USCGC Hemlock (WAGL-217) was a lighthouse tender in commission in the fleet of the United States Lighthouse Service as USLHT Hemlock from 1934 to 1939, and in the fleet of the United States Coast Guard as USCGC Hemlock from 1939 to 1958. During World War II, she was given the additional designation (WAGL-217).
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States Lighthouse Service | |
| Name | USLHT Hemlock |
| Builder | Berg Shipbuilding Company, Seattle |
| Cost | $228,460 |
| Laid down | 1933 |
| Launched | 23 January 1934 |
| Completed | 12 January 1933 |
| Acquired | March 1934 |
| Commissioned | 1934 |
| Fate | transferred to the United States Coast Guard, 1 July 1939 |
.png){kind=small} United States Coast Guard | |
| Name | USCGC Hemlock (WAGL-217) |
| Namesake | Previous name retained |
| Acquired | 1 July 1939 (from U.S. Lighthouse Service) |
| Commissioned | December 1940 |
| Decommissioned | 1958 |
| Reclassified | WAGL-217 |
| Homeport | Ketchikan, Territory of Alaska |
| Fate | Sold, August 2, 1961 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Lighthouse tender |
| Tonnage | 1,005 GRT[1] |
| Length | 174.5 ft (53.2 m) o/a[1] |
| Beam | 32 ft (9.8 m)[1] |
| Draught | 13.25 ft (4.04 m)[1] |
| Installed power | 1,000 bhp (750 kW)[1] |
| Propulsion | 2 screws, VTE, 2 boilers[1] |
| Speed | 11.3 knots (20.9 km/h; 13.0 mph)[1] |
| Range | 1,950 miles (3,140 km) at 11.0 knots[1] |
| Complement | 74[1] |
| Armament | |
History edit
She was laid down in 1933 at the Seattle shipyard of the Berg Shipbuilding Company.[1][2] She was specifically designed for Alaska with a double-bottom and larger fuel tanks.[2] She was launched on 23 January 1934, acquired by the United States Lighthouse Service in March 1934, and commissioned later that year.[1] Assigned to the 16th Lighthouse District, she worked as a lighthouse tender in the waters surrounding the Territory of Alaska.[2] On 1 July 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Service was abolished and the United States Coast Guard took over its responsibilities and assets; and Hemlock became part of the Coast Guard fleet as USCGC Hemlock. She continued to operate out of Ketchikan, Territory of Alaska as her home-port.[1]
During World War II, she was assigned to the Alaska Sector of the 13th Naval District[2] (headquartered at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard) where she was one of the few ships then in newly-appointed Captain R.C. Parker's small "Alaskan Navy" which consisted of the gunboat and flagship USS Charleston, the cutter USCGC Onondaga, three converted patrol craft (YP-72, YP-73, YP-74),[3] and her sister lighthouse tenders, USCGC Alder and USCG Cedar.[4][1] She was decommissioned in 1958.[5] She was sold on August 2, 1961[citation needed] and later served as a merchant ship.[6]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Silverstone, Paul (10 September 2012). The Navy of World War II, 1922-1947. Routledge. p. 370. ISBN 9780415978989.
- ^ a b c d "Edmund Lewis Arruda". Edmund Lewis Arruda family website.
- ^ Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Volume 5. United States Navy, Naval History Division. 1970. pp. 157–159. ISBN 9780035954363.
- ^ The Coast Guard at War (PDF). United States Coast Guard. 15 February 1946. p. 59.
The district also had three tenders in commission, Alder, Cedar, and Hemlock.
- ^ Williams, USCG (retired), Frank (27 April 2014). "Lighthouse Tenders". coastguardmodeling.com. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ Merchant Vessels of the United States 1973. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1 January 1973.