USFS Brant

Last updated
USFS Brant
USFS Brant in 1927.PNG
USFS Brant in 1927
Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg Flag of the United States Bureau of Fisheries.svg U.S. Bureau of Fisheries
NameUSFS Brant
Namesake Brant, a species of goose of the genus Branta
Builder Kruse & Banks, North Bend,  Oregon
Launched3 June 1926
Completed1926
Commissioned1926
Identification
FateTransferred to Fish and Wildlife Service 30 June 1940
Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg Flag of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.svg U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
NameUS FWS Brant
NamesakePrevious name retained
Acquired30 June 1940
IdentificationFWS 523
FateSold 1953
Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svgUnited States
NameBrant
NamesakePrevious name retained
Owner Foss Launch and Tug Company
Acquired1953
FateSold 1959
Flag of the United States (1959-1960).svgUnited States
NameBrant
NamesakePrevious name retained
OwnerJoseph and Bernedee Rose
Acquired1959
FateBurned and sank 8 May 1960
General characteristics (as BOF fishery patrol vessel)
Type Fishery patrol vessel
Tonnage
Length100 ft (30.5 m)
Beam21 ft (6.4 m)
Draft10 ft (3.0 m)
Installed power1 x 14  hp (10  kW) Union gasoline engine; 110-volt type A4H 150-ampere hour Edison nickel-iron-alkaline storage battery
Propulsion
  • As built: 1 x 225  hp (168  kW) six-cylinder direct-reversible Union full diesel engine, one shaft, 3,600 US gallons (14,000 L; 3,000 imp gal) diesel fuel
  • ca. 1951: 1 x 240  hp (180  kW) Union diesel engine, one shaft, two auxiliary diesel engines, 4,000 US gallons (15,000 L; 3,300 imp gal) diesel fuel
Speed
  • As built: 9 to 10.5 knots (16.7 to 19.4 km/h) (average)
  • ca. 1951: 9 knots (17 km/h) (maximum)
RangeAs built: 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km; 1,700 mi)
Crew9, plus 6 passengers

USFS Brant was an American fishery patrol vessel that operated in the waters of the Territory of Alaska and off Washington, California, and Mexico. She was part of the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) fleet from 1926 to 1940. She then served as US FWS Brant (FWS 523) in the fleet of the Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1953. She then operated commercially until she sank in 1960.

Contents

Bureau of Fisheries

Construction and characteristics

Coolidge & H. C. Hanson designed Brant for U.S. Bureau of Fisheries fishery patrol service in the Territory of Alaska with an emphasis on the seaworthiness necessary to operate in the exposed waters there. [2] Kruse & Banks constructed her at North Bend, Oregon, and launched her on 3 June 1926. [2] At 100 feet (30.5 m) in length, she was the largest vessel ever to serve in the BOF fleet at the time. [2] She was built of fir and old-growth Port Orford cedar and was of heavy construction. [2] She had a 225- horsepower (168  kW ) six-cylinder direct-reversible Union full diesel engine for propulsion, and a 14-horsepower (10 kW) Union gasoline engine powered her air compressor, bilge pump, and electric generator. [2] She had a modern electrical system that included a 110-volt type A4H 150-ampere-hour Edison nickel-iron-alkaline storage battery, a radio, and an Allan Cunningham anchor windlass. [2] She had accommodations for a crew of nine and up to six passengers. [2]

Operational history

In early July 1926, Brant departed Seattle, Washington, bound for the Territory of Alaska carrying the Commissioner of Fisheries, Henry O'Malley, and Congressman Milton W. Shreve from Pennsylvania's 29th Congressional District; they spent several weeks inspecting Alaska fisheries. [2] After finishing her summer duties in Alaska, she proceeded to San Pedro, California, and spent the winter of 1926–1927 conducting fishery patrols off California and Mexico, encountering severe storms and suffering a broken propeller blade. [2] At one point in 1926, she found herself disabled 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) off the Columbia River Bar on the Oregon-Washington border and sent out a distress signal; [2] a United States Coast Guard cutter responded and towed her to safety. [2]

