This is a list of lightships of the United States, listinglightships operated by the United States government. The first US lightship was put in place off of Willoughby Spit in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, in 1820. [1] Lightships remained in service in the United States until March 29, 1985, when the last ship, the Nantucket I, was decommissioned. [2] During that period, lightships were operated by several branches of the government: by the Lighthouse Establishment from 1820 to 1852, the Lighthouse Board from 1852 to 1910, the Lighthouse Service from 1910 to 1939, and the Coast Guard from 1939 to 1985.
The naming conventions used for lightships are not consistent. Until 1867, there was no uniform method to refer to individual lightships. Lightships in that period generally took the name of the station that they served, but occasionally other names. These names were not permanently assigned to an individual vessel. Rather, whenever a lightship was moved to a new station she took on that name. That made identifying individual ships nearly impossible. Beginning in 1867, lightship numbers (hull numbers) were assigned to ships still in service. These numbers are the primary means of identifying individual lightships across her various stations. In 1938, the Lighthouse Service retroactively allocated letter codes to the unnumbered lightships based on their research of available records, although some ships may have been lost or misidentified. [3] Even with the hull numbers, it is common to refer to a lightship by the name of the station it serves (or Relief, if it is a relief ship) and a few, such as the Nantucket I and Nantucket II have been given individual names.
Designation | Start Year | End Year | Stations | Fate | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lightship A | c. | 1838 | c. | 1868 | St. Helena Bar (1838 – 1859) Combahee Bank (1859–1868) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship B | 1821 | 1861 | Smith Point (1821 – 1861) | Sunk by the Confederate States Navy in 1861 | [A] | [3] | ||
Lightship C | 1820 | c. | 1859 | Willoughby's Spit (1820) Craney Island (1821 – 1859) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship D | c. | 1854 | c. | 1860 | Frying Pan Shoal (1854 – 1860) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy | [A] | [3] |
Lightship E | c. | 1854 | c. | 1860 | Rattlesnake Shoal (1854 – 1860) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy | [A] | [3] |
Lightship F | c. | 1849 | after | 1860 | Ship Shoal (1849 – 1859) Relief (1860 – Unknown) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship G | c. | 1865 | 1866 | Cross Rip (1865 – 1866) | Abandoned and sunk by December 30, 1866 | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship H | c. | 1828 | 1864 | Cross Rip (1828 – 1864) | Wrecked at Cape Poge, Martha's Vineyard in 1864 | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship K | c. | 1839 | c. | 1859 | Martins Industry (1839 – 1855) Calibouge Sound (1855 – 1859) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship L | c. | 1835 | after | 1849 | Bartlett Reef (1835 – 1849) Eel Grass Shoal (1849 – Unknown) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship M | c. | 1826 | c. | 1855 | Wade Point Shoal (1826 – 1855) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship N | 1823 | c. | 1855 | Brandywine Shoal (1823 – 1850) Minots Ledge (1851 – 1854) Relief (1855) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship O | c. | 1835 | 1861 | Bowlers Rock (1835 – 1861) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship P | c. | 1848 | after | 1848 | Tybee Island Knoll (1848 – Unknown) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship Q | 1821 | c. | 1847 | Willoughby's Spit (1821 – 1847) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship R | 1847 | 1867 | Willoughby's Spit (1847 – 1867) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | ||
