (ATON) system transferred to Coast Guard
control, USCG planners reviewed the preliminary plans for the new class of
buoy tenders and modified them to meet the service’s multi-mission role.
To be an effective part of the Coast Guard, the new buoy tenders needed to
be multi-purpose platforms. They had to be capable of conducting Search and
Rescue (SAR) and Law Enforcement (LE) missions, as well as their primary
mission tending ATON. On 20 January 1941 the US Coast Guard contracted
Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Company of
Duluth
, Minnesota
to build the design based on Juniper and
modified to meet the service’s requirements. On 31 March 1941 Marine Iron
and Shipbuilding laid the keel for the first vessel of the new buoy tender
class. The new vessel measured 180 feet overall and had a beam of 37 feet at
the extreme. She had a displacement of 935 tons and drew 12 feet. The new
design was similar to Juniper in
appearance but did exhibit some important differences. Gone was the turtle
back forecastle. A notched forefoot, ice-belt at the waterline, and
reinforced bow gave the vessel icebreaking capabilities. Extending the
superstructure to the ship’s sides increased interior volume above the
main deck. A single propeller, turned by an electric motor powered by twin
diesel generators, replaced the twin-screw arrangement. The 30,000-gallon
fuel capacity gave the new design a range of 12,000 miles at a 12-knot
cruising speed; at 8.3 knots the cruising range increased to 17,000 miles.
Finer lines at the bow and stern increased the new tender’s sea keeping
ability in rough weather; an increase in draft also promoted seaworthiness.
Numerous minor alterations increased the vessel’s utility as a SAR
platform while deck-mounted guns and depth charge racks supported military
duties. Marine Iron and Shipbuilding launched the prototype vessel on
25 November 1941, even as three more took shape. Preparations also went
forward to begin a fifth vessel. By the time they commissioned the first
180, Cactus,
on 1 September 1942 twelve vessels were under construction at the Marine
Iron shipyard and at the Zenith Dredge Company shipyard, also in
Duluth
. The initial designation for the new buoy tenders was WAGL, which was a US
Navy designation denoting an auxiliary vessel, lighthouse tender. The
designation changed from WAGL to WLB in 1965. A few of the 180s have been
designated as other types of vessels over the years; three became WMECs
(medium endurance cutters), one of those, Evergreen,
was a WAGO (oceanographic research vessel) before it became a WMEC. Gentian
was a WMEC for a time and was then designated a WIX (Training Cutter) in
1999. Though designations have changed over time, each vessel’s hull
number has remained the same since commissioning.
DIFFERENCES
WITHIN THE 180' CLASS
Six
“B” or
Mesquite
class tenders followed the initial production run of thirteen vessels in the
“A’ or Cactus-class. The
first Mesquite-class tender hit
the water on 14 November 1942. Marine Iron and Shipbuilding built all except
one of the Mesquite-class. The
USCG built the lone exception, Ironwood,
at the service’s shipyard in Curtis Bay, Maryland. Twenty Iris
or “C” class vessels followed the Mesquite-class
tenders. The first launch of an Iris class
vessel took place on 18 June 1943, and the final addition to the class
slipped off the ways on 18 May 1944.
Differences among the three classes were minimal. Their basic dimensions,
length and beam were the same and draft varied based on loading. All were
built of welded steel along the same framing pattern and with very similar
internal and external layouts. All three classes could steam 8,000 miles at
13 knots, 12,000 miles at 12 knots, and 17,000 miles at 8.3 knots; though
the “B” and “C” class vessels had engines with 20 percent more power
than the “A” class. The “A” class vessels could carry the most fuel
with a tank capacity of 30,000 gallons. The “C” class carried 29,335
gallons and the “B” class about 700 gallons less. The layout of the
Commanding Officer’s cabin and the radio room was slightly different in
the “A” class vessels. The bridge wing door on the “B” and “C”
vessels opened to the side while the doors on the “A” vessels opened
forward. The cargo holds as originally laid out in the “C” were larger,
by a nominal amount, than those in the other vessels. To hoist buoys and
cargo, the “A” vessels carried an A-frame structure that straddled the
superstructure and supported the cargo boom. The other two classes were
fitted with power vangs that attached to the bridge wings and manipulated
the cargo boom. The “A” vessels were originally fitted with manilla line
as part of the cargo handling system while the second and third generation
vessels used wire rope. From the outside, other than the A-frame used in the
first production run, the three classes were almost indistinguishable. Over
the years their internal differences and variation in equipment were
minimized by successive overhauls and improvements. Moreover, it does not
appear that any one of the three classes was superior to the other two in
the eyes of the US Coast Guard administration or the men who manned the buoy
tender fleet. Tenders from each of the three classes remained in use past
the turn of the 21st century. It usually took from two to four
months between the time shipyard workers laid a keel and the day the vessel
slipped off the ways. Once launched, however, the tenders were far from
ready for service. The practice was to build the superstructure, finish the
interior, and complete the machinery installation while the vessel was
floating. Hence, on launch day the tenders were little more than finished
hulls. As the shipyard workers neared the end of the building process, the
Coast Guard would begin assigning officers and men to the vessels. Once each
vessel was complete and ready to enter active service, the US
Coast Guard commissioned her as part of the fleet. Often the commissioning
ceremonies took place after the tender had departed from
Duluth
and arrived at an initial duty station. For the 180s as a whole, it took an
average period of 308 days to go from the beginning of construction to
commissioning. Divided according to sub-class, the elapsed time from keel
laying to commissioning averaged 360 days for the Cactus-class;
323 days for the Mesquite-class;
and 269 days for the Iris-class.
The building process averaged 192,018 man-hours of labor per vessel. In
keeping with the Lighthouse Service practice of naming tenders after
foliage, all of the 180s were named after trees, shrubs, or flowers.
