38°03′30″N121°30′02″W / 38.0581946°N 121.5005707°W /38.0581946; -121.5005707
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| History | |
|---|---|
  United States | |
| Namesake | Fir |
| Operator | |
| Builder | Moore Dry Dock Company,Oakland, California |
| Cost | US$389,746 |
| Yard number | Hull number 194 |
| Laid down | 7 January 1939 |
| Launched | 18 May 1939 |
| Sponsored by | Miss Harriet Birta Mason |
| Christened | 18 May 1939 |
| Commissioned | 1 October 1940 (USCG) |
| Decommissioned | 1 October 1991 |
| Maiden voyage | 18 August 1939 to Portland, Oregon |
| Reclassified | WLM (1965) |
| Home port | Seattle, Washington |
| Identification |
|
| Nickname(s) | Mother Fir,Building 212 |
| Honors and awards | Queen of the Fleet 30 May 1988 |
| Status | |
| Notes | Call signNRYR |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Hollyhock class, type A |
| Type | Coast Guard, Auxiliary, General, Lighthouse tender WAGL; Coastal Buoy tender, WLM |
| Displacement | 885 tons. |
| Length | 174 ft8+1⁄2 in (53.251 m) |
| Beam | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Draft | 11 ft 3 in (3.43 m) |
| Ice class | Reinforced bow and stern. Ice-belt at water-line, notched forefoot. |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Range | 2,000 mi (3,200 km) |
| Complement | 4 officers, 1 warrant officer, 69 enlisted (1945) |
| Crew | 74 (1945). |
| Sensors & processing systems | Radar: SO-1 (1945); CS (1966). Sonar: WEA-2 (1945); UNQ-1 (1966) |
| Armament |
|
| Notes | Deck gear: boom, electrically powered, 20 ton hoisting capacity (1940); replaced in 1982 with hydraulic boom and A-frame system with a 15 ton hoisting capacity |
USCGCFir | |
| Location | As of 2017:Stockton,California. |
| Built | 1939 |
| NRHP reference No. | 92001880 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | 27 April 1992[1] |
| Designated NHL | 27 April 1992[2] |
TheUnited States Coast Guard CutterFir (WAGL/WLM 212) was the lastlighthouse tender built specifically for theUnited States Lighthouse Service to resupply lighthouses andlightships, and to service buoys.Fir was built by theMoore Drydock Company inOakland, California in 1939. On 22 March 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse TenderFir 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 buildFir was approximatelyUS$390,000.Fir's homeport wasSeattle, Washington for all but one of her fifty one years of service when she was temporarily assigned to Long Beach,California whenUSCGC Walnut was decommissioned on 1 July 1982.
On 1 July 1939 the United States Lighthouse Service became a part of theUnited States Coast Guard. On 1 October 1940Fir was commissioned as the United States Coast Guard CutterFir (WAGL-212). With the onset ofWorld War IIFir was assigned to the U.S. Department of the Navy and painted battleship grey. The following armament was installed for war service:M2 Browning machine guns, a 3-inch gun, and depth charges. Her wartime duties included picket duty, towing gunnery targets, and patrolling the Washington andOregon coasts. In 1965,Fir was reclassified as aUSCG coastal buoy tender (WLM).
On 27 May 1988, after the decommissioning ofUSCGC Ingham,Fir gained the distinction as the U.S. Coast Guard's oldest commissioned cutter. In accordance with a Coast Guard custom, she displayed gold hull numbers on her bow and was designated as "Queen of the Fleet" on 30 May 1988. On 1 October 1990, the 200th anniversary year of the U.S. Coast Guard,Fir was honored again with the celebration on her 50th birthday. One year later, on 1 October 1991Fir was decommissioned, and; on 27 April 1992 was designated aNational Historic Landmark by theUnited States Secretary of the Interior.
During her career,Fir was a multi-mission ship whose accomplishments mirrored the changing American maritime scene, and the needs of the U.S. Coast Guard for more than half a century.Fir's primary duties included resupplying coal, potable water, food, and other vital provisions; icebreaking, aids to navigation (ATON) maintenance, delivery and pick-up of U.S. Mail for lightships and lighthouses on the Washington andOregon coasts.Fir tended the lightships atUmatilla Reef offLa Push, Washington andSwiftsure Bank at the entrance of theStrait of Juan de Fuca Washington. In addition to servicing aids to navigation (ATON),Fir stood war duties during World War II, performed search and rescue missions, marine environmental protection, and law enforcement. For her last project,Fir was tasked to do what she was originally built for in 1939. In July 1991,Fir renovated and restored theCape Flattery Lighthouse onTatoosh Island at the entrance to theStrait of Juan de Fuca.