Lightship S | 1821 | after | 1821 | Wolf Trap Shoal (1821 – Unknown) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship T | 1856 | 1861 | Wolf Trap / York Spit (1856 – 1861) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy in 1861 | [A] | [3] | ||
Lightship U | c. | 1834 | 1861 | Windmill Point (1834 – 1861) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy in 1861 | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship V | c. | 1863 | 1864 | Fishing Rip (1863 – 1864) | Captured during the American Civil War, and commandeered by the United States Navy from July 5, 1863 to March 1864. It is unknown what became of it after the war. | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship W | c. | 1847 | 1860 | Merrills Shell Bank (1847 – 1860) | Sunk by the Confederate States Navy in 1860 | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship X | 1823 | c. | 1845 | Upper Middle Shoal (1823 – 1845) | May be Lightship LV-19, which was sunk in 1900 | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship Y | c. | 1857 | c. | 1861 | Dames Point (1857 – 1861) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship Z | 1847 | c. | 1860 | Vineyard Sound (1847 – 1860) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship AA | c. | 1825 | c. | 1841 | Carysfort Reef (1825 – 1841) | May have been converted to a bell boat in 1841, but may have been two ships. (The first retired in 1830.) | [A] | [3] |
Lightship BB | c. | 1841 | c. | 1852 | Carysfort Reef (1841 – 1841) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship DD | c. | 1825 | 1861 | Lower Cedar Point (1825 – 1861) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy in 1861 | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship EE | before | 1859 | c. | 1859 | Upper Cedar Point (Unknown – 1859) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship FF | c. | 1831 | after | 1831 | Brant Island Shoal (1831 – Unknown) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship GG | c. | 1863 | c. | 1863 | Brant Island Shoal (1863) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship HH | c. | 1828 | c. | 1862 | Neuse River (1828 – 1862) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship JJ | c. | 1825 | 1861 | Long Shoal (1825 – 1861) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy in 1861 | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship KK | c. | 1864 | c. | 1867 | Long Shoal (1864 – 1867) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship LL | c. | 1821 | after | 1821 | Upper Cedar Point (1821 – Unknown) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship MM | c. | 1835 | 1861 | Roanoke River (1835 – 1861) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy in 1861 | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship NN | c. | 1838 | c. | 1854 | Northwest Passage (1838 – 1854) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship PP | c. | 1846 | c. | 1853 | Sand Key (1846 – 1853) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship QQ | c. | 1836 | 1861 | Harbor Island (1836 – 1861) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy in 1861 | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship RR | c. | 1835 | c. | 1861 | Roanoke Island (1835 – 1861) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship SS | c. | 1827 | 1861 | Nine Foot Shoal (1827 – 1859) Upper Cedar Point (1859 – 1861) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy in 1861 | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship TT | c. | 1852 | c. | 1859 | Okracoke Channel (1852 – 1859) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship UU | c. | 1851 | c. | 1870 | Horseshoe Shoal (1851 – 1870) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