THE
180s GO TO WAR
Though
the design was completed before
US
entry into World War II, several of the vessels were already under
construction when the Japanese attacked
Pearl Harbor
; the tenders were very much a product of the war. The number of tenders
built and the rapidity with which the shipyards turned them out is
indicative of this nation’s massive industrial output during the war
years. Before the war, no group of thirty-nine steel ships had been produced
in three years. Yet, during the period 1941-1944 the entire production run
of the class went from blueprints to completed ships during a time when the
United States
was producing thousands of other ships at yards around the country. With the
lone exception of the tender built at the Coast Guard Yard at
Curtis
Bay
in
Baltimore
,
Maryland
, two commercial shipyards in Duluth
,
Minnesota
built all the 180s. To achieve this level of production, even as much of the
prewar workforce volunteered or was drafted for military service, the
shipyards turned to a new source of labor. The Duluth
shipyards, like industrial operations nationwide, began to recruit women. As
Duluth
’s men filed off to war as soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines,
Duluth
’s women filed into the shipyards to become welders, machinists, and
electricians. By the end of the war
Duluth
’s “welderettes” numbered 3,500 of the 14,000 persons laboring through
the cold
Minnesota
winters to turn out ships for the war effort. The total number of civilian
shipyard workers employed by Marine Iron and Zenith Dredge peaked at 1,200
and 1,500 respectively. Thus, the US Coast Guard 180s are historically
significant not only as the first class of modern buoy tenders and as part
of an unprecedented military build-up but also as milestones in labor
history American women helped build the 180s during the period when women
first began to enter the industrial workforce. Even after commissioning most
vessels did not immediately enter regular service. Instead the tenders
embarked on shakedown cruises to test the various mechanical, electrical,
and hydraulic systems. The shakedown cruises also offered an opportunity for
crew orientation and training. It was rare that the shakedown cruise did not
reveal some defective system and most vessels returned to a shipyard to have
any glitches repaired. Occasionally the return to the shipyard meant going
back to Zenith Dredge or Marine Iron and Shipbuilding in
Duluth
. Before deployment to their duty stations, other vessels went to the USCG
yard at
Curtis
Bay
which provided an opportunity to outfit the vessels with any additional
equipment or to carry out any modifications needed at the vessels’ new
duty stations.
The
work done by the men and women of Duluth
produced finished buoy tenders, but not warships. It would be up to military
technicians to make the 180s combat-ready. Many of the buoy tenders were
destined to operate far from home in a variety of war zones as part of a
navy locked in a two-ocean war. To defend themselves against air attack, the
tenders were fitted with 20mm guns, usually four of them, mounted high on
the superstructure and on the aft portions of the main deck. Armorers
outfitted the 180s with a single 3" cannon mounted aft of the stack to
defend against aircraft and engage small surface or shore targets. They
installed depth charge racks as well as K- and V-type launchers on the stern
to deploy depth charges in case the vessels ever encountered enemy
submarines. Some 180s were also fitted with a device known as a 'mousetrap'.
This weapon system launched rocket-propelled explosive charges that would
explode on contact with a submarine’s hull. The mousetrap system was
generally mounted on the bow so the launchers could fire ahead of the
vessel. Besides the heavier weapons systems, the tenders carried assorted
small arms. Technicians installed radar and sonar systems to help the 180s
find targets or avoid enemy units. The US Coast Guard shipyard at Curtis
Bay, Maryland carried out the bulk of the work that prepared the buoy
tenders for duty overseas.
Buoy
tenders from the 180 classes operating in the Atlantic Theater saw service
from the frigid waters around Greenland to the tropical coast of
Brazil
. They tended buoys, broke ice, and provided assistance to vessels in need.
They also served as the armed escorts for merchant convoys, hunted U-boats,
and carried supplies to far-flung installations. The 180s were not limited
to coastal duty. Several vessels in the class were dispatched thousands of
miles out into the Atlantic to collect important meteorological data that
allowed military planners to schedule and route aircraft flights to
Europe
. In the Pacific Theater the 180s covered thousands of miles of open
ocean in pursuit of their varied duties. Several vessels worked to establish
Long-Range Aids-to-Navigation (LORAN) station chains in the South Pacific
while others conducted similar operations in the
Bering Sea
. Navy commanders regularly dispatched 180s to carry supplies and personnel
between installations throughout the theatre. The lift capacity and towing
features of the tenders helped them carry out salvage work. The 180s fought
shipboard fires and rescued Allied personnel from damaged vessels. Besides
this range of duties, all the tenders fulfilled their design function on a
regular basis. They serviced ATON along the West Coast, in the waters of the
Bering Sea
, and across the Pacific. They also set and serviced moorings and mooring
buoys for naval and merchant vessels throughout the war zone. Their ATON
work was especially important since many of the areas in which
U.S.
forces operated were very poorly charted or uncharted altogether. The work
done by the 180s allowed thousands of Allied ships to operate along routes
and in harbors far removed from pre-war shipping lanes. The buoy tenders
never received the acclaim afforded larger warships, but their efforts did
not go unnoticed. In the words of a contemporary observer:
As
the battleships and assault troop and cargo ships do the heavy work, the
Coast Guard tenders scurry alongside, paving the broken way for the miracle
of supply which follows. They'll lay cables in the ocean bed, fight fires
and perform rescue and salvage chores. A tender may moor an anchor for
battleships or tow a Navy seaplane caught on a reef-it's all in a day's
work.
