USCGC Hornbeam

	USCGC Hornbeam underway.
History
United States
Name	Hornbeam
Builder	Marine and Iron Shipbuilding Corporation
Laid down	19 June 1943
Launched	14 August 1943
Commissioned	14 April 1944
Decommissioned	30 September 1999
Identification	IMO number: 8660624
Badge
General characteristics
Class and type	Iris-class buoy tender
Displacement	935 long tons (950 t)
Length	180 ft (55 m)
Beam	47 ft 1 in (14.35 m)
Draft	12 ft (3.7 m)
Propulsion	1 × electric motor connected to 2 Westinghouse generators driven by 2 Cooper Bessemer-type GND-8, 4-cycle diesels; single screw
Speed	8.3 kn (15.4 km/h; 9.6 mph) cruising; 13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph) maximum;
Complement	6 officers; 74 enlisted;
Armament	1 × 3 inch gun ; 2 × 20 mm/80; 2 × depth charge tracks ; 2 × Mousetraps ; 4 × Y-guns ;

Last updated May 05, 2023

The USCGC Hornbeam (WLB-394) was an Iris-class buoy tender belonging to the United States Coast Guard launched on 14 August 1943 and commissioned on 14 April 1944.^[1]

Design

The Iris-class buoy tenders were constructed after the Mesquite-class buoy tenders. Hornbeam cost $864,296 to construct and had an overall length of 180 feet (55 m). She had a beam of 37 feet (11 m) and a draft of up to 12 feet (3.7 m) at the time of construction, although this was increased to 14 feet 7 inches (4.45 m) in 1966. She initially had a displacement of 935 long tons (950 t; 1,047 short tons); this was increased to 1,026 long tons (1,042 t; 1,149 short tons) in 1966. She was powered by one electric motor. This was connected up to two Westinghouse generators which were driven by two Cooper Bessemer GND-8 four-cycle diesel engines. She had a single screw.^[1]

The Iris-class buoy tenders had maximum sustained speeds of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph), although this diminished to around 11.9 knots (22.0 km/h; 13.7 mph) in 1966. For economic and effective operation, they had to initially operate at 8.3 knots (15.4 km/h; 9.6 mph), although this increased to 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph) in 1966. The ships had a complement of six officers and seventy-four crew members in 1945; this decreased to two warrants, four officers, and forty-seven men in 1966. They were fitted with a SL1 radar system and QBE-3A sonar system in 1945. Their armament consisted of one 3"/50 caliber gun, two 20 mm/80 guns, two Mousetraps, two depth charge tracks, and four Y-guns in 1945; these were removed in 1966.^[1]

Career

International radio call sign of *USCGC Hornbeam* (WLB-394)**^[1]

November	Oscar	Delta	Mike

During World War II Hornbeam initially served on the Great Lakes where she was used for ATON and ice-breaking.^[1] From August 1944, until the war's end in 1945, the cutter was assigned to the First Coast Guard District and stationed at Woods Hole. In January 1945, she assisted USCGC Nemesis (WPC-111) following Nemesis' collision with SS Felipe de Neve.

On 25 July 1956 Hornbeam participated in the rescue operations after the collision of the ocean liner Andrea Doria with the ship Stockholm.

After the war, Hornbeam stayed in Woods Hole until July 1976. During early 1965, she escorted the USS Atka (AGB-3), which was taking on water near New Bedford.

From July 1976, through 29 April 1977, the ship underwent an overhaul at the Coast Guard Yard at Curtis Bay, MD. From 29 April 1977, Hornbeam was stationed at Cape May, NJ, and used as an Aids to Navigation Boat. In January and February 1994, Hornbeam, during a record cold spell, spent seven weeks breaking ice and installing ice buoys in the Delaware Bay and Delaware River.^[1] She was decommissioned on 30 September 1999, and put up for sale.

M/V Rum Cay Grace

In January 2009, Hornbeam was purchased by Integrated Technologies & Systems, Ltd and rechristened M/V Rum Cay Grace, getting underway in February for Rum Cay, Bahamas. Along the way, the crew spotted and salvaged a US Navy Northrop BQM-74 Chukar target drone. Rum Cay Grace transported emergency relief supplies from Miami, Florida, following the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Following her relief efforts, while anchored in Port-au-Prince, Rum Cay Grace was stolen by smugglers and abandoned near the Panama Canal. She and six other ships broke loose from their moorings and were driven onto the rocks in 2013. ^[2]

Related Research Articles

The USCG seagoing buoy tender is a type of United States Coast Guard Cutter used to service aids to navigation throughout the waters of the United States and wherever American shipping interests require. The U.S. Coast Guard has maintained a fleet of seagoing buoy tenders dating back to its origins in the U.S. Lighthouse Service (USLHS). These ships originally were designated with the hull classification symbol WAGL, but in 1965 the designation was changed to WLB, which is still used today.