There is successor cutter also namedFir,USCGC Fir (WLB-213), currently in active use by the Coast Guard, which is a 225-foot (69 m) cutter. She was launched in 2003 and is based inAstoria, Oregon.[3]
Fir was launched in the United States Lighthouse Service, but completed under the U.S. Coast Guard, making her the last United States Lighthouse Service tender constructed. Sea trials were held onSan Francisco Bay on 17 August 1939. The Trial Board consisted of R. R. Tinkham, Chief Lighthouse Engineer,Portland, Oregon; W. C. Dibrell, Superintendent of Lighthouses,Ketchikan,Alaska with F. C. Hingsburg, Superintendent of Lighthouses,Portland, Oregon, acting as his alternate; and F. H. Conant, Assistant Lighthouse Engineer,San Francisco,California. On 18 August 1939,Fir departed forPortland, Oregon. On 30 December 1939, she received orders to proceed toLake Union,Seattle, Washington. She was commissioned as the U.S. Coast Guard CutterFir (WAGL-212) on 1 October 1940. On 4 November 1949Fir rescued 19 persons from MVAndalucia offNeah Bay, Washington. In 1954Fir assisted the distressed SSBeloit Victory nearDestruction Island, Washington.[4]
In early June 1958USS Tinian was taken in tow atTacoma, Washington, by the U.S. Navy Military Sea Transportation Service's tugboatUSNS Yuma, destined forSan Diego.California. While very near the Swiftsure Bank lightship at the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca,Yuma developed engine troubles.Yuma's distress call broughtFir to her rescue. The crew of the Swiftsure lightship went to general quarters, ready to assist.Fir then escortedYuma andTinian to safety. On 9 June 1958,Yuma andTinian arrived atSan Diego,California.
On 10 August 1958Bill Muncey crashed his boatMiss Thriftway at theSeattle Seafairunlimited hydroplane races onLake Washington. Muncey lost rudder control and collided with a USCG 40 foot patrol boatCG-40575. Both boats sunk within minutes, however all personnel involved were rescued and survived with relatively minor injuries. Assisting in the immediate rescue were:CG-40378, USCG AuxiliaryPlumb Crazy and aCoast Guard Sikorsky HO4S-2G (or -3G) HH-19G helicopter. On 11 August 1958Fir recovered both boats.CG-40575 was a total loss.[5]
In 1959Fir was engaged in a major search operation for a downed U.S. Navy plane in heroperations area. Brief video footage ofFir can be seen in a 1961 season episode ofSea Hunt titled "Skipper". The tender is raising what appears to be a damaged Coast Guard patrol boat. In 1962Fir salvaged a submerged U.S. Coast Guard HO4S helicopter which had crashed in her operations area. In 1968Fir assisted in firefighting operations atTodd Shipyards inSeattle, Washington.[4]
On 5 July 1990Fir extinguished a rapidly burning fire in a personal craft atShilshole Bay, Washington. An entrapped mariner was rescued and his boat was saved.[4]
Before decommissioning in 1991,Fir was responsible for 138 lighted and unlighted buoys in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and thePuget Sound areas.[4]
Fir was decommissioned on 1 October 1991, one year after her 50th birthday. Over 600 attendees were on hand to honor the last surviving lighthouse tender in US Coast Guard service. The oldest commissioned cutter award was presented to CDR Philip E. Sherer, USCG, commanding officer of theUSCGC Storis, byFir's commanding officer LCDR Nutting, USCG.[4]
After decommissioning,Fir remained inSeattle, Washington for many years while efforts were made to turn her into a floating museum. When these efforts failed, she was transferred to theUnited States Maritime Administration (MARAD) facility,Suisun Bay,California, in 1997. Her shafts and rudder locked, she was towed 930 miles byUSCGC Mariposa toSan Francisco'sGolden Gate where she was met by a commercial tug that towed her the rest of the way toSuisun Bay. Significant objects were removed from the vessel and stored at a U.S. Coast Guard facility in Forestville,Maryland.[4]
On 27 April 1992Fir was placed on the U.S.National Register of Historic Places and designated a USNational Historic Landmark. She was transferred to the Liberty Maritime Museum,Sacramento, California on 30 September 2002.[4]
In 2002, she was transferred to the Liberty Maritime Museum, and towed to the Port of Sacramento.[4]
In 2003,Fir was towed toRio Vista, California,[6] where she was moored on the Sacramento River on the eastern or Sacramento County side of the river across from Rio Vista.[7]
In November 2007,Fir was put up for sale at an asking price $95,000.[7][8] The mailing address for the museum is in Sacramento, but the ship was physically located across the river from Rio Vista at38°08′59″N121°41′00″W / 38.1498°N 121.6832°W /38.1498; -121.6832 (location