NOAAS Davidson

Last updated
NOAAS Davidson (S 331).jpg
History
Flag of the United States.svg Flag of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.svg United States
NameUSC&GS Davidson (CSS 31)
Namesake George Davidson (1825-1911), an accomplished geodesist and United States Coast Survey official
Operator U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey
Builder Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Norfolk, Virginia
Launched7 May 1966
Sponsored byMrs. George P. Miller
Commissioned10 March 1967
FateTransferred to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 3 October 1970
Flag of the United States.svg NOAA Flag.svg United States
NameNOAAS Davidson (S 331)
NamesakePrevious name retained
Operator National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
AcquiredTransferred from U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey 3 October 1970
Out of service1989
Stricken1997
Homeport Seattle, Washington
Identification
Fate
  • Sold
  • Became private American research vessel
  • Later became a Nigerian oilfield security vessel
StatusActive as oilfield security vessel in Nigeria
General characteristics
Class and type McArthur-class hydrographic survey ship
Tonnage854 gross register tons; 207 net register tons
Displacement995 tons (full load)
Length175 ft (53 m)
Beam38 ft (12 m)
Draft12.1 ft (3.7 m)
Installed power1,600 horsepower (2.1 megawatts)
PropulsionTwo General Motors diesel engines, twin controllable-pitch propellers, 186 tons fuel
Speed12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Range6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Endurance17 days
ComplementEither 23 (6 officers and 17 crew) plus up to 13 scientists [1] or 38 (8 NOAA Corps officers, 3 licensed engineers, and 27 other crew, plus up to 2 scientists [2]
Notes440 kilowatts electrical power; Hydroplot data-recording system

NOAAS Davidson (S 331) was a survey ship in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1970 to 1989. Prior to her NOAA service, she was in commission in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1967 to 1970 as USC&GS Davidson (CSS 31), the second Coast and Geodetic Survey ship of the name. She was the only sister ship of NOAAS McArthur (S 330).

Contents

Construction and commissioning

Davidson was built for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey as a "coastal survey ship" (CSS) and was launched by the Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Company at Norfolk, Virginia, on 7 May 1966, [3] sponsored by Mrs. George P. Miller. [4] The Coast and Geodetic Survey commissioned her on 10 March 1967 as USC&GS Davidson (CSS 31), the second Coast and Geodetic Survey ship to bear the name. When the Coast and Geodetic Survey merged with other agencies to form NOAA on 3 October 1970, she became part of the NOAA fleet as NOAAS Davidson (S 331).

Operations

With her home port at the Pacific Marine Center, Seattle, Washington, Davidson, along with her only sister ship, McArthur, spent her career conducting hydrographic surveys along the United States West Coast; in Alaskan waters, including in Prince William Sound in 1974, Tracy Arm, Endicott Arm, and Skagway Harbor; in San Diego Bay in 1975; and in the Pacific Ocean. She had a Bathymetric Swath Survey System (a stabilized deep-mapping sonar) and a Hydroplot data-recording system.

R/V Davidson in Seward, Alaska in Ocean Services colors R-V Davidson in Seward, Alaska.jpg
R/V Davidson in Seward, Alaska in Ocean Services colors

Taken out of service in 1989, Davidson was stricken in 1997 without ever having been formally decommissioned. [5] After her disposal by NOAA, Davidson was operated for many years by Ocean Services Inc. a company in Seattle and with her home port in Sitka, Alaska. She was used as a survey and research vessel in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, South America, Alaska, and various locations in the Pacific. In 2002 from Feb 28th through May 11 she was chartered by Nauticos to search for Amelia Earhart's Lockheed 10E Electra. She was eventually sold to interests in Nigeria and operates there as a security vessel in the Nigerian offshore oilfields.

R/V Davidson engineroom Davidson w.jpg
R/V Davidson engineroom

Notes

  1. ↑ Per NOAA Marine Operations (at http://www.moc.noaa.gov/ar1/index.html).
  2. ↑ Per Combat Fleets of the World 1984/85, p. 987.
  3. ↑ Invitation to launching ceremony of ESSA Ship DAVIDSON on May 7, 1966
  4. ↑ Invitation to pre-launch social activities following launch of ESSA Ship DAVIDSON on May 7, 1966
  5. ↑ Polmar, Norman, The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet, Seventeenth Edition, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2001, ISBN   1-55750-656-6, p. 614.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps</span> US federal uniformed service

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, known informally as the NOAA Corps, is one of eight federal uniformed services of the United States, and operates under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a scientific agency overseen by the Department of Commerce. The NOAA Corps is made up of scientifically and technically trained officers. The NOAA Corps and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps are the only U.S. uniformed services that consist only of commissioned officers, with no enlisted or warrant officer ranks. The NOAA Corps' primary mission is to monitor oceanic conditions, support major waterways, and monitor atmospheric conditions.

NOAAS <i>Rude</i>

NOAAS Rude was an American Rude-class hydrographic survey ship that was in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1970 to 2008. Prior to its NOAA career, it was in commission in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1967 to 1970 as USC&GS Rude. It was named for Gilbert T. Rude, former Chief of the Division of Coastal Surveys of the Coast and Geodetic Survey.