None
of the 180s were lost to enemy action during the war. Those in the Atlantic
Theater operated under the threat of German U-boats, but the few encounters
saw the cutters dropping depth charges on the suspected positions of
submerged U-boats and receiving no return fire. A German U-boat sank one
U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender from another class, Acacia (WAGL-200),
while she operated in the
Caribbean Sea
. Acacia was one of the ex-Army mine-planters acquired by the
Lighthouse Bureau after WWI. The USCG named a "C" class 180 in
honor of the sunken vessel. Though
the 180s serving in the Pacific came under enemy air attack on many
occasions, no severe damage resulted. The 180s contributed to the screen of
anti-aircraft fire around the fleet during air raids and shot down
several enemy aircraft while contributing to the destruction of others. One
tender suffered significant damage from an explosion attributed to a
floating Japanese mine. There were no encounters between the buoy tenders
and Japanese submarines or surface units. Weather was also a formidable
adversary. Tenders operating in the northern reaches of both oceans
frequently battled ice and snow as they went about their work. Tenders in
the Atlantic Theatre were subjected to dangerously high winds and waves
during storms, especially during winter storms on the
North Atlantic
. They also had to dodge hurricanes sweeping up from the tropics during the
summer and fall months. The Pacific 180s, besides normal ocean storms, were
subjected to the fury of powerful typhoons that regularly sank large ships.
Heat was a problem in both theatres and, while never a grave threat to the
vessels; it made life unpleasant for crews operating near the equator in the
days before air conditioning. The 180s survived enemy action and the dangers
of operating in the maritime environment in any weather. Every vessel
survived the conflict and the class provided valuable service in the war
effort. Their endeavors made possible the safe navigation of thousands of
warships and merchantmen as the Allied powers dispatched convoys, battle
groups, and invasion fleets to the far reaches of the Pacific and set up a
floating conveyor belt carrying millions of tons of war materiel across the
Atlantic
.
PEACETIME
MISSIONS
While
a few vessels were left overseas to repair and improve ATON systems in the
various Pacific island groups, most of the 180s returned to the
United States
where their wartime crews returned to civilian life. The drop in military
manning levels, however, was so precipitous that the US Coast Guard had to
decommission several 180s temporarily, simply because there were no crews
available. Like their crews returning to civilian life, the buoy tenders
themselves underwent a radical change in appearance. Black hulls and
gleaming white topsides replaced the haze gray and oceanic camouflage
schemes that helped to hide the tenders from enemy eyes during the war
years. Shipyard workers stripped depth charge racks and mousetrap launchers
from the vessels. Cutters re-assigned to the
Great Lakes
had their 3" and 20mm guns removed.. Those remaining overseas or
assigned to coastal districts kept some of their armaments, but the guns
spent most of their time concealed beneath canvas covers. With the war’s
end service on the buoy tenders was more mundane. Instead of operating as
part of vast naval fleets and anchoring in the company of battleships, the
180s went about their prescribed missions alone. For the most part they
spent their time tending buoys and other ATON. This was an especially
important part of returning American maritime commerce to a peacetime
footing as some ATON were neglected during the war while others were
purposely disestablished to prevent their use by enemy forces. Similarly,
many ATON established during the war required removal, as they were
non-essential to normal maritime commerce. Most buoy tenders returning
stateside quickly joined their domestic counterparts in an unending routine
of hauling buoys, carrying out maintenance on various ATON, and delivering
supplies to out of the way navigational installations.
TENDING
BUOYS
The
process of tending or servicing buoys has been the basic mission of the 180s
throughout their careers. It is a process that has evolved through several
important technological changes but one that remains fundamentally the same.
Tending an ATON begins with traveling to its location and making contact.
Once on scene, the conning officer maneuvers the vessel alongside the buoy
so the deck force can snag it with reaching poles. Approaching a buoy is
often a tricky and hazardous proposition since the marker's very purpose is
often to mark shallow water or other hazards to navigation. The difficult
nature of the task is reflected in the records of frequent groundings by the
buoy tender fleet. The 180s original design, specifically single screw
propulsion, meant they were not the most maneuverable platforms and required
a skilled ship handler to bring them alongside an ATON. The addition of bow
thrusters during later renovations
made them more nimble during close quarters maneuvering. Once
alongside a buoy, the deck crew snags it and then attaches the hook from the
cargo boom to a lifting eye on the marker. Then the boom operator lifts the
buoy out of the water and deposits it on the open well deck in front of the
superstructure where it is secured. The process of recovering the buoy has
not changed in any appreciable way over the years. Bringing the buoy on
board is less than half the recovery process. A concrete block or 'sinker'
weighing many thousands of pounds anchors each buoy. Heavy steel chain links
the anchor block to the floating buoy. In order to conduct a thorough
inspection of the whole system, the chain and sinker must be brought up. The
mooring chain is led through a chain stopper on the edge of the well deck.
The chain stopper is a mechanical device that prevents chain from slipping
back overboard, essentially a one-way valve for chain. After the chain is
secure in the chain stopper the boom operator reaches as far down the chain
as possible and snags a length of chain, which is pulled up, laid in the
chain stopper, and secured on deck with quick-releasing pelican clamps as a
safety mechanism. Once the chain is secure, the boom snags another length
and hauls it up. In this hand-over-hand fashion the boom operator hauls up
the entire mooring. Often the sinker is left hanging overboard on the
outside of the chain stopper. This part of the recovery process has changed
since the 180s entered service. Initially, the vessels did not have a chain
stopper mechanism, and chain was secured only by tie downs when the boom
released one length to grab another. The crew of
Tupelo
is credited with inventing and demonstrating the value of a prototype chain
stopper in 1948. With buoy, chain, and sinker resting on the buoy deck, or
secured in the chain stopper, the deck force can begin working. This is the
opportunity to inspect the whole system and do any needed painting, repair
any structural damage, and check the batteries if it is a lighted ATON. The
biggest change in this area over the years has been the shift from gas to
electric lights, followed by the addition of solar panels to lighted buoys.