Lightship VV | 1823 | c. | 1829 | Sandy Hook (1823 – 1829) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship WW | 1839 | c. | 1854 | Sandy Hook (1839 – 1854) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship XX | 1849 | c. | 1870 | Galveston (1849 – c. 1870) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship YY | 1832 | c. | 1851 | Mackinaw Straight (1832 – 1851) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship ZZ | 1820 | c. | 1823 | Northeast Pass (1820 – 1823) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
Lightship LV-1 | 1856 | 1930 | Nantucket New South Shoal (1856 – 1892) Martins Industry (1892 – 1896) Frying Pan Shoal (1896 – 1911) Martins Industry (1911 – 1922) Savannah (1922 – 1930) | Donated to the Sea Scouts in 1930. Later ran aground on the banks of the Merrimack River in a flood that occurred in 1936. | [B] | [4] | ||
Lightship LV-2 | 1849 | 1921 | Pollock Rip (1849 – 1875) Winter Quarter Shoal (1875 – 1876) Hen and Chickens (1877 – 1907) Relief (1907 – 1921) | Unknown | [B] | [5] | ||
Lightship LV-3 | 1852 | 1923 | Shovelful Shoal (1852 – 1916) Relief (1916) Handkerchief Shoal (1916 – 1923) | Unknown | [B] | [6] | ||
Lightship LV-4 | 1856 | 1924 | Bishop and Clerks (1856 – 1858) Handkerchief Shoal (1858 – 1916) Relief (1916 – 1924) | Unknown | [B] | [7] | ||
Lightship LV-5 | 1866 | 1930 | Hen and Chickens (1866 – 1867) Cross Rip (1867 – 1915) Relief (1916) Stonehorse Shoal (1916 – 1923) Handkerchief Shoal (1923 – 1924) Relief (1925 – 1930) | Unknown | [B] | [8] | ||
Lightship LV-6 | 1862 | 1918 | Succonnesset Shoal (1862 – 1912) Relief (1912 – 1915) Cross Rip (1915 – 1918) | Disappeared on February 4, 1918. LV-6 was stuck in moving ice, and presumably sank with all hands. | [B] | [9] | ||
Lightship LV-7 | 1854 | 1909 | Minots Ledge (1854 – 1860) Vineyard Sound (1861 – 1875) Relief (1875 – 1881) Wreck of Scotland (1881 – 1902) Relief (1902 – 1909) | Unknown | [B] | [10] | ||
Lightship LV-8 | 1860 | 1879 | Frying Pan Shoal (1860) Han and Chickens (1867 – 1877) Relief (1877 – 1879) | Sunk by the Confederate States Navy in 1860 at Cape Fear River. LV-8 was later salvaged by USLHT Iris in 1866, and repaired. It is unknown what became of this ship. | [B] | [11] | ||
Lightship LV-9 | 1858 | 1925 | Relief (1858–1915) Hedge Fence (1915–1925) | Unknown | [B] | [12] | ||
Lightship LV-10 | 1887 | 1902 | Grosse Pointe (1887–1902) | LV-10 was originally purchased as a construction barge for the Lighthouse Service, then was converted to a lightship in 1887. It is unknown what became of this ship after it left service. | [13] | |||
Lightship LV-11 | 1854 | 1925 | Nantucket New South Shoal (1854–1855) Brenton Reef (1856–1897) Relief (1897–1902) Scotland (1902–1925) | Unknown | [B] | [14] | ||
Lightship LV-12 | c. | 1835 | 1871 | Eel Grass Shoal (Unknown–1871) | Unknown | [C] | [15] | |
Lightship LV-13 | 1854 | 1913 | Relief (1854 – 1855) Succonnessett Shoal (1855 – 1862) Relief (1862 – 1867) Bartlett Reef (1867 – 1933) Relief (1933 – 1934) | Unknown | [B] | [16] | ||
Lightship LV-14 | 1853 | 1872 | Brenton Reef (1853 – 1856) Cornfield Point (1856 – 1872) Relief (1872) | Unknown | [B] | [17] | ||