USCGC Mesquite (WAGL/WLB-305) was the lead ship in the Mesquite class of seagoing buoy tenders operated by the United States Coast Guard. She served in the Pacific during World War II, and spent the rest of her Coast Guard career in the Great Lakes. She ran aground and was wrecked in December 1989 off the Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior. She was scuttled nearby as a recreational diving attraction.

USCGC Balsam (WLB-62) was a Cactus-class seagoing buoy tender (WLB) in the United States Coast Guard. She operated in the Pacific Ocean during World War II, then saw service along the United States West Coast, Hawaii, and Alaska. After her decommissioning in 1975, she was repurposed as a crab catcher-processor and is active in Alaskan fisheries as F/V Baranof.

USCGC Spar (WLB-206) is a United States Coast Guard Juniper-class seagoing buoy tender home-ported in Duluth, Minnesota. The ship maintains aids to navigation in the Twin Ports and Great Lakes.

USCGC Bittersweet was a C or Iris-class 180-foot buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard.

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 Elm (WLB-204) is a U.S. Coast Guard Juniper-class seagoing buoy tender home-ported in Astoria, Oregon. She is responsible for maintaining aids to navigation on the coasts of Oregon and Washington, including the Columbia River.

USCGC Basswood (WLB-388) was an Iris-class buoy tender belonging to the United States Coast Guard launched on 20 May 1943, and commissioned on 12 January 1944.

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 Firebush (WLB-393) was an Iris-class buoy tender belonging to the United States Coast Guard launched on 3 February 1944 and commissioned on 20 July 1944. She was eventually transferred to the Nigerian Navy in June 2003 and renamed Nwamba.

The USCGC Iris (WLB-395) was a Iris-class buoy tender belonging to the United States Coast Guard launched on 18 May 1944 and commissioned on 11 August 1944.

The USCGC Mallow (WLB-396) was a Iris-class buoy tender belonging to the United States Coast Guard launched on 9 December 1943 and commissioned on 6 June 1944.

The USCGC Mariposa (WLB-397) was an Iris-class buoy tender belonging to the United States Coast Guard launched on 14 January 1944 and commissioned on 1 July 1944.

USCGC Salvia (WLB-400) was a United States Coast Guard Iris-class buoy tender in commission from 1944 to 1991. She operated in the Great Lakes and along the United States Gulf Coast during her career. Sold and renamed Brian Davis in 2020 for use as a memorial vessel, she was scuttled as an artificial reef in 2020.

USCGC Ida Lewis (WLM-551) is the lead ship of the United States Coast Guard Keeper-class of Coastal Buoy Tenders. Launched in 1995, she has spent her entire career maintaining navigational aids near her homeport of Newport, Rhode Island.

USCGC Planetree (WAGL/WLB-307) was a Mesquite-class seagoing buoy tender operated by the United States Coast Guard. She served during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, as well as in a variety of domestic missions.

USCGC Elderberry (WLI-65401) is an inland buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard. She is based at Petersburg, Alaska and is responsible for maintaining aids to navigation. Her efforts are focused on waterways that are especially shallow or restricted.

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.

USCGC Sedge (WAGL-402/WLB-402) 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 and in Alaska during the rest of her Coast Guard career. Sedge was decommissioned in 2002 and transferred to the Nigerian Navy where she is still active as NNS Kyanwa.

USCGC Barberry (WLI-294) is a United States Coast Guard buoy tender that was donated to the state of Maryland in 1971. Based out of two locations in North Carolina and then Portsmouth, Virginia, during her Coast Guard career, the vessel was then used as an icebreaker by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. In 2020, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced that the vessel would be replaced; her replacement is expected to be commissioned in 2022.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 "USCG Hornbeam". USCG. US Coast Guard. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
↑ Briggs, Harry; Briggs, Amanda. "M/V Rum Cay Grace". Haiti's Future. Retrieved 2016-01-13.

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[USCG-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 "USCG Hornbeam". USCG. US Coast Guard. Retrieved 26 July 2015.

[2] Briggs, Harry; Briggs, Amanda. "M/V Rum Cay Grace". Haiti's Future. Retrieved 2016-01-13.

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