Madrona, 1943
WLB-302; WAGL-302
Call Sign: NRPT
Builder: Zenith Dredge Company, Duluth, MN
Builder's Number: bn CG-132
Cost: $949,144
Length: 180' oa
Beam: 37' mb
Draft: 12' max (1945); 14' 7"
(1966)
Displacement: 935 fl (1945); 1,026 fl
(1966); 700 light (1966)
Keel Laid: 6 July 1942
Launched: 3 November 1942
Commissioned: 30 May 1943
Decommissioned: 12 April 2002
Status: Transferred to El Salvador
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 men (1945); 4
officers, 2 warrants, 47 men (1966)
Electronics:
Radar: Bk (1943);
SL (1945)
Sonar: WEA-2 (1945)
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
Early
in 1943 Madrona conducted general
ATON duty and icebreaking on the
Great Lakes
. From June 1943 until the end of the war in 1945 Madrona
was assigned to 7th Coast Guard District. The cutter was stationed at
Miami
,
FL
and used for general ATON duty.
Postwar
After
the war until 22 September 1947 Madrona
continued to be stationed at
Miami
,
FL
, and used for ATON On 25 February 1947 the cutter stood by the damaged MV David
B. Johnson, which had grounded at
Matanilla Shoal
,
Bahamas
. From 22 September 1947 until April 1984 Madrona
was stationed at
Portsmouth
,
VA
and used for ATON. On 25 January
1948 Madrona
escorted the tug Coral Sea and oil barge NR16,
On 27 April 1949 the cutter searched for a reported mine near the
Chesapeake
lightship. On 6 May 1950 Madrona
assisted a ship grounded near the
Cape Fear River
. From 4-6 November 1950 Madrona
towed the disabled MV Atlantic Explorer until relieved by a commercial
tug. On 14 May 1951 Madrona
assisted following collision between MV Thomas Tracey and a naval vessel.
On 4 October 1951 Madrona
assisted MV Marose, which had grounded near
Cape Henry
,
VA.
On 11 March 1952 Madrona
medevaced a crew member from MV Esso Guyenne at 36 48 N, 73 03 W. During
February 1955 the cutter broke ice in the
Chesapeake Bay
. On 26 July
1957 Madrona’s
crew
assisted in fighting a fire on MV Havmoy in the Lynnhaven Roads. In
February 1958 Madrona
again broke ice in the
Chesapeake Bay
. On 2 April 1959 the cutter assisted MV Terra Nova in the lower
Chesapeake Bay
. On 12 September 1960 Madrona
provided assistance in the
Portsmouth
area following Hurricane Donna. On 4 February 1963 Madrona
assisted following the collision between the MV Skaustrand and the
tanker P.W. Thirtle in
Baltimore
harbor. On 27-28 February 1967 the crew helped fight a fire on MV Caldas 50
miles east of
Chincoteague
,
VA.
On 24 May 1980 Madrona
escorted the disabled tanker Esso Portland to Hampton
Roads. In January
1982 broke ice in order to permit salvage barges to move to the scene
of the Air Florida crash site on the Potomac River in
Washington
,
DC
. From 1984-1990 Madrona
underwent major renovation at the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, MD. After
undergoing renovations the cutter was homeported at
Charleston
,
SC
where it remained until its decommissioning on 12 April 2002.
USCGC
Madrona under construction- 1 September 1942
Launching
of USCGC Madrona- 11 November 1942
USCGC
Madrona during World War II- 20 July 1943
USCGC
Madrona- 18 February 1949
USCGC
Madrona underway- 31 December 1964
USCGC
Madrona tending buoys- 26 April 1972
USCGC
Madrona breaking ice in Baltimore harbor- 18 January 1977
USCGC
Madrona- 4 February 1981
USCGC
Madrona- 14 September 1989
USCGC
Madrona-late 1990 after the
Service Life Extension Program was completed.
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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