Lightship LV-15 | 1838 | 1879 | Stratford Shoal (1837 – 1877) Relief (1877 – 1879) | LV-15 was replaced by Stratford Shoal Light in 1877, then was used as a barracks for workers building the Great Beds Light in 1880. She was sold at the end of that year at auction for $1,010. It is unknown what became of this ship after the auction. | [B] | [18] | ||
Lightship LV-16 | 1854 | 1935 | Sandy Hook (1854 – 1891) Relief (1891 – 1935) | Unknown | [B] | [19] | ||
Lightship LV-17 | 1848 | 1891 | Bartlett Reef (1848 – 1867) Relief (1867 – 1877) Eel Grass Shoal (1877 – 1882) Relief (1882 – 1891) | Transferred to US Navy in 1891 for use as target practice, and sunk later that year. | [B] | [20] | ||
Lightship LV-18 | 1839 | 1875 | Five Fathom Bank (1839 – 1869) Relief (1869 – 1875) | Transferred to US Navy in 1875 for use as target practice, presumably sunk. | [B] | [21] | ||
Lightship LV-19 | c. | 1845 | 1900 | Cross Ledge (1845 – 1875) Fourteen Foot Bank (1876 – 1886) Ram Island Reef (1886 – 1894) Relief (1894 – 1900) | May be the same ship as Lightship X. LV-19 was transferred to US Navy in 1900 for use as target practice, and presumably sank. | [B] | [22] | |
Lightship LV-20 | 1867 | 1923 | Relief (1867 – 1868) Wreck of Scotland (1868 – 1870) Relief (1870 – 1876) Wreck of Scotland (1876 – 1880) Relief (1880 – 1886) Wreck of Oregon (1886) Relief (1886 – 1918) Cross Rip (1918 – 1922) Relief (1923) | Sold in 1923 and used by rumrunners during Prohibition. She was eventually grounded, abandoned, and burned near Plymouth, Massachusetts. | [B] | [23] | ||
Lightship LV-21 | 1864 | 1880 | Upper Cedar Point (1864 – 1867) Willoughby Split (1867 – 1868) Relief (1869 – 1871) Wreck of Weehawken (1871 – 1872) Tybee Island Knoll (1872 – 1880) | Unknown | [B] | [24] | ||
Lightship LV-22 | c. | 1846 | 1903 | Relief (1846–Unknown) York Split (1863–1864) Wolf Trap Shoal (1864–1870) Eel Grass Shoal (1871–1872) Cornfield Point (1872–1882) Relief (1884–1885) Hog Island Shoal (1885–1901) Relief (1901–1903) | This was the only lightship to be renumbered (see note C). It is unknown what became of LV-22. | [C] | [15] [25] | |
Lightship LV-23 | 1862 | 1925 | Smith Point (1862 – 1868) Willoughby Split (1868 – 1872) Relief (1872 – 1874) Wreck of Scotland (1874 – 1876) Relief (1876 – 1882) Cornfield Point (1882 – 1892) Relief (1892 – 1894) Ram Island Reef (1894 – 1925) | Originally A. J. W. Applegarth, she was acquired by the Lightship Service in 1862. It is unknown what became of this ship after she left service. | [B] | [26] | ||
Lightship LV-24 | 1864 | 1869 | Lower Cedar Point (1864 – 1867) York Spit (1867 – 1870) Relief (1870 – 1874) Winter Quarter Shoal (1874 – 1875) Relief (1875 – 1889) | Unknown | [B] | [27] | ||
Lightship LV-25 | 1827 | 1884 | Hooper Straight (1827 – 1867) Relief (1867 – 1870) Choptank River entrance (1870 – 1871) Eel Grass Shoal (1872 – 1877) Relief (1877 – 1884) | Unknown | [B] | [28] | ||
Lightship LV-28 | 1864 | 1906 | Bowlers Rock (1864 – 1868) Relief (1868 – 1869) Galveston (1870 – 1906) | Unknown | [B] | [29] | ||
Lightship LV-29 | 1865 | 1915 | Frying Pan Shoal (1865 – 1871) Martins Industry (1871 – 1875) Frying Pan Shoal (1875 – 1877) Relief (1877 – 1880) Martins Industry (1880 – 1887) Relief (1887 – 1888) Frying Pan Shoal (1888 – 1892) Relief (1893 – 1906) Martins Industry (1906 – 1911) Relief (1911 – 1915) | Unknown | [B] | [30] | ||
Lightship LV-30 | 1863 | 1871 | Rattlesnake Shoal (1863 – 1871) | Unknown | [B] | [31] | ||
Lightship LV-31 | 1865 | 1871 | Wreck of Weehawken (1865 – 1871) | Formerly James Gray, commissioned in the Confederate States Navy as CSS Lady Davis. Captured by the USN in 1865, stripped, and transferred into lightship service. LV-31 served until 1871 after which her fate is unknown. | [B] | [32] | ||