The panels greatly extend battery life, thereby making battery replacement a
less common chore. Sweetgum conducted the first at-sea
“solarization” of a lighted buoy. At present all lighted buoys mount
solar panels to extend battery life and improve the reliability of the
light. Once
serviced, the buoy must be returned to its charted position. Similarly, new
or replacement buoys must be placed exactly on station. To accomplish this
task, navigators feed information from the ship's satellite navigation
system to the conning officer who guides the vessel to the correct place
over the sea bottom. Once on station the bridge tells the deck force to
release the sinker. A blow with a sledgehammer trips the chain stopper's
release mechanism. This release sends the sinker to the bottom. The deck
crew cuts or releases any tie downs securing the chain to the deck. The
process of finding the exact position where the sinker belongs has changed
dramatically over time. Prior to the introduction of Global Positioning
Systems (GPS) the conning officer was directed to the correct spot by a team
of at least three crewmembers using survey sextants to measure horizontal
angles to known landmarks visible from the vessel. This process, while
accurate when done by experienced navigators, was time consuming and
entailed more chance for error than today's use of computerized navigation
systems. The shift from sextants to differential GPS has improved the
efficiency of repositioning ATON. Not all buoy stations are within sight of
land and sextant angles require fixed landmarks. In the days before GPS the
Coast Guard used LORAN or radar ranges to position these offshore markers.
GPS is more accurate than these older navigational tools and has increased
the accuracy of placement for offshore buoys. Though the missions of the
180s became more mundane after World War II, they were not without the
possibility of excitement and danger. The US Coast Guard had designed the
180s as functional SAR platforms and that capability, proven by rescues
during the war, allowed them to respond to emergency calls throughout US
waters. As the buoy tenders went about their ATON work, they were always on
standby for dispatch to the aid of nearby mariners in distress. Dovetailing
nicely with other SAR features was their ability to break ice on frozen
waterways. This meant they could
not only clear shipping lanes for routine commerce, but also go to the aid
of other vessels trapped in the ice. Hence, they could carry out rescues
that were impossible for most cutters and patrol boats. Beyond their
seaworthiness and icebreaking capabilities, the buoy tender's SAR value was
augmented by equipment for towing other vessels and the ability to fight
fires on ships or along the shore.
NEW
ROLE FOR THE 180S
By
the late 1940s all the temporarily decommissioned buoy tenders had returned
to service as manpower levels stabilized. All thirty-nine members of the
type were engaged in ATON, SAR, and, depending on their location,
icebreaking duties. Their combined operations covered the entire shoreline
of the continental
United States
, the waters around
Hawaii
and
Alaska
, and large portions of the
Pacific Ocean
. During the postwar years the 180s were also increasingly involved in law
enforcement activities. These efforts centered on two disparate pursuits.
The buoy tenders helped enforce various federal fishing laws and
regulations, with particular focus on fishing in the Bering Sea and
Gulf of Alaska
. The efforts emphasized keeping foreign fishing vessels out of
U.S.
waters and enforcement of international agreements on the high seas. Tenders
stationed farther south along the
California
coast and those in the
Southeastern United States
were concerned with drug smuggling more than illegal fishing. As the flow of
illicit drugs entering the
U.S.
increased, many cutters, 180s included, went out to sea to meet vessels
headed for American ports, not to provide aid or check their fishing catch
but to search them for cargoes of contraband. The efforts to interdict drug
smugglers increased throughout the latter half of the century as the volume
of smuggling increased. In the 1980s and 1990s preventing undocumented
immigrants from entering the
US
by sea was added to the list of maritime law enforcement activities pursued
by the 180s.
CONTINUING
MILITARY SERVICE
The
180s saw limited duty in the Korean War and significant action in
Vietnam
. Five of the buoy tenders served in the waters around South Vietnam
. None took up permanent station in the theater; instead, they rotated
through short tours from homeports in the Philippines
and elsewhere in the Pacific. The vessels spent most of their
time placing and maintaining ATON marking coastal and inland waterways.
Simultaneously, they conducted extensive training of Vietnamese nationals in
preparation for the day when the ATON system passed into Vietnamese hands.
This transfer was completed in 1972. Other missions carried out by the 180s
serving in the war zone included cargo transport, survey work, and support
of efforts to interdict enemy supply lines. Most
of the 180s did not see wartime action after their service in World War II.
This does not mean, however, that military training was not part of the buoy
tender's overall mission. The potential military role of the Coast Guard,
however, means USCG units participate in periodic military exercises and
operations with the US Navy and allied maritime forces. As part of the US
Coast Guard, the buoy tenders regularly drilled to improve their ability to
find enemy forces, engage potential targets, survive battle damage, and work
in concert with naval units. These maritime defense activities have been
ongoing throughout the class' history and continue today.
THE
FLEET SHRINKS
By
the early 1970s the 180s had reached their thirtieth anniversaries as Coast
Guard cutters. It was during this decade that the buoy tender inventory
began to shrink. Appropriately enough, the first to go was Cactus, the
first built. Cactus ran hard aground in 1971 and the damage was so
extensive that the government decided to decommission the vessel rather than
repair her. The USCG decommissioned the first of the 180s two days shy of
the thirtieth anniversary of her launch. Two more 180s left active duty,
albeit less traumatically and
according to longstanding plans, the following year. A fourth vessel left
service in 1973 and two more followed in 1975. These vessels, even Cactus,
went on to second careers in the hands of foreign governments or private
owners.
