U.S. Coast Guard Lightships
& Those of the U.S. Lighthouse Service
VESSEL DESIGNATION: LV 107/WAL 529
YEAR BUILT: 1923
BUILT AT: Bath (ME)
APPROPRIATION: '?
BUILDER: Bath Iron Works
CONTRACT PRICE: $200,000
SISTER VESSELS: LV 106,108,109,110,111
DESIGN: Steam screw; steel hull, steel pilot house and deck houses, 2 masts
with lantern galleries; smokestack amidships
LENGTH: 132'4" (loa); BEAM: 30'0"; DRAFT: 14'7"; TONNAGE: 775 displ
PROPULSION: Steam - compound reciprocating engine, 400 IHP; 2 oil fired Scotch marine boilers, 120 psi; 4 bladed propeller; max speed 9 knots
ILLUMINATING APPARATUS: 375mm electric lens lantern at each masthead
FOG SIGNAL: 12" steam chime whistle, submarine bell, hand operated bell
CONSTRUCTION NOTES - MODIFICATIONS - EQUIPMENT CHANGES &
IMPROVEMENTS:
Delivered Feb 2, 1924-
Equipped with radio and radiobeacon when built-
1933: Fog signal changed to steam diaphragm horn (Leslie 17" Typhon)-
194?: Repowered with GM 400HP diesel, 4'9"dI.a propeller, max speed 7.5
knots-
1955: Fitted with TRSCăl radar, duplex 375mm lens lantern on foremast-
1959: USCG lists vessel with F2T air diaphone; other characteristics as
above-
Radio and visual call sign NMGV (1940-1965)
STATION ASSIGNMENTS:
1924-1933: Cape Lookout Shoals (NC)
1934-1942: Winter Quarter Shoal (VA)
1942-1945: Examination Vessel, WWII
1945-1960: Winter Quarter Shoal (VA)
1960-1965: Delaware (DE)
1965-1968: Relief Third District (based at Cape May NJ)
(Cape Lookout station discontinued 1933)
(1942-1945 during WWII, withdrawn from Winter Quarter, assigned to 5th
District
stationed at Portsmouth (VA) and used as examination vessel; no armament)
HISTORICAL NOTES:
1927: Mar 2, parted chain and off station in severe NW storm; regained
station next day when weather moderated-
1928: Sep 18, in hurricane force winds, parted chain and unable to make
headway under power; steamed inshore and anchored until weather improved;
regained station Sep 20-
1930: Sep 12, during hurricane, plating buckled on starboard bow; deck
stanchions bent; dragged 1 1/2 mi north of station-
1936: Sep 17/18, in track of hurricane, barometer 28.80, dragged off
station; ship's side near starboard cargo port stove in by heavy seas; radio
disabled due to water damage; generators and storage batteries broke loose
from mountings; motor boat demolished by boarding seas; regained station Sep
19
RETIRED FROM LIGHTSHIP DUTY: 1968; AGE: 45
SUBSEQUENT DISPOSITION: Decommissioned Apr 15, 1968; transferred to Hampton (VA) Nov 21, 1968 as museum. Hulk said to have been seen at Hampton 1980. Reported in 1984 to be at North American Metals, shipbreakers yard at Bordentown New Jersey. As of 2004, she serves as a marina office and bar and grill at the Liberty Landing Marina, Liberty State Park, Jersey City, New Jersey. Although she is maintained, she has been altered to suit the marina's needs.
COMMANDING OFFICERS: LV 107 / WAL 529
1924-1925: Arthur M Hudson, Master
1925-?: Charles F Tull, Mate
1929-?: Barnette, Master
1938-?: Samuel F Dowdy, Mate
?-1946: WO J.B. Reynolds, CO
1946-1949: WO P.R. Tittermary, CO
1949-1949: WO H.T. Peele, CO
1949-1951: WO W.E. Dinterman, CO
1951-1954: CWO J.W. Berry, CO
1954-1958 CWO E.W. Thomas, CO
1958-1959: CWO Dewey H. Scarborough, Jr., CO
1959-1962: CWO M N Joynes, CO
1962-1964: CWO William L. Taylor, CO
1964-1965: WO Louis R. Stowe, CO
1965-1966: WO James O. Deardoff, CO
1966-1967: WO Paul Drumgoole, CO
1967-1968: WO Gary Day, CO
PHOTOGRAPHS:
Click here to view a photo of the spar deck of LV-106 or one of her sister lightships.