Lightship LV-32 | 1863 | 1890 | Frying Pan Shoal (1863 – 1864) Martins Industry (1864 – 1871) Relief (1871 – 1877) Frying Pan Shoal (1877 – 1883) Relief (1883 – 1886) Rattlesnake Shoal (1886 – 1889) Relief (1889 – 1890) | Unknown | [B] | [33] | ||
Lightship LV-33 | 1857 | 1872 | Relief (1857 – 1861) Martins Industry (1862 – 1864) Relief (1864 – 1868) Fishing Rip (1868 – 1869) Tybee Island Knoll (1869 – 1872) | Unknown | [B] | [34] | ||
Lightship LV-34 | 1866 | 1924 | Relief (1866 – 1876) Frying Pan Shoal (1871 – 1875) Martins Industry (1876 – 1880) Rattlesnake Shoal (1880 – 1886) Martins Industry (1887 – 1892) Rattlesnake Shoal (1892 – 1894) Charleston (1894 – 1924) | Unknown | [B] | [35] | ||
Lightship LV-35 | 1858 | 1862 | Martins Industry (1858 – 1862) | it was originally sunk by the Confederate States Navy in the Savannah River in 1862. Four years later it was raised, and intended to be used for lightship duly as LV-35. Subsequently, it was found to be too damaged so it was scrapped. | [D] | [36] | ||
Lightship LV-37 | 1869 | 1893 | Five Fathoms Bank (1869 – 1876) Winter Quarter Shoal (1876 – 1888) Relief (1888) Fenwick Island Shoal (1888 – 1892) Relief (1892 – 1893) | Sank on station on August 4, 1893 with the loss of four crewmen. | [E] | [37] | ||
Lightship LV-38 | 1870 | 1892 | Relief (1870 – 1871) Rattlesnake Shoal (1871 – 1880) Relief (1881 – 1883) Frying Pan Shoal (1883 – 1888) Relief (1888 – 1889) Rattlesnake Shoal (1889 – 1892) | Unknown | [E] | [38] | ||
Lightship LV-39 | 1875 | 1935 | Vineyard Sound (1875 – 1876) Five Fathom Bank (1876 – 1877) Relief (1877 – 1897) Brenton Reef (1897 – 1935) | Sank in 1975 near Beverly, Massachusetts. | [39] | |||
Lightship LV-58 | 1894 | 1905 | Nantucket New South Shoal (1894 – 1896) Fire Island (1896 – 1897) Relief (1897 – 1905) | Sank in 1905 due to a gale. | [40] | |||
Lightship LV-71 | 1897 | 1918 | Diamond Shoals (1897 – 1918) | Torpedoed, and sank in 1918 | [41] | |||
Lightship LV-73 | 1901 | 1944 | Pollock Rip Shoal (1901 – 19??) Vineyard Sound (19?? – 1944) | Sunk on September 19, 1944 in a hurricane. | [42] | |||
Lightship LV-79 | 1904 | 1967 | Five Fathom Bank (1904 – 1924) Relief (1924 – 1926) Barnegat (1927 – 1942) Examination Vessel, WWII (1942 – 1945) Barnegat (1945 – 1967) | Now a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. | [43] | |||
Lightship LV-82 | 1912 | 1936 | Buffalo (1912-1913) Relief (1916-1925) Eleven Foot (1926-1936) | Scrapped in 1942, or possibly sunk by vandals in 1945. | [44] | |||
Lightship LV-83 | 1905 | 1960 | Blunts Reef (1905 – 1930) San Francisco (1930 – 1942) Examination Vessel, WWII (1942 – 1945) San Francisco (1945 – 1951) Relief (1951 – 1960) | Now a museum in Seattle, Washington. | [45] | |||
Lightship LV-87 | 1907 | 1966 | Now a museum in New York City, New York. | |||||
Lightship LV-97 | 1895 | 1918 | Bush Bluff (1895 – 1918) | Scrapped in 1945. | [46] | |||
Lightship LV-100 | 1929 | 1971 | Blunts Reef (1930 – 1942) Examination Vessel, WWII (1942 – 1945) Blunts Reef (1945 – 1959) Relief (1959 – 1969) San Francisco (1969 – 1971) | Transferred to the U.S. Navy on August 6, 1971 for further transfer to Vietnam. it is unknown what became of this ship. | [F] | [47] | ||
Lightship LV-101 | 1916 | 1963 | Cape Charles (1916 – 1924) Relief (1925 – 1926) Overfalls (1926 – 1951) Stonehorse Shoal (1951 – 1963) | Now a museum in Portsmouth, Virginia. | [48] | |||
Lightship LV-102 | 1916 | 1963 | Southwest Pass (1917 – 1918) South Pass (1918 – 1933) Relief (1933 – 1934) Brenton Reef (1935 – 1962) Cross Rip (1962 – 1963) | [49] | ||||