Brant returned to Alaska in March 1927 and established her annual pattern of operations, which involved patrols in Southeast and Southcentral Alaska and occasional operations as far west as Kodiak Island. [2] She often provided transportation for BOF agents and other BOF employees from Seattle to Alaska and between ports and BOF stations in Alaska. [2] She also regularly conducted general fisheries supervisory work. [2] She usually spent winters at Seattle, where she underwent offseason repairs, overhauls, and renovations. [2] By 1928, her pilothouse had undergone extensive modifications. [2]

Brant′s operations changed over time as her responsibilities evolved. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, she conducted patrols each spring off Neah Bay and Cape Flattery on the coast of Washington to protect populations of sea otters and fur seals during their annual northward migration. [2] On 30 June 1929, she departed Seattle with Commissioner O'Malley aboard for a two-month inspection of fisheries in Alaska and of fur sealing operations on the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea. [2] Over the winter of 1933–1934, she was among several BOF vessels that underwent extensive renovations at Seattle funded by a US$20,000 appropriation by the Public Works Administration. [2] During the mid- and late 1930s, she operated each autumn in Southeast Alaska, patrolling to protect the local fisheries and conducting surveys of salmon spawning streams. [2]

On 15 July 1938, Brant ran aground on Williams Reef in the Kodiak Archipelago 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi) from Kodiak and suffered heavy damage. [2] Two United States Navy seaplane tenders, USS Teal and USS Wright, arrived to render assistance and succeeded in refloating her. [2] Teal then towed her southward and passed the tow to the U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Alert, which towed her the rest of the way to Ketchikan, Territory of Alaska. [2] The BOF fishery patrol vessel USFS Crane then towed her to Seattle, where she underwent extensive repairs. [2]

With her repairs complete, Brant departed Seattle on 4 January 1939 and proceeded to Juneau, Territory of Alaska, where she spent three months providing services in support of the biennial session of the Alaska territorial legislature. [2] While she was at Juneau, she spent two weeks in February 1939 assisting in the search for a Marine Airways passenger plane with six people on board that had been reported missing during a 12 February 1939 flight from Ketchikan to Juneau. [2] [3] In March 1939, she transported several Civilian Conservation Corps workers from Juneau to Little Port Walter at Port Walter, Territory of Alaska. [2]

In his annual report on fisheries in 1939, the chief of the BOF's Division of Alaska Fisheries, Ward T. Bower, referred to Brant as the "flagship of the patrol fleet." [2]

Fish and Wildlife Service

A port bow view of US FWS Brant as she appeared after a major renovation sometime between 1940 and 1953 US FWS Brant port bow view.PNG
A port bow view of US FWS Brant as she appeared after a major renovation sometime between 1940 and 1953
US FWS Brant sometime between 1940 and 1953. US FWS Brant.PNG
US FWS Brant sometime between 1940 and 1953.

In 1939, the BOF was transferred from the United States Department of Commerce to the United States Department of the Interior, [4] and on 30 June 1940, it was merged with the Interior Department's Division of Biological Survey to form the new Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), [5] an element of the Interior Department destined to become the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as part of a major reorganization in 1956. [6] The vessel thus became part of the FWS fleet as US FWS Brant (FWS 523). [2]

As late as 1947, Brant remained in use in the FWS fleet as a base of operations for surveying streams; in this role, she served as the mother ship for small FWS skiffs powered by outboard motors which operated in shallow water both to identify obstructions in streams that could interfere with the spawning journeys of salmon and to transport FWS personnel to and from shore. [2] In the 1950s her original engine was replaced by a new 240- horsepower (180  kW ) Union diesel engine manufactured at Oakland, California, in 1951 which on average consumed 800 US gallons (3,000 L; 670 imp gal) of diesel fuel a day, and her fuel tanks had a capacity of 4,000 US gallons (15,000 L; 3,300 imp gal). [2] By that time, her main engine and propeller controls were located in her engine room, as were fire and bilge pumps and a battery bank. [2]

Brant's United States Government career ended in 1953, when the FWS sold her to the Foss Launch and Tug Company. [2]

