 USFSBlue Wing in 1925 | |
 United States | |
|---|---|
| Name | August |
| Owner | Private ownership |
| Completed | 1918 |
| Fate | Sold toU.S. Bureau of Fisheries 1924 |
 U.S. Bureau of Fisheries | |
| Name | USFSBlue Wing |
| Namesake | Blue-winged teal[1] (Spatula discors), adabbling duck in thefamily Anatidae |
| Acquired | 1924 |
| Commissioned | 1924 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Transferred toUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service 30 June 1940 |
 U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service | |
| Name | US FWSBlue Wing |
| Namesake | Previous name retained |
| Acquired | 30 June 1940 |
| Fate | Sold during or after 1951 |
| Status | Extant as of 1951 |
| Notes | RenamedEl Don after sale |
| General characteristics (as BOF fishery patrol vessel) | |
| Type | Fisherypatrol vessel |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 49.6 ft (15.1 m) |
| Beam | 12.5 ft (3.8 m) |
| Draft | 5.7 ft (1.7 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
USFSBlue Wing was an Americanfisherypatrol vessel that operated in the waters of theTerritory of Alaska. She was part of theUnited States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) fleet from 1924 to 1940. She then served asUS FWSBlue Wing in the fleet of theFish and Wildlife Service from 1940 until at least 1951. Before herUnited States Government service, she was thecommercialpurse seinerAugust. In private ownership after the conclusion of her U.S. Government career she was renamedEl Don.
The vessel was constructed in 1918[1] as thecommercialpurse seinerAugust.[1] TheUnited States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) purchased her in 1924 and renamed her USFSBlue Wing.[1]
On 29 July 1924,Blue Wing departedSeattle,Washington, to head north to the Territory of Alaska to begin her first season of fishery patrol work.[1] She patrolled inSoutheast Alaska until early September 1924, then moved toCook Inlet on the coast ofSouthcentral Alaska to patrol there.[1]
In 1925,Blue Wing was reassigned to summer patrol duties in theKodiak Archipelago.[1] Based at the BOFfish hatchery atAfognak Lake (also known as Litnik Lake) onAfognak Island,[1] for the next ten years she served astender to the hatchery and conducted fishery protection patrols aroundKodiak Island andAfognak Island each summer.[1] Each autumn, she usually moved to Southeast Alaska to patrol there for the remainder of the season.[1]
During either the winter of 1929–1930[1] or the winter of 1930–1931[3] (sources disagree),Blue Wing underwent a significant renovation during which her original 50-horsepower (37 kW) Union engine[1] was replaced by a 50-horsepower (37 kW) three-cylinder Standardgasoline engine[1][3] taken from the BOF fishery patrol vesselUSFS Scoter whenScoter received a new engine.[1][3]Scoter's original engine wasrebored before being installed onBlue Wing.[1]
During the mid-1930s,Blue Wing addedBristol Bay to her patrol areas.[1] In June 1936, her service in the Kodiak Archipelago came to an end and her summer patrol responsibilities shifted toPrince William Sound in Southcentral Alaska.[1] During the spring of 1937, she assisted in the replacement of stream markers in theKetchikan district in Southeast Alaska.[1]
In 1939, the BOF was transferred from theUnited States Department of Commerce to theUnited 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 that was destined to become theUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1956.[6] The vessel thus became part of the FWS fleet[1] as US FWSBlue Wing.
In 1941,Blue Wing suffered engine damage during a severegale offBritish Columbia, Canada, and narrowly avoided running ground.[1] A search for her began when she was reported missing.[1] After several days, Canadian police found her atanchor on theBritish Columbia coast while her crew attempted to repair her engine.[1]
In February 1951,Blue Wing was still in FWS service, based atCraig in Southeast Alaska.[1] At some point thereafter she was sold into private ownership, and later had the nameEl Don.[1]