NOAAS <i>Oceanographer</i> Former American oceanographic research vessel

NOAAS Oceanographer, originally USC&GS Oceanographer, was an American Oceanographer-class oceanographic research vessel in service in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1966 to 1970 and in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1970 to 1996. She served as flagship of both the Coast and Geodetic Survey and NOAA fleets.

NOAAS <i>Fairweather</i> US Research and hydrographic survey ship based in Alaska (1967)

NOAA Ship Fairweather, originally operated by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey as USC&GS Fairweather, is an oceanographic research ship operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Fairweather primarily conducts hydrographic surveys in Alaskan waters, but is considered a multi-mission-capable vessel and has conducted fisheries research cruises. She is the sister ship of the NOAAS Rainier and of the retired NOAAS Mount Mitchell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental Science Services Administration</span> Former U.S. government scientific agency

The Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) was a United States Federal executive agency created in 1965 as part of a reorganization of the United States Department of Commerce. Its mission was to unify and oversee the meteorological, climatological, hydrographic, and geodetic operations of the United States. It operated until 1970, when it was replaced by the new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

NOAAS <i>Mount Mitchell</i>

NOAAS Mount Mitchell was an American survey vessel in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from 1970 to 1995. Prior to her NOAA career, she was in commission in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey as USC&GS Mount Mitchell from 1968 to 1970. In 2003, she returned to service as the private research ship R/V Mt. Mitchell.

USS <i>Oceanographer</i> (AGS-3) Survey ship of the United States Navy

USS Oceanographer (AGS-3) was a survey ship of the United States Navy during World War II that produced charts chiefly of passages in the Solomon Islands area of the Pacific Ocean. Upon transfer to the Navy, she had initially briefly been named and classed as gunboat USS Natchez (PG-85). Before her World War II Navy service, she had been USC&GS Oceanographer (OSS-26), a survey ship with the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1930.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Coast and Geodetic Survey</span> Former U.S. government scientific agency

The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, known from 1807 to 1836 as the Survey of the Coast and from 1836 until 1878 as the United States Coast Survey, was the first scientific agency of the United States Government. It existed from 1807 to 1970, and throughout its history was responsible for mapping and charting the coast of the United States, and later the coasts of U.S. territories. In 1871, it gained the additional responsibility of surveying the interior of the United States and geodesy became a more important part of its work, leading to it being renamed the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1878.

NOAAS <i>Surveyor</i> U.S. oceanographic survey ship

NOAA Ship Surveyor was an oceanographic survey ship in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1970 until 1995. Prior to her NOAA career, she was in commission in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1960 to 1970 as USC&GS Surveyor. She was the second and last Coast and Geodetic Survey ship named Surveyor and has been the only NOAA ship thus far to bear the name.

NOAAS <i>Discoverer</i>

NOAAS Discoverer, originally USC&GS Discoverer, was an American Oceanographer-class oceanographic research vessel in service in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1966 to 1970 and in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1970 to 1996.

NOAAS <i>Heck</i>

NOAAS Heck was a Rude-class hydrographic survey ship in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1970 to 1995. Prior to her NOAA service, she was in commission from 1967 to 1970 in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey as USC&GS Heck.

NOAAS <i>McArthur</i>

NOAAS McArthur, was an American survey ship in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1970 to 2003. Prior to her NOAA career she was in commission in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1966 to 1970 as USC&GS McArthur (CSS-30).

USC&GS Davidson was the name of two ships of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, and may refer to:

USC&GS <i>Explorer</i> (OSS 28)

The second USC&GS Explorer was a survey ship that served in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1940 to 1968. She operated in the Pacific Ocean from 1940 to 1960, seeing service there during World War II, and in the Atlantic Ocean from 1960 to 1968.

NOAAS <i>Whiting</i>

NOAAS Whiting, was an American survey ship that was in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1970 to 2003. Previously, she had been in commission in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1963 to 1970 as USC&GS Whiting.

NOAAS <i>Peirce</i>

NOAAS Peirce, was an American survey ship that was in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1970 to 1992. Previously, she had been in commission in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1963 to 1970 as USC&GS Peirce.

NOAAS <i>Ferrel</i> American hydrographic survey ship

NOAAS Ferrel was an American hydrographic survey ship that was in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 1970 to 2002. Prior to her NOAA career, she was in commission in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1968 to 1970 as USC&GS Ferrel.

USS <i>PCS-1450</i> Minesweeper of the United States Navy

USS PCS-1450, ex-PC-1450, was a United States Navy minesweeper in commission from 1944 to 1946. She saw service in the latter stages of World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harley D. Nygren</span> NOAA general

Rear Admiral Harley Dean Nygren was an American military officer who served in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps, its successor, the Environmental Science Services Administration Corps, and the ESSA Corps's successor, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps. He served as the first Director of the NOAA Corps.

USS <i>PCS-1405</i> Minesweeper of the United States Navy

USS PCS-1405 was a United States Navy minesweeper in commission from 1944 to 1946. She saw service in the latter stages of World War II.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.