Only
one buoy tender was decommissioned by design in the 1980s; Sagebrush left
active duty in April 1988, more than forty-four years after her
commissioning. It was, however, a hard decade on the 180 fleet. On 28
January 1980, Blackthorn collided with a commercial tanker in
Tampa Bay
,
Florida
. The collision holed and capsized the buoy tender and it sank quickly,
killing twenty-three members of the crew. In December 1989
Mesquite
grounded on a rock pinnacle jutting
from the bottom of
Lake Superior
. The crew safely abandoned ship in lifeboats, but the vessel suffered
severe damage after pounding against the rocks during winter storms. USCG
planners decided to decommission
Mesquite
soon after the accident and a commercial salvage company scuttled her in
1990. Three of the buoy tenders became Medium Endurance cutters
(WMEC) during the 1980s. These conversions entailed the removal of the buoy
handling gear and reassignment to predominately LE and SAR patrol duties.
The
US Coast Guard decommissioned fourteen buoy tenders in the 1990s and seven
more in the early years of the next decade. In early 2002, eight of the
thirty-nine 180s remained in service as USCG buoy tenders. One other 180
remained in commission as a cutter, but operated in the role of a training
and support vessel. Few of the decommissioned cutters have actually been
destroyed or dismantled. Instead, they can be found throughout the world. A
number were transferred overseas under the Foreign Military Sales Program
and serve the navies of countries friendly to the
United States
. Two have embarked on careers as fishing vessels. One serves as a mobile base
and supply ship for a missionary group working in the Pacific. Even Cactus,
first of the 180s, first wrecked, and first decommissioned, still
exists. The remains of the tender built in 1941 serve as a barge in the
Pacific Northwest
. The 180s that have passed out of use entirely were sunk as reefs or ended
their lives as targets for naval munitions tests.
MAINTENANCE,
REPAIR, AND OVERHAUL
The
180-footer design, drawn up before World War II and built in the early
1940s, has demonstrated remarkable longevity. The US Coast Guard
decommissioned the bulk of the class only within the last decade and nine
vessels continue to serve on active duty, sixty years after they were built
and well past the projected life span of any military vessel. This is not to
say that the 180s simply steamed out of the shipyard after their completion
and were so well built that they lasted for five or six decades. To
keep these buoy tenders on active duty the US Coast Guard has expended
millions of dollars. The efforts that kept the 180s operating into the
twenty-first century began in the early 1940s. Even as they went about their
duties in the midst of war, maintenance remained a regular part of every
tender's routine. Maintenance carried out by the tender crews as part of the
everyday routine was interspersed with “availability” periods. During
these periods, scheduled at the request of the tender's captain or by orders
sent down the chain of command, the individual tenders temporarily left
service while the regular crew, often augmented by ship repair specialists,
addressed maintenance issues too complex to handle while the vessel pursued
its regular mission. The availability periods took many forms. In the
simplest incarnation, the tender would anchor out of the way or tie up
alongside a dock after a long voyage or operation and the whole crew would
devote a few days to putting everything in order. In instances where the
vessels required extensive work, the tenders visited shipyards in the
US
or at naval bases overseas. A visit to a shipyard
entailed any number of repairs including time in a drydock for work on the
hull and exterior propulsion equipment. After the war the 180s were
placed on a cyclical maintenance schedule. Exact timetables varied from ship
to ship and according to the service's needs, but on average, each cutter
visited a shipyard for a yard period or “availability” on a biannual
basis. Time in the yard allowed for the undertaking of major repairs and
improvements as well as routine maintenance chores like painting the hull.
Some of these yard periods took place at the US Coast Guard's yard in
Curtis
Bay
, but most occurred at commercial shipyards near the individual tender's homeport.
Buoy tenders were, of course, sent to the nearest yard equipped to handle
the problem after groundings or other mishaps. In a few instances the
Curtis
Bay
yard carried out special work to prepare vessels for unique projects. This
was the case when Spar and Bramble were readied for a trip
through the
Northwest Passage
and Evergreen underwent conversion to become an oceanographic
research vessel. Cyclical yard periods and the efforts of personnel
stationed on the buoy tenders kept them in proper shape for many years.
Nevertheless, by the 1970s the vessels had reached the end of their
projected thirty-year life spans and many were in need of substantial
overhauls if their service careers were to continue. The first round of
overhauls to affect the 180 fleet, known as “Austere Renovations”, began
in 1974. Improvements carried out as part of the Austere Renovation program
consisted of habitability improvements, engineering improvements, and
equipment upgrades. The habitability improvements included modernization of
the World War II-era crew quarters and sanitary facilities, installation of
a crew lounge, remodeling of the dispensary area, and improved climate
control systems. Work in the engineering spaces centered on the overhaul of
the propulsion systems and a general modernization of the engineering plant.
Equipment upgrades elsewhere included installation of modern electronics and
replacement of aging deck machinery. Four buoy tenders went through the
Austere Renovation program. At about the same time the Austere renovations
commenced, the US Coast Guard began rotating other 180s through shipyards
for more extensive improvements as part of the 'Major Renovation' (MAJREN)
program. Under the MAJREN program, vessels received new diesel engines while
the main electrical motor and its control systems underwent a thorough
overhaul. New electrical wiring and switchboards were installed, as were
entirely new water piping and sewage handling systems. Each vessel received
a bow thruster to improve its maneuverability in close quarters. Future
crews benefited from the replacement and modernization of all furnishings in
the living areas. Decreasing the size of the forward hold allowed the
expansion of the living area itself. Fourteen 180s went through the MAJREN
program. These repairs and improvements extended each vessels service life
by an estimated ten to fifteen years. The
third renovation program to affect members of the 180 classes was the
Service Life Extension Program (SLEP). This program began in 1983 and
culminated a decade later. These renovations all took place at
Curtis
Bay
and involved vessels that previously went through the MAJREN program.
Whereas, Austere and MAJREN had entailed significant overhaul, the SLEP was
the most extensive effort to extend the class' life span. During the yard
periods new main engines and generators replaced the aging power plants.