Later career

The Foss Launch and Tug Company based Brant at Los Angeles, California, registering her as a towing vessel and tug. [2] By August 1955, she was laid up at the Craig shipyards in Long Beach, California. [2] In 1959, Foss sold her to Joseph and Bernedee Rose of Los Angeles. [2] The Roses adapted Brant for use as an oil exploration survey vessel. [2]

Loss

On the morning of 8 May 1960, Brant was underway to an oil exploration survey location off Point Conception, California. [2] When her engineer on watch checked her engine room at 06:30, all appeared normal, but soon thereafter a fire broke out in the engine room. [2] [7] Brant′s crew attempted to douse the fire using a fire hose and at first appeared to be bringing the fire under control, but seawater from the fire hose stopped the fire pump driving water through the hose. [2] [7] Brant's ventilation cowls on deck were trained forward and directed fresh air into the engine room, fanning the flames after the fire pump failed. [2] [7] The crew donned life jackets and launched a skiff equipped with an outboard motor in case they had to abandon ship. [2] [7] They were unable to stop Brant, because the fire made it impossible for them to reach her engine controls in the burning engine room, but they did attempt to set Brant on a course toward the shore so that she would beach herself. [2] [7] Finally, with the fire again out of control and no means left aboard to fight it, Brant's captain feared that she might explode and ordered her crew to abandon ship, and they hurriedly jumped overboard. [2] [8] With her engine still running, the unmanned Brant began circling, endangering the men in the water, although her entire crew of eight was rescued by small vessels in the vicinity and survived uninjured. [2] [7]

At 08:33, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Cape Sable arrived on the scene to find Brant burning and abandoned. [2] [7] She sprayed firefighting foam and four streams of seawater onto the fire and succeeded in containing it but not in extinguishing it. [2] [7] Brant eventually was brought to a halt by plugging her main engine air intake. [2] [7] Several explosions occurred in Brant′s after hold where oxygen tanks were stowed, [2] [7] and she sank in the Pacific Ocean in 150 feet (46 m) of water off Point Conception at around 14:00. [2]

At the time Brant sank, she was valued at US$40,000 and the oil exploration equipment lost with her at US$45,000. [2] [7] A remotely operated underwater vehicle later identified her debris field on the ocean bottom. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Fish and Wildlife Service</span> United States federal government agency

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a U.S. federal government agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior which oversees the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats in the United States. The mission of the agency is "working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Fish Commission</span> Former U.S. government fisheries agency

The United States Fish Commission, formally known as the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, was an agency of the United States government created in 1871 to investigate, promote, and preserve the fisheries of the United States. In 1903, it was reorganized as the United States Bureau of Fisheries, sometimes referred to as the United States Fisheries Service, which operated until 1940. In 1940, the Bureau of Fisheries was abolished when its personnel and facilities became part of the newly created Fish and Wildlife Service, under the United States Department of the Interior.

USS <i>Edithena</i> Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Edithena was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919 that saw service during World War I. Prior to her U.S. Navy service, she operated as the private motor yacht Edithena from 1914 to 1917. After the conclusion World War I, she served as the fishery patrol vessel USFS Widgeon in the fleet of the United States Bureau of Fisheries from 1919 to 1940 and as US FWS Widgeon in the fleet of the Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1942. During World War II, she returned to U.S. Navy service from 1942 to 1944 as the yard patrol boat USS YP-200. By 1947 she had returned to private ownership, first as Edithena and during the 1970s and 1980s as the fishing vessel Ila Mae.

USS <i>Teal</i> Minesweeper of the United States Navy

USS Teal (AM-23/AVP-5) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper acquired by the United States Navy for the task of removing naval mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing. The ship entered service in 1918, was converted into a seaplane tender in the 1920s and took part in World War II, serving primarily in Alaskan waters. Following the war, the ship was decommissioned and sold in 1948. Teal was named after the teal, any of several small, short-necked, river ducks common to Europe and the Americas.

