Sundew, 1944

WAGL / WLB-404

Any of several insectivorous plants of the genus Drosera, growing in wet ground and having leaves covered with sticky hairs.  Also called drosera.

Builder: Marine Iron & Shipbuilding Corporation, Duluth, MN

Keel Laid: 29 November 1943

Launched: 8 February 1944

Commissioned: 24 August 1944

Decommissioned: May 2004

Cost: $861,589

Length: 180'

Beam: 37'

Draft: 12' maximum (1945)

Displacement: 935 tons (1945)

Propulsion: 1 electric motor connected to 2 Westinghouse generators driven by 2 Cooper-Bessemer diesels; 1,200 SHP; single propeller.

Performance:
     Max: 13 knots, 8,000 mile range (1945)
     Cruising: 12.0 knots, 12,000 mile range
     Economic: 8.3 knots, 17,000 mile range

Fluid Capacities (in gallons):
     Diesel Oil: 28,600 gallons
     Potable Water: 13,155

Deck Gear: 20-ton boom w/ electric hoist

Anchors: 2 Navy Stockless, 2,200 lbs each, 810-foot chain

Armament: 1 x 3"/50; 4 x 20mm/80 (single barrel); 2 x depth charge stern tracks; 2 x Mousetraps (1945)

Small Boats: 26' Motor Cargo Boat, capable of carrying 2,000 lbs of cargo, powered by 92-hp engine, top speed of 14 knots; Rigid Hull Inflatable, twin 65-jp Evinrude outboards, top speed in excess of 25 knots (2000)

Complement: 80 (1945)

Electronics: 
     Radar: SL-1
     Sonar: QBE-3

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 manila 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.

Cutter History:

Sundew, a 180-foot Iris or C-class tender, was built in Duluth, Minnesota by the Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Company. Her keel was laid on 29 November 1943.  She was christened and launched on 8 February 1944. She was commissioned on 24 August 1944.

She was originally home ported in Manitowoc, Wisconsin where her primary duties were aids to navigation (ATON), icebreaking, and search and rescue (SAR).  She had only been there one year when she was transferred to Milwaukee to replace another cutter. She stayed there for eight years.

Then in 1953 her homeport was shifted to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, where she served for five years, again doing ATON and ice breaking.  Then in 1958 she was sent to Charlevoix, Michigan where she spent the next 22 years of her career.

She was extensively renovated in 1978.  Her boom was converted from electric to hydraulic, she had a bow-thruster installed, and the ship was air-conditioned to make it more comfortable for the crew.  In 1980 she was sent to Duluth, Minnesota in order to provide better coverage of the area, which is where she spent the rest of her career.

In 1985 she was outfitted with twin 1050 horsepower Electric Main Diesel engines, effectively making her the most powerful buoy tender in service at the time.  She used the engines in order to more effectively break the ice in Lake Superior.

Through out her career, her primary duties were ATON and SAR missions, however she performed many other tasks such as: Marine environmental protection, maritime law enforcement, ice breaking, and military readiness. She also worked with other agencies, both government and public, to complete various tasks such as: assisting biologists with monitoring the Zebra Mussel migration into Lake Superior, water and bottom sampling surveys, monitoring and reporting weather to the National Weather Service, and assisting the National Data Buoy Center and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Maintaining weather collection buoys on Lake Superior.

Then in May 2004 she was decommissioned after a very quiet career.  She was one of the few 180 foot cutters that did not serve over seas during World War II, and spent her entire career in American waters.

Researched and written by Ms. Melissa M. Ashmore. 

USCGC Sundew

No caption; dated 1961; Photo No. 9 CGD 113061-04; photographer unknown.

USCGC Sundew

Original caption: "C.G.C. SUNDEW ICE BREAKING TESTS"; 18 March 1954; Photo No. 03245404; photographer unknown.

USCGC Sundew

Original caption: "C.G.C. SUNDEW ICE BREAKING TESTS LISTING VESSEL BY USE OF BOOM"; dated 18 March 1954; Photo No. 03235411; photographer unknown.

USCGC Sundew

No caption/date/photo number listed; photographer unknown.

Sources:

Cutter History File.  USCG Historian's Office, USCG HQ, Washington, D.C.

Robert Scheina.  U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II.  Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1982.

Robert Scheina.  U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft, 1946-1990.  Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1990.

U. S. Department of the Interior.  National Park Service. U.S. Coast Guard 180-Foot Buoy Tenders.  HAER booklet.  Washington, DC: National Park Service, September, 2003.   [HAER nos. DC-56, LA-14, LA-15, RI-56, and AL-187; Todd Croteau, HAER Industrial Archeologist ( project leader); Jet Low, HAER Photographer; Dana Lockett (architect); Pete Brooks (architect); Candace Clifford (historian); and Kevin Foster (historian).] 

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Last Modified 1/26/2012