Upgrades and replacement components served to modernize the electrical
systems. Shipyard technicians installed new navigational systems and
computer controls for the engineering systems. SLEP work was far more than
the replacement or upgrade of various systems or simply the addition of new equipment;
it also entailed significant structural changes. Workers sandblasted each
vessel throughout to remove all paint and expose the underlying steel for
careful inspection. Shipyard workers tore away the existing deckhouse and
replaced it with a new structure that included an expanded pilothouse,
ship's office, and radio room. Internal changes included the installation of
smaller forward tanks and the conversion of the forward cargo hold to make
room for the installation of more berthing space, including bunks and heads
for female sailors and a crew lounge. The reconfigured space also included
boatswain, electrical, damage control, and electronics workshops. Work was
done in the internal spaces to improve the watertight integrity of the
vessel. Up on deck, a hydraulic system replaced the electric weight handling
gear and the boom operator's booth was relocated. For Cactus class
vessels SLEP included removal of the A-frame and reconfiguring the cargo
handling system so the boom attached to the bridge wings. Hydraulic weight
handling systems were also added to the boat davits on either side of the
superstructure. The SLEP overhauls were extensive and they were also time
consuming and costly. The average cost for a single tender to pass through
the SLEP was $11 million. Time spent in the yard averaged eighteen months
or, according to the analysis of two representative overhauls,
210,000-215,000 man-hours by shipyard workers. Like the earlier programs,
the SLEP helped to extend the service life span of the aging buoy tenders.
Coast Guard projections during the period estimated the SLEP would extend vessel
life spans by fifteen to twenty years. Three SLEP vessels remain in service
as of 2002. All other 180s that went through the SLEP program left service
beginning in 1999.
THE
REPLACEMENTS
Renovating
and improving the 180s bought time, but it did not ameliorate a basic
problem facing the service. The US Coast Guard would eventually need to
replace the 180s. While a steel vessel can be kept functioning almost in
perpetuity, the cost of doing so eventually reaches a point where
replacement is the preferred option. The
savings can be measured in monetary terms as well as improved efficiency
resulting from fewer breakdowns, less frequent yard periods, and the use of
more advanced technologies. By the 1990s it was time to begin the
lengthy process of creating a successor for the vessels one authority
called, ". . . quite possibly the most versatile and useful cutter ever
built for the Coast Guard," and, ". . . clearly the most
multi-mission capable ship in the Black Fleet." An initial planning and
consultation period ended in January 1993 when the USCG awarded a contract
to Marinette Shipbuilding for the production of a new class of seagoing buoy
tenders. Marinette Shipbuilding won a second contract in June 1993 for the
construction of a new class of coastal buoy tender. The new seagoing tender
class took the name of the prototype vessel: Juniper. The coastal
tenders became the Keeper class, each named for a well-known
lighthouse keeper from the past. The Juniper class vessels measure
225 feet in length, 46 feet in beam, and are propelled by two diesel engines
driving a single reduction gear and a Controllable Pitch Propeller (CPP).
Marinette builds them with both a bow and stern thruster, which combined
with the CPP makes for a maneuverable platform. Like the 180s, they can
handle limited icebreaking duties. The new seagoing tender incorporates many
advances in maritime technology that allow the tenders, though larger than
their predecessors, to operate effectively with a smaller crew.
Perhaps
the most significant advance is the use of a dynamic positioning system (DPS)
to help keep the tender on station. The DPS involves computerization of the
systems that maneuver the vessel, namely propulsion and steering, combined
with the latest in satellite navigation technology. This system allows the Juniper
class vessels to maintain position within a 10-meter radius in 30-knot
winds and 8' seas. Juniper passed from Marinette Shipbuilding to the
USCG in 1996. Projections call for a total of sixteen Juniper class
tenders. Keeper class
tenders measure 175 feet in length and have a beam of 36 feet. They are the
first USCG cutters propelled by a twin Z-Drive. This propulsion system is
essentially a propeller installed within a nozzle that can rotate 360
degrees. This means thrust, in any amount manageable by the vessel's diesel
engine, can be applied in any direction. The Z-Drive system, popular with
many newer tugboats, combined with a bow thruster ensures the Keeper class
tenders have excellent maneuverability and station-keeping qualities. Each
vessel also carries dynamic positioning systems, honing the vessel's ability
to hover on station even further. As of 2002 the USCG has fourteen Keeper
class tenders in service. As
the new seagoing and coastal tenders have entered service, the US Coast
Guard has decommissioned the older 180s. At the beginning of 2002
there were nine of the old buoy
tenders still in commission. They will phase out slowly and tentative plans
call for Acacia to be
the last in service with a decommissioning date sometime in 2006.
A
GREAT DESIGN
The
180-foot buoy-tending cutters built for the US Coast Guard during the early
1940s are remarkable in terms of their longevity. Except the US Coast
Guard's Storis, no other military vessels on active duty today served
in World War II. The 180s longevity is not a case of superior construction,
though they were undoubtedly built quite solidly.
The service performed by the class for over sixty years is a function of
their design. The 180s were extremely versatile and perfectly suited for
their multifaceted role. They could break ice, replace a buoy, and save a
sinking ship all in the course of a day's work. Moreover, they could
complete these missions within sight of their homeport or steam across
thousands of miles of ocean to complete an assigned task. They did not
become outmoded until computers, satellites, and automation changed the way
ships are built and equipped. The US Coast Guard spent time and money
keeping the 180s in service long beyond their projected life span because
that remained the best option. These ships that fought U-boats in World War
II have spent millions of hours since making the world's waterways a safer
place for science, commerce, and recreation. This was possible due to the
design’s versatility and reliability. Obsolescence crept up on the 180s
very slowly, producing a tenure unmatched in twentieth-century American
maritime history. The
180-foot buoy tenders proved to be extremely versatile vessels during their
long careers. Though all spent some portion of their time afloat servicing
buoys, they served in many other pursuits as well. Many of these alternate
activities revolved around the vessel's intended secondary missions, search
and rescue, law enforcement, and icebreaking. Often, however, the tenders
carried out missions never envisioned by their designers, ranging from
transporting rare tropical fish to landing scientific parties on drifting
icebergs. This plethora of pursuits when combined with the wide geographic
distribution of the 180s makes it difficult to describe a typical or generic
career for a 180. The oceangoing buoy tenders built for the US Coast Guard
in the early 1940s served around the world and fulfilled the service's
requirement for a true multi-mission capable platform.
