USCGC Gentian

Last updated
USCGC Gentian breaks ice on the Potomac River.jpg
Gentian breaks ice on the Potomac River.
History
Flag of the United States.svgFlag of the United States Coast Guard.svg United States
NameUSCGC Gentian (WLB-290)
Owner United States Coast Guard
BuilderZenith Dredge Company [1]
Laid down3 October 1941
Launched23 May 1942
Commissioned
  • 3 November 1942 – 2 September 1976
  • 1983 – May 1998
  • September 1999 – 23 June 2006
ReclassifiedWIX-290 September 1999
FateTransferred to the Colombian Navy on 15 October 2007
Flag of the Colombian Navy.svg Colombia
NameARC San Andrés (PO-45)
Owner Colombian Coast Guard
Acquired15 October 2007
StatusActive
General characteristics
Class and type 180-A
Displacement
  • 935 fl (1945)
  • 1,026 fl (1966)
  • 700 light (1966)
Length
Beam37 ft 1 in (11.30 m)
Draft
  • 12 ft (3.7 m)
  • 14 ft 7 in (4.45 m) max
Installed power
Propulsion1 × electric motor; single screw; 1,000 shp (750 kW)
Speed
  • 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) sustained
  • 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) economic
Range
  • 12,000 mi (19,000 km) at 8.3 knots (15.4 km/h; 9.6 mph)
  • 17,000 miles (27,000 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement
  • 6 officers, 74 enlisted (1945)
  • 3 officers, 2 warrants, 42 enlisted (1962)
Sensors and
processing systems
  • Radar: BK (1943) SL (1945); SPS-23 (1966)
  • Sonar: WEA-2 (1945); UNQ-1 (1966)
Armament

USCGC Gentian (WLB-290), a Cactus- or A-class buoy tender was built by Zenith Dredge of Duluth, Minnesota. Her keel was laid 3 October 1941, launched 23 May 1942, and commissioned 3 November 1942.

Contents

Career

From December 1942 to January 1944 Gentian was stationed in New York. On 3 February 1944 Gentian was reassigned to Cape May, New Jersey and was used for maintaining navigational aids, search and rescue operations, annual ice breaking on the Hudson River, numerous tows of Coast Guard vessels to the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, Maryland and law enforcement. On 3 July 1948 she evacuated 42 persons from the disabled Swedish motor vessel Dagmar Salen, 20 miles (32 km) from the Overfalls lightship and extinguished an out-of-control engine room fire on the ship.

On 19 January 1949 Gentian assisted USCGC Eastwind (WAGB-279) when Eastwind struck by M.V. Gulfstream off Cape May, New Jersey. [2]

On 26–28 May 1952 assisted following a collision between tanker Michael and motor barge A.C. Dodge in the Delaware River, on 18–21 December 1954 assisted following a collision between tanker Atlantic Capetown and the motor vessel Maya, and on 29 June 1953 assisted following a collision between motor vessels Gulftrader and Sol de Panama4 miles (6.4 km) south of Barnegat Lightship.

On 1 October 1956 Gentian was transferred to Miami, Florida. On 29–30 September 1959 she assisted in the Hurricane Gracie evacuation of the coastal areas of Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia and on 12–20 March 1960 participated in Operation Big Slam for drug interdiction.

On 15 July 1960 Gentian was transferred to Galveston, Texas. On 9 November 1961 while pursuing the FV Islander thought to be a drug smuggler, Islander turned and rammed Gentian trying to sink her. Islander sank while Gentian only sustained superficial damage and arrested Islander's crew. On 2 September 1976 Gentian was decommissioned and stored at the Coast Guard Yard, Curtis Bay, Md.

In the early 1980s Gentian had major renovations to machinery, living spaces and superstructure under the Service Life Extension Program (SLEP). New main General Motors diesels were installed, new generators, propulsion systems, central fluid power system, new vang supported boom system (eliminating the distinctive Cactus-class A-frame boom support), marine sanitation system, navigational electronics, and more. On 27 July 1983 the mostly brand new Gentian was assigned to Coast Guard Group Fort Macon, Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, and soon after served off the coast of Grenada during the US intervention. On 27 November 1984 she seized vessel Princess and 17.5 tons of marijuana, and in September 1989 assisted in the Hurricane Hugo evacuation of the coastal areas of Charleston, South Carolina.In 1994 served in Operation Able Manner and Uphold Democracy off the coast of Haiti.

