Hornbeam,
1944
WLB-394
/ WAGL-394
Call
Sign: NODM
Builder: Marine
and Iron Shipbuilding Corporation, Duluth, MN
Builder's
Number: (bn CG-152)
Cost:
$864,296
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: 19 June 1943
Launched: 14
August 1943
Commissioned: 14
April 1944
Decommissioned: 30
September 1999
Status: Last
reported for sale
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)
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
In
March and April 1944 Hornbeam served on the Great Lakes and was used
for general ATON and ice-breaking. From 14 August 1944 until the war's end
in 1945 the cutter was assigned to the First CG District and stationed at
Woods Hole, MA. Hornbeam's primary mission was tending ATON. On 1
January the cutter assisted USCGC Nemesis following the latter's
collision with SS Felipe de Neve.
Post-War
Hornbeam
continued
to be stationed at Woods Hole, MA until July 1976. The ship’s primary
missions were ATON and icebreaking. On 26 November 1950 the tender rendered
assistance to USS Manners, adrift off
Cape Cod
. From 12-14 September 1954 Hornbeam
temporarily assumed duties on the Nantucket Lightship station. On 26 July
1956 Hornbeam assisted with
rescue operations following the collision between passenger ships Andrea
Doria and Stockholm at 40 30 N, 69 53 W. As a result the cutter
carried two lifeboats to Woods Hole. On 7 August 1958 Hornbeam
assisted following the collision between MV s Graham and Gulf Oil in
the east passage of
Narragansett
Bay
. On 29 January
1961 Hornbeam
assisted USCGC Spar aground in
Narragansett Bay
. During March and April 1965 the cutter escorted USS Atka, which was
taking on water off
New Bedford
,
MA
. In late November 1965 Hornbeam
assisted the U.S. MVs American Pilot and Maumee Sun following
their collision west of the
Cape Cod Canal
. In January
1968 Hornbeam
freed the research ship Gosnold from ice near Woods Hole. On 24 May
1972 Hornbeam
collided with the British MV Docelago at 40 41 N, 69 19 W and
sustained damage to her starboard side. There were, however, no casualties.
From July 1976 through 29 April 1977 the ship underwent an overhaul at the
Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, MD. From 29 April 1977 Hornbeam
was
stationed at
Cape May
,
NJ
and used for ATON. In January and February 1994 Hornbeam,
during a record cold spell, spent
seven weeks breaking ice and installing ice buoys in the Delaware Bay and
Delaware River
.
Photographs:
Line
Drawing of 180' Buoy Tenders
USCGC
Hornbeam during construction at Duluth- 17 July 1943
Launching
of USCGC Hornbeam- 14 August 1943
LCDR
Taylor accepts USCGC Hornbeam from the builders
USCGC
Hornbeam- 15 June 1944
Crew
of USCGC Hornbeam- 1952
Officers
and Chief Petty Officers- USCGC Hornbeam-1952
USCGC
Hornbeam off Nantucket in 1963
USCGC
Hornbeam underway on 15 February 1984
USCGC
Hornbeam underway on International Ice Patrol in 1984
Sources:
Cutter File,
Coast Guard Historian's Office.
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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