USS <i>Raeo</i> Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Raeo (SP-588) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919. Prior to her U.S. Navy service, she operated as the motor passenger vessel Raeo from 1908 to 1917. After the conclusion of her U.S. Navy career, she served as the fishery patrol vessel USFS Kittiwake in the United States Bureau of Fisheries fleet from 1919 to 1940 and as US FWS Kittiwake in the Fish and Wildlife Service fleet from 1940 to 1942 and from 1944 to at least 1945, and perhaps as late as 1948. During World War II, she again served in the U.S. Navy, this time as the yard patrol boat USS YP-199. She was the civilian fishing vessel Raeo from 1948 to 1957, then operated in various roles as Harbor Queen from 1957 to 1997. She became Entiat Princess in 1998 and as of 2009 was still in service.

USS <i>Calypso</i> (SP-632) Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

The second USS Calypso (SP-632) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919. She originally operated as the private motorboat Calypso from 1909 to 1917. After the conclusion of her U.S. Navy career, she served as the fishery patrol vessel in the United States Bureau of Fisheries fleet from 1919 to 1940 as USFS Merganser and in the Fish and Wildlife Service fleet as US FWS Merganser from 1940 to 1942.

NOAAS <i>Oregon</i> American fisheries research vessel

NOAAS Oregon, previously NOAAS Oregon, was an American fisheries research vessel in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fleet from 1970 to 1980. Prior to her NOAA career, she operated under the United States Fish and Wildlife Service from 1949 to 1970 as US FWS Oregon.

NOAAS <i>Murre II</i> American research vessel

NOAAS Murre II, previously NOAAS Murre II, was an American research vessel in commission in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fleet from 1970 to 1989. Prior to her NOAA career, she operated under the United States Department of the Interior′s Fish and Wildlife Service from 1949 to 1956 and under the United States Fish and Wildlife Service′s Bureau of Commercial Fisheries from 1956 to 1970 as US FWS Murre II.

USFS <i>Penguin</i> U.S. fisheries vessel

USFS Penguin was an American cargo liner in commission in the fleet of the United States Bureau of Fisheries from 1930 to 1940 and, as US FWS Penguin, in the fleet of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1950. She ran a passenger-cargo service between Seattle, Washington, and the Pribilof Islands, and provided transportation between the two inhabited Pribilofs, Saint Paul Island and St. George Island. She also carried passengers, supplies, and provisions to destinations on the mainland of the Territory of Alaska and in the Aleutian Islands. She occasionally supported research activities in Alaskan waters and the North Pacific Ocean.

USFS <i>Eider</i> Ship of the United States Bureau of Fisheries

USFS Eider was an American motor schooner in commission in the fleet of the United States Bureau of Fisheries from 1919 to 1940 and, as US FWS Eider, in the fleet of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1942 and again in the late 1940s. She ran a passenger-cargo service between Unalaska and the Pribilof Islands, and also carried passengers, supplies, and provisions to destinations on the mainland of the Territory of Alaska and in the Aleutian Islands. She occasionally supported research activities in Alaskan waters and the North Pacific Ocean, and she conducted patrols to protect Alaskan fisheries and marine mammals. In 1924, she provided logistical support to the first aerial circumnavigation of the world.

MV <i>Brown Bear</i> American research vessel

MV Brown Bear was an American research vessel in commission in the fleet of the United States Department of Agriculture′s Bureau of Biological Survey and Alaska Game Commission from 1934 to 1940 and in the fleet of the United States Department of the Interior′s Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1951, under the control of the University of Washington from 1952 to 1965, and in commission in the fleet of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service from 1965 to 1970 and of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration′s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) from 1970 to 1972.

USFS <i>Auklet</i> American fishery patrol vessel

USFS Auklet was an American fishery patrol vessel that served in the waters of Southeast Alaska. She was in commission in the United States Bureau of Fisheries from 1917 to 1940 and in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as US FWS Auklet from 1940 to 1950.

USFS <i>Murre</i> American fishery patrol vessel

USFS Murre was an American fishery patrol vessel that served in the waters of Southeast Alaska. She was in commission in the United States Bureau of Fisheries fleet from 1917 to 1940 and, as US FWS Murre in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fleet from 1940 to 1942. Murre and her sister ship USFS Auklet were the first vessels ever constructed for fisheries enforcement duties in Alaska.