In May 1998 Gentian's service as a black-hull buoy tender ended. She was temporarily decommissioned, repainted white and refurbished to facilitate longer periods of time at sea. Then in September 1999 she was recommissioned as WIX-290, and assigned to Miami, Florida where she trained sailors from all over the world. She was known as a Caribbean Support Tender and spent a great deal of time in the Caribbean. Gentian's final decommissioning came on 23 June 2006.

On 15 October 2007, she was transferred to Colombia and serves as ARC San Andrés (PO-45).

Related Research Articles

USCGC <i>Bramble</i>

USCGC Bramble (WLB-392) is one of the 39 original 180-foot (55 m) seagoing buoy tenders built between 1942 and 1944 for the United States Coast Guard. In commission from 1944 until 2003 she saw service in Pacific, Caribbean and Atlantic waters as well as the Great Lakes. In 1947 Bramble was present at the Nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll and in 1957 a circumnavigation of North America involved a forced traverse of the Northwest Passage. After decommissioning in 2003 Bramble became a museum ship in Port Huron, Michigan. In 2018 she was sold to a private owner, who is preparing MV Bramble to repeat her historic 1957 circumnavigation of North America.

USCGC <i>Acacia</i> (WLB-406) Coast Guard ship

The USCGC Acacia (WAGL-406/WLB-406) is an Iris-class 180-foot seagoing buoy tender operated by the United States Coast Guard. Acacia was a multi-purpose vessel, nominally a buoy tender, but with equipment and capabilities for ice breaking, search and rescue, fire fighting, logistics, oil spill response, and other tasks as well. She spent almost all of her 62-year Coast Guard career on the Great Lakes. After decommissioning she became a museum ship in Manistee, Michigan.

USCGC <i>Cactus</i>

USCGC Cactus (WLB-270) is a 180 feet (55 m) seagoing buoy tender (WLB). A Cactus-class vessel, she was built by Marine Ironworks and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth, Minnesota. Cactus's preliminary design was completed by the United States Lighthouse Service and the final design was produced by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth. On 31 March 1941 the keel was laid, she was launched on 25 November 1941 and commissioned on 1 September 1942. The original cost for the hull and machinery was $782,381.

USCGC <i>Cowslip</i>

USCGC Cowslip (WLB-277) is a 180-foot (55 m) sea going buoy tender (WLB). A Cactus-class vessel, she was built by Marine Ironworks and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth, Minnesota. Cowslip's preliminary design was completed by the United States Lighthouse Service and the final design was produced by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth. On 16 September 1941 the keel was laid. She was launched on 11 April 1942 and commissioned on 17 October 1942. The original cost for the hull and machinery was $918,873.

USCGC Spar (WLB-403) was a 180-foot (55 m) sea going buoy tender. An Iris class vessel, she was built by Marine Ironworks and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth, Minnesota. Spar's preliminary design was completed by the United States Lighthouse Service and the final design was produced by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding. On 13 September 1943 the keel was laid, she was launched on 2 November 1943 and commissioned on 12 June 1944. The original cost for the hull and machinery was $865,941.

USCGC <i>Sassafras</i> C-class buoy tender, 1943-2003 (now NNS Obula)

Sassafras is a C-Class, 180 ft, seagoing buoy tender constructed for the USCG by Marine Iron & Shipbuilding Corp. of Duluth, Minnesota. Sassafras was one of 39 tenders commissioned for duties that would include aids-to-navigation, ice breaking, search-and-rescue, fire fighting, law enforcement, providing fuel and potable water, and assistance to the National Oceanographic and Seismographic Survey.

USCGC <i>Eastwind</i>

USCGC Eastwind (WAGB-279) was a Wind-class icebreaker that was built for the United States Coast Guard. Completed in time to see action in World War II, she continued in USCG service under the same name until decommissioned in 1968.

USS Barricade (ACM-3) was a Chimo-class minelayer in the United States Navy during World War II.

USS <i>Barbican</i>

USS Barbican (ACM-5) was a Chimo-class minelayer in the United States Navy. Barbican was later commissioned in U.S. Coast Guard as USCGC Ivy.

USCGC <i>Evergreen</i> American seagoing buoy tender (1943–1990)

The USCGC Evergreen was a Cactus-class seagoing buoy tender operated by the United States Coast Guard. She served in the North Atlantic during World War II and participated in the International Ice Patrol in these waters after the war. She was the first dedicated oceanographic vessel in the Coast Guard's history. She was decommissioned in 1990 and sunk by the US Navy for target practice in 1992.