Lightship LV-103 | 1921 | 1970 | Relief (1921 – 1923) Grays Reef (1924 – 1926) Relief (1927 – 1928) Grays Reef (1929) Relief (1929 – 1933) North Manitou Shoal (1934 – 1935) Relief (1935) Lake Huron (1936 – 1970) | Now a museum in Port Huron, Michigan. | [50] | |||
Lightship LV-105 | 1922 | 1944 | Diamond Shoal (1922 – 1942) Examination vessel (1942 – 1944) | [51] | ||||
Lightship LV-106 | 1923 | 1967 | Nantucket Shoals (1923 – 1931) Relief (1931 – 1934) Nantucket Shoals (1934 – 1936) Relief (1936 – 1942) Examination vessel (1942 – 1945) Relief (1945 – 1967) | [52] | ||||
Lightship LV-107 | 1923 | 1968 | Cape Lookout Shoals (1924 – 1933) Winter Quarter Shoal (1934 – 1942) Examination vessel (1942 – 1956) Winter Quarter Shoal (1945 – 1960) Delaware (1960 – 1965) Relief (Third District) (1965 – 1968) | Moored at the Liberty Landing Marina in Liberty State Park, Jersey City, New Jersey | [53] | |||
Lightship LV-108 | 1923 | 1970 | Relief (Third District) (1923) Five Fathom Bank (1924 – 1942) Examination vessel (1942 – 1945) Five Fathom Bank (1945 – 1970) | [54] | ||||
Lightship LV-109 | 1923 | 1966 | Relief (6th district) (1924 – 1954) Savannah (1954 – 1964) New Orleans (165 – 1966) | [55] | ||||
Lightship LV-110 | 1923 | 1972 | Pollack Rip (1924 – 1942) Examination vessel (1942 – 1945) Pollack Rip (1945 – 1947) Vineyard Sound (1945 – 1947) Cross Rip (1954 – 1958) Buzzards Bay (1959 – 1961) Relief (4th and 5th districts) (1961 – 1967) Barnegat (1967 – 1969) Five Fathom Bank (1970 – 1971) | [56] | ||||
Lightship LV-111 | 1926 | 1969 | Northeast End (1927 – 1932) Ambrose Channel (1932 – 1952) Portland (1952 – 1969) | [57] | ||||
Lightship LV-112 | 1936 | 1975 | Nantucket Shoals (1936 – 1942) Examination Vessel, WWII (1942 – 1945) Nantucket Shoals (1945 – 1958) Relief (1958 – 1960) Nantucket Shoals (1960 – 1975) | Now a museum in East Boston, Massachusetts. | [58] | |||
Lightship LV-113 | 1930 | 1968 | Swiftsure Bank (1930 – 1942) Examination Vessel, WWII (1942 – 1945) Swiftsure Bank (1945 – 1961) Umatilla Reef (1961) Relief (1961 – 1968) | Sank on June 16, 1988 while being towed to Ketchikan, Alaska. | [F] | [59] | ||
Lightship LV-114 | 1930 | 1971 | Fire Island (1930 – 1942) Examination Vessel, WWII (1942 – 1945) Diamond Shoal (1945 – 1947) Relief (1947 – 1958) Pollock Rip (1958 – 1969) Portland (1969 – 1971) | Scrapped in 2007 after sinking (later raised) in New Bedford, Massachusetts. | [F] | [60] | ||
Lightship LV-115 | 1930 | 1965 | Frying Pan Shoals (1930 – 1942) Examination Vessel, WWII (1942 – 1945) Frying Pan Shoals (1945 – 1964) Relief (1964 – 1965) | Operational, and available for rent | [F] | [61] | ||
Lightship LV-116 | 1930 | 1970 | Fenwick Island Shoal (1930 – 1933) Chesapeake (1933 – 1942) Examination Vessel, WWII (1942 – 1945) Chesapeake (1945 – 1965) Delaware (1965 – 1970) | Now a museum in Baltimore, Maryland | [F] | [62] | ||
Lightship LV-117 | 1931 | 1934 | Nantucket Shoals (1931 – 1934) | Sank in 1934 after being struck by the RMS Olympic. | [F] | [63] | ||
Lightship LV-118 | 1938 | 1972 | Cornfield Point (1938 – 1957) Cross Rip (1958 – 1962) Boston (1962 – 1972) | Now a museum in Lewes, Delaware. | [64] | |||
Lightship WLV-604 | 1951 | 1979 | Columbia River (1951 – 1979) | Now a museum in Astoria, Oregon. | [65] | |||
Lightship WAL-605 | 1951 | 1975 | Overfalls (1951 – 1960) Blunts Reef' (1960 – 1969) Relief (1969 – 1975) | Now a museum in Oakland, California. | [66] | |||
Lightship WLV-612 | 1950 | 1985 | San Francisco (1951 – 1969) Blunts Reef (1969 – 1971) Portland (1971 – 1975) Nantucket Shoals (1975 – 1983) | Sold to private owner, operational and available for charter. She is the last lightship to be decommissioned by the coast guard. | [67] | |||