USFS <i>Osprey</i> American steamer

USFS Osprey was an American steamer that served as a fishery patrol vessel in the waters of the Territory of Alaska. She was in commission in the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) from 1913 to 1921, and was the first vessel the BOF ever operated on fishery patrols in Alaska. Before the BOF purchased her, she was the commercial cannery tender Wigwam from 1895 to 1912. After her BOF career ended, she operated as a commercial motor tug with the name Foss No. 19 from 1922 to 1965 and with the name Kiowa from 1965 until she sank in 1978.

USFS <i>Crane</i> American fishery patrol vessel built in 1928

USFS Crane was an American fishery patrol vessel that operated in the waters of the Territory of Alaska. She was in commission in the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) fleet from 1928 to 1940. She then served as US FWS Crane in the fleet of the Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1960. After a brief stint in the fleet of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game during 1960, she was sold into private service, at various times named Crane, Brapo, Fishing 5, Belle, and Patricia during the 1960s and 1970s and then again Crane since 1978. She remained in service as of 2020.

USFS <i>Teal</i> U.S. fishery patrol vessel

USFS Teal was an American fishery patrol vessel that operated in the waters of the Territory of Alaska. She was part of the fleet of the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) from 1928 to 1940. She then served as US FWS Teal in the fleet of the Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1960. After a stint in the fleet of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game from 1960 to 1966, she was sold into private service, and remained in operation as of 2016.

USFS <i>Scoter</i> U.S. fishery patrol vessel

USFS Scoter was an American fishery patrol vessel that operated in the waters of the Territory of Alaska. She was part of the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) fleet from 1922 to 1940. She then served as US FWS Scoter in the fleet of the Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 to 1950. Before her United States Government service, she was the commercial purse seiner Clatsop. She returned to that name and to private ownership after the conclusion of her U.S. Government career.

USFS <i>Blue Wing</i> American fishery patrol vessel

USFS Blue Wing was an American fishery patrol vessel that operated in the waters of the Territory of Alaska. She was part of the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) fleet from 1924 to 1940. She then served as US FWS Blue Wing in the fleet of the Fish and Wildlife Service from 1940 until at least 1951. Before her United States Government service, she was the commercial purse seiner August. In private ownership after the conclusion of her U.S. Government career she was renamed El Don.

USFS <i>Red Wing</i> U.S. fishery patrol vessel

USFS Red Wing was an American fishery patrol vessel that operated in the waters of the Territory of Alaska as part of the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) fleet from 1928 to 1939. Before her fishery service, she operated under the control of the United States Department of Agriculture.

USFS <i>Pelican</i> U.S. fisheries vessel

USFS Pelican was an American fisheries science research ship and fishery patrol vessel that operated along the United States East Coast and the United States Gulf Coast and in the waters of the Territory of Alaska. She was part of the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) fleet from 1930 to 1940. She then served as US FWS Pelican in the fleet of the Fish and Wildlife Service – which in 1956 became the United States Fish and Wildlife Service – from 1940 to 1958. She served as a fishery patrol vessel while on loan to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife from 1958 to 1970, then briefly returned to the Fish and Wildlife Service's successor agency, the National Marine Fisheries Service. Her United States Government service ended when she was sold into private hands in 1972, and she remained extant as of 2018.

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection, Merchant Vessels of the United States (Including Yachts and Government Vessels), Year Ended June 30, 1933, Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1932, pp. 151, 1131.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center AFSC Historical Corner: Brant, Flagship of the Alaska Patrol Fleet
  3. ↑ Anonymous, "Flier Sights Wreckage of Lost Airship," San Bernardino Sun, February 15, 1939, Page 1 Retrieved September 7, 2019
  4. ↑ "Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1930s". NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). June 16, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1940s". NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). June 16, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1950s". NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). June 16, 2011. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Schwemmer, R., Brant in Shipwreck Database Summary, U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries: West Coast Region, 2000 (not paginated)
  8. ↑ Wheeler, E. D., and R. E. Kallman, Shipwrecks, Smugglers, and Maritime Mysteries of the Santa Barbara Channel, Pathfinder Publishing, Ventura, California, 1984, p. 122.
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.