Cutter
History:
World War II
The
CGC Balsam (WAGL-62) was
commissioned 15 October
1942, at
Duluth
,
Minnesota
. Her commanding officers were LT T. A. Hurley, USCG, and LT H. T.
Hendrickson, USCG. She proceeded to
Norfolk
with a permanent station at
San Francisco
. On 24 April 1943, she
was ordered to report to Commander in Chief, Pacific for duty in the South
Pacific to work on fleet moorings, navigational aids, and related harbor
facilities. On 27 March 1944, she was assigned to LORAN construction
work in the Phoenix Island Area and arrived at
Canton Island
on 20 April 1944. Balsam
was moored
at Canton Island Lagoon from 1-4 July 1944,
in connection with the
installation of LORAN stations. On the 5th she proceeded to
Baker
Island
with cargo, unescorted and began discharging cargo offshore on the 7th
into an LCM sent out from the island, working only in daylight and laying
off the island at night. She departed on the 9th with two landing barges
in tow, arriving at
Canton Island
on the 13th. On the 23rd she left for
Gardiner
Island
with a tank lighter in tow and stood offshore there on the 24th
discharging cargo by landing barge. She returned to
Canton Island
next day with the barge in tow, standing off until daylight of the 26th
and moving to the main dock on the 28th. On the 31st she proceeded to
Honolulu
and moored to the Coast Guard Dock,
Sand
Island
on 7 August 1944, moving on to Navy Yard,
Pearl Harbor
on the 13th for major availability for repairs.
Balsam
remained at
Pearl Harbor
undergoing repairs until 15 November 1944. After fumigation, cleaning, and
painting at Sand Island Depot, she proceeded to
Canton Island
on the 25th. On reaching Canton Island on 2 December 1944, she unloaded
cargo and then departed for
Gardiner
Island
on the 5th where cargo was delivered
by No.3 motor launch. She departed for
Atafu
Island
that noon arriving on the 7th and again discharging about 4
tons of cargo by motor
launch; proceeding to Tutuila,
Samoa
which was reached on the
9th, the balance of her cargo was discharged.
Between the 10th and 25th
the ship's force assisted shore personnel in establishing and servicing
all aids to navigation at
Samoa
. She departed for
Canton Island
on December 26, 1944, arriving there on the 29th. On 16 January 1945 Balsam
began loading gasoline and kerosene fuel in drums and departed for
Atafu
Island
on the 17th heaving to off the island on the 19th. Delivery was affected
by pushing the drums over the side on a 1.5-inch line in strings of 12 and
towing them by motor launch to a point just outside the surf. From here a
heaving line was thrown to men inside the surf and they pulled the drums. Balsam
returned to Canton Island on the 21st and began loading cargo for
Gardiner
Island
. She arrived there on the 25th and after discharging cargo by motor
launch, took on 135 empty drums and returned to
Canton Island
on the 27th. On 12 February 1945 Balsam
departed Canton Island for
Honolulu
, where the tender remained until 3 April 1945, undergoing overhaul,
cleaning and painting.
On
11 April 1945 she loaded six buoys and appendages, plus one carryall
truck and a small amount of cargo consigned to various Coast Guard units
at
Kauai
,
Hawaii
. On the 13th she moved to Nawiliwili, discharging cargo and making up
moorings for buoys. On the 15th a new buoy was dropped at Lanipau Rock as
lighted buoy No.2 and she then picked up an old buoy at Makeweli Reef and
proceeded to Port Allen to moor. A new station for Port Allen buoys was
located on the 16th when No.1 buoy was set. Buoy work continued at Port
Allen until the 20th when the cutter moved to
Sand
Island
,
Honolulu
for availability for the rest of April 1945.
Balsam remained at
Sand
Island
,
Honolulu
, until 8 May 1945, when she reported to Commander, Service Force, Pacific
Fleet, for duty. Loading 75 tons of cargo for LORAN units at
Majuro Atoll
,
Marshall Islands
and Guam,
Marianas
, 8 enlisted men reported on board as passengers and she departed for
Majuro on the 9th. She reached Majuro on the 19th where 4 of her
passengers departed. After unloading she departed for Eniwetok stopping
there from the 25th to the 26th and then proceeded to
Guam
, arriving there on the 30th. Here the other four passengers were
disembarked and a 10-day
availability was granted for overhaul and voyage repairs.
Balsam
remained at Guam until 14 June 1945, unloading 50 tons of cargo for
Coast Guard LORAN units at
Guam
and loading 50 tons of cargo consigned to various vessels. Carrying 14
enlisted men as passengers she departed Apra Harbor on the 14th and on the
21st debarked the men at Nakagusuku Wan,
Okinawa
. An enemy aircraft
identified as a "Tony" was sighted five miles away on June 22nd
and ships within gun range opened fire. Later two more enemy planes were
sighted in the area. One of these crashed into an LST seven miles from Balsam
and the other approached to about eight miles before being driven off by
ships in the anti-aircraft screen guarding the harbor entrance.
Forty-foot
timbers were loaded from a supply barge on to Balsam
the evening of 22 June 1945 and on the 23rd she transferred navigational
aids and equipment to Sweetbrier.