Lightship WLV-613 | 1952 | 1983 | Ambrose Channel (1952 – 1967) Relief (1967 – 1979) Nantucket Shoals (1979 – 1983) | Sold to private owner. Located in Wareham and New Bedford, Massachusetts in the 2010s. | [68] | |||
A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. They are used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, the first modern lightship was located off the Nore sandbank at the mouth of the River Thames in London, England, by its inventor Robert Hamblin in 1734. Lightships have since been rendered obsolete by advancing lighthouse construction techniques, and by large automated navigation buoys.
United States lightship Chesapeake (LS-116/WAL-538/WLV-538) is a museum ship owned by the National Park Service and on a 25-year loan to Baltimore City, and is operated by Historic Ships in Baltimore Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. A National Historic Landmark, she is one of a small number of preserved lightships. Since 1820, several lightships have served at the Chesapeake lightship station and have been called Chesapeake. Lightships were initially lettered in the early 1800s, but then numbered as they were often moved from one light station to another. The name painted on the side of lightships was the short name of the Light Station they were assigned to and was the daytime visual aspect of the many Aids to Navigation on board lightships. The United States Coast Guard assigned new hull numbers to all lightships still in service in April 1950. After that date, Light Ship 116 was then known by the new Coast Guard Hull number: WAL-538. In January 1965 the Coast Guard further modified all lightship hull designations from WAL to WLV, so Chesapeake became WLV-538.
The station named Nantucket or Nantucket Shoals was served by a number of lightvessels that marked the hazardous Nantucket Shoals south of Nantucket Island. The vessels, given numbers as their "name," had the station name painted on their hulls when assigned to the station. Several ships have been assigned to the Nantucket Shoals lightship station and have been called Nantucket. It was common for a lightship to be reassigned and then have the new station name painted on the hull. The Nantucket station was a significant US lightship station for transatlantic voyages. Established in 1854, the station marked the limits of the dangerous Nantucket Shoals. She was the last lightship seen by vessels departing the United States, as well as the first beacon seen on approach. The position was 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Nantucket Island, the farthest lightship in North America, and experienced clockwise rotary tidal currents.
The United States lightship Huron (LV-103) is a lightvessel that was launched in 1920. She is now a museum ship moored in Pine Grove Park, Port Huron, St. Clair County, Michigan.
United States lightship Columbia (WLV-604) is a lightship located in Astoria, Oregon, United States of America. Columbia was formerly moored near the mouth of the Columbia River.
Light Vessel Number 83 (LV-83) Swiftsure is a lightship and museum ship owned by Northwest Seaport in Seattle, Washington. Launched in 1904 at Camden, New Jersey and in active service until 1960 after serving on all five of the American west coast's lightship stations, it is the oldest surviving lightship in the United States, the only one still fitted with its original steam engine, and the last lightship with wooden decks. LV-83 was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989, and has been undergoing major restoration since 2008.