USCGC <i>Madrona</i>

USCGC Madrona (WAGL/WLB-302) was a U.S. Coast Guard 180 foot seagoing buoy tender. Madrona was built by the Zenith Dredge Company of Duluth, Minnesota at a cost of $949,144.

USCGC <i>Fir</i> (WLM-212) Lighthouse tender

The United States Coast Guard Cutter Fir was the last lighthouse tender built specifically for the United States Lighthouse Service to resupply lighthouses and lightships, and to service buoys. Fir was built by the Moore Drydock Company in Oakland, California in 1939. On 22 March 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Tender Fir was launched. She was steam driven with twin screws, 175 feet (53 m) in length, had a beam of 32 feet (9.8 m), drew 11 feet 3 inches (3.43 m) of water, and displaced 885 tons. Fir was fitted with a reinforced bow and stern, and an ice-belt at her water-line for icebreaking. She was built with classic lines and her spaces were lavishly appointed with mahogany, teak, and brass. The crew did intricate ropework throughout the ship. The cost to build Fir was approximately US$390,000. Fir's homeport was Seattle, Washington for all but one of her fifty one years of service when she was temporarily assigned to Long Beach, California when USCGC Walnut was decommissioned on 1 July 1982.

USCGC <i>Citrus</i>

USCGC Citrus (WAGL-300/WLB-300/WMEC-300) was a Cactus (A)-class seagoing buoy tender built in 1942 in Duluth, Minnesota, and now operated by the navy of the Dominican Republic.

USCGC <i>Laurel</i>

USCGC Laurel WAGL/WLB-291, a Cactus- or A-class United States Coast Guard seagoing buoy tender was built by Zenith Dredge of Duluth, Minnesota. Her keel was laid 17 April 1942, launched 4 August 1942 and commissioned on 24 November 1942.

USCGC Clover WAGL/WLB/WMEC-292, a Cactus (A) Class buoy tender was built by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding, Duluth, Minnesota. Her keel was laid 3 December 1941, and she was launched 25 April 1942. She was commissioned on 8 November 1942 in the United States Coast Guard as the United States Coast Guard Cutter Clover. She was built as a WAGL, redesignated a WLB in 1965, and again redesignated a WMEC in 1979.

USCGC <i>Sorrel</i>

USCGC Sorrel (WAGL/WLB-296) was a Cactus (A) class buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard built by Zenith Dredge of Duluth, Minnesota. Her keel was laid 26 May 1942, launched 28 September 1942 and commissioned on 15 April 1943.

USCGC Tupelo WAGL/WLB-303, was a Cactus (A) Class 180-foot buoy tender vessel built by Zenith Dredge Company of Duluth, Minnesota. Her keel was laid 15 August 1942, launched 28 November 1942 and commissioned on 30 August 1943. She was built as a WAGL and redesignated a WLB in 1965.

USCGC <i>Aspen</i> Seagoing buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard

USCGC Aspen (WLB-208) is the eighth cutter in the Juniper-class 225 ft (69 m) of seagoing buoy tenders. She is under the operational control of the Commander of the Seventeenth U.S. Coast Guard District and is home-ported in Homer, Alaska. Her primary responsibility areas are Kachemak Bay of Cook Inlet to the Kuskokwim River in southwest Alaska and the high seas off south-central and southwest Alaska. Aspen conducts heavy lift aids-to-navigation operations, and law enforcement, homeland security, environmental pollution response, and search and rescue as directed.

USCGC <i>Blackhaw</i>

The USCGC Blackhaw (WLB-390) was a Iris-class buoy tender belonging to the United States Coast Guard launched on 18 June 1943 and commissioned on 17 February 1944.

USCGC <i>Sweetbrier</i>

The USCGC Sweetbrier (WAGL-405/WLB-405) was an Iris-class 180-foot seagoing buoy tender operated by the United States Coast Guard. She served in the Pacific during World War II. Her entire post-war career with the Coast Guard was spent in Alaska. After she was decommissioned in 2001, she was transferred to the Ghana Navy and renamed Bonsu. She is still active.

References

  1. "Gentian, 1942". U.S. Coast Guard Cutter History. United States Coast Guard . Retrieved 2011-03-22.
  2. Tragedy Stalks The Sea: An Account of The Eastwind Disaster. U.S. Coast Guard Magazine, March 1949. Accessed 13 DEC 2021

2. *Tragedy Stalks The Sea: An Account of The Eastwind Disaster. U.S. Coast Guard Magazine, March 1949. Accessed 13 DEC 2021