On the 25th she proceeded to Unten Ko, under escort and after unloading
cargo consigned to Woodbine on
the 26th proceeded with escorts to
Hagushi
Harbor
,
Okinawa
. Here on the 27th and 28th the ship's force salvaged Japanese chain and
buoy gear from Naha and Inner Naha Harbor, anchoring each night in Hagushi
Harbor. Gear for fleet tanker moorings was delivered by Navy work barges
on the 29th and a location party selected the position of No.1 tanker
anchorage. Early on the 30th an enemy plane passed overhead and was fired
on by shore batteries as it bombed the beach. All through
July 1945, Balsam
engaged in aids to navigation work in Sunabe, Naho Ko and
Hagushi
Harbors
. General quarters was
sounded on 21 July 1945, and Balsam’s
crew opened fire on a bogie bearing 340degrees, with a relative distance
of 1000 yards. Other naval and merchant vessels in Naha Ko fired at the
bogie, and the SS John
A. Rawlins
was hit. Balsam assisted in fighting the fire, damage control, and
putting medical crews aboard. The fire
on Rawlins was
extinguished on the 29th and Balsam
secured from pumping water aboard. On the 30th aids to navigation
work was
resumed and continued through August in
Hagushi
Harbor
, except when. the cutter sought shelter in Naha Ko on August
1, 1945, from a reported typhoon.
1 September found Balsam
engaged in aids to navigation duty at
Ie Shima,
Okinawa
. On 16 September 1945, the cutter
got underway for
Unten Ko,
Okinawa
to seek shelter from a
reported typhoon. During
the day and night, LCVP with
working parties rendered
mooring assistance to vessels entering the harbor during the heavy
storm, receiving commendation from Commander; Task Group 39.3, Unten Ko.
On the 18th, as the weather
moderated, Balsam got underway for
Ie Shima and further aids
to navigation duty.
After
World War II
Balsam
remained stationed in the South
Pacific for two years after the Japanese surrender. During this time she
continued to service ATON and provide general logistical support to
American installations. In October 1947 the U.S. Coast Guard reassigned Balsam
to
Oregon
for ATON duties. Balsam spent just under six years based in
Astoria. These appear to have been busy times for the tender. Besides ATON
work, Balsam often carried out SAR activities along the treacherous
coasts of the
Pacific Northwest
. The tender also patrolled the salmon and tuna fisheries and even spent
some time patrolling sailing regattas. Most of Balsam's activities
during this period were normal peacetime pursuits. Reminders of the recent
war, however, had not yet disappeared. On 23 May 1948, the tender sunk a
floating mine discovered near
Astoria
.
The
tender's homeport changed to Eureka, California, in August 1953. Balsam
spent the next three years operating out of Eureka in much the same
role as when she worked out of Astoria. Buoy tending was the vessel's
primary occupation but emergency calls occasionally sent Balsam to
tow or otherwise assist a vessel aground or in distress. A trip north
broke the routine during the summer of 1956. Like all 180s Balsam could
carry cargo in forward holds. This cargo-carrying capacity proved valuable
when the tender headed for Alaska to re-supply the Distant Early Warning
(DEW) Line. The DEW Line consisted of a series of radar installations that
provided sensor coverage of the Arctic, thereby lessening the chances of a
successful sneak attack by Soviet forces using a polar route.
Shortly
after her visits to the DEW Line, the US Coast Guard reassigned Balsam to
Honolulu
,
Hawaii
. From her Hawaiian base Balsam tended local aids to navigation and
sortied to help vessels in distress and in one case to search for a
missing commercial airliner. Balsam made another re-supply trip to
the DEW Line during the summer of 1957. The trips to the DEW Line
proved a foreshadowing of the future. In June 1958 Balsam was
transferred to Alaska on a permanent basis. Her initial Alaskan base was
Ketchikan where she was stationed for six years before moving to Adak in
1964. Balsam's Alaskan missions were a combination of her typical
ATON role, service as a SAR platform, and patrolling the Cold War's
frontline between
Alaska
and
Siberia
. Once, the buoy tender escorted a Soviet ship that crossed into US
territorial waters to make emergency repairs.
By
the mid 1970s Balsam's career had come to an end. On 6 March 1975,
the vessel's decommissioning ceremony marked the end of her use as a US
Coast Guard cutter. The
US government sold the retired buoy tender in September 1977, just
short of thirty-five years after she entered service. When
the General Services Administration (GSA) sold Balsam, she went to
a private owner for $53,687. That owner subsequently sold the vessel to an
Alaskan fishing concern for $10.00 and "other valuable
considerations" in 1979. The new owners spent almost a year
converting the former buoy tender into a catcher-processor vessel for the
Alaskan crab fishery. The conversion was extensive and included
replacement of the entire superstructure and installation of a new power
plant. It also included installation of fishing gear. When not busy with
crabbing, the vessel functioned as a floating processor for the Pacific
Salmon fishery. Tupelo, another 180, went through the sale and
conversion process simultaneously. The new owners renamed the two former
cutters Baranof and Courageous.
USCGC
Balsam under construction General view of starboard side
USCGC
Balsam prior to launch.
USCGC
Balsam launching party 15 April 1942
10
October 1942 USCGC Balsam commissioning
USCGC
Balsam during World War II (photo taken by C.C. Davis
on 5 January 1945)
USCGC
Balsam off Honolulu in 1956. (Photo Number
14CGD102656-02)
USCGC
Balsam in 1965 while based at Adak, AK (Photo Number API
01206504)
USCGC
Balsam in 1973 off Alaska. (Photo Number 03-30-73 (01)
USCGC
Balsam in April 1974.
Sources:
Cutter
File, Coast Guard Historian's Office.
HABS/HAER,
National Park Service, US Department of the Interior. US Coast Guard
180-Foot Buoy Tenders. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 2003.
Robert Scheina. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II.
Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1981.
Robert Scheina. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft, 1946-1990.
Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1990.
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