Lightship Ambrose was the name given to multiple lightships that served as the sentinel beacon marking Ambrose Channel, New York Harbor's main shipping channel.
United States Lightship 101, now known as Portsmouth as a museum ship, was first stationed at Cape Charles, Virginia. Today she is at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum in Portsmouth, Virginia. Portsmouth never had a lightship station; however, when the vessel was dry docked there as a museum, she took on the pseudonym Portsmouth. A National Historic Landmark, she is one of a small number of surviving lightships.
United States lightship Nantucket (LV-112) is a National Historic Landmark lightship that served at the Lightship Nantucket position. She was the last serving lightship and at time of its application as a landmark, one of only two capable of moving under their own power. She served as the lightship for such notable vessels as the liners United States, Queen Mary, and Normandie.
Frying Pan (LV-115) is a lightvessel moored at Pier 66a in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It served at Frying Pan Shoals, off Cape Fear in North Carolina, for over 30 years.
United States lightship Relief (WLV-605) is a lightvessel now serving as a museum ship in Oakland, California. Built in 1950, she is one of a small number of surviving lightships, and one of an even smaller number built specifically for the United States Coast Guard. Along with her sister ship, the WLV-604 Columbia, she is a good example of the last generation of lightships built. She was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989.
Lightship No. 114, later U.S. Coast Guard WAL 536, that served as lightship Fire Island (NY), Examination Vessel, Diamond Shoal (NC), 1st District relief vessel, Pollock Rip (MA) and Portland (ME). After decommissioning in 1971, in 1975 the lightship became a historic ship at the State Pier in New Bedford, Massachusetts. She received little maintenance, and eventually sank at her moorings in 2006 and was sold for scrap the next year.
Lieutenant Junior Grade Clarence Samuels, was the first Hispanic American of African descent photographer in the United States Coast Guard, to command a cutter, as well as the first one to be a commanding officer of a Coast Guard vessel during wartime.
The United States lightship Barnegat (LV-79/WAL-506), is located in Camden, Camden County, New Jersey, United States. The lightship was built in 1904 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on 29 November 1979.
Lightship Overfalls (LV-118) was the last lightvessel constructed for the United States Lighthouse Service before the Service became part of the United States Coast Guard. She is currently preserved in Lewes, Delaware as a museum ship.
The United States Lightship WLV-613 was a lightvessel commissioned in 1952 that became the last lightship to mark the Ambrose Channel. She was replaced by a Texas Tower lightstation on 24 August 1967.
The United States Lightship LV-87/WAL-512 (Ambrose) is a riveted steel lightship built in 1907 and served at the Ambrose Channel lightship station from December 1, 1908, until 1932, and in other posts until her decommissioning in 1966. It is one of a small number of preserved American lightships, and now serves as a museum ship at the South Street Seaport Museum in southern Manhattan, New York City.
The Nantucket Lightship or United States Lightship WLV-612 is a lightvessel commissioned in 1950 that became the last lightship decommissioned in United States Coast Guard service.
A number of vessels served as the Pollock Rip Lightship first located to mark the junction of Pollock Rip and Pollock Rip Slue channels. The area was heavily used and subject to heavy fog. The station itself changed within the locality. From 1889 to 1913 the red hull was marked in white with Pollock Rip and then simply Pollock from 1913 to 1969. A nearby station, occupied from 1902 to 1923 by Lightship No. 73 before it was assigned to Pollock Rip station in 1923, was marked Pollock Rip Slue. The station was not occupied between February 16 and October 16, 1924 and was replaced by a buoy 1942 — 1945.
United States lightship No. 113, known as Swiftsure, was a steel-hulled lightship in commission with the United States Lighthouse Service as LV-113 from 1929 to 1939, and in the fleet of the United States Coast Guard as WAL-535 from 1939 until 1968. During World War II, she was given the designation USS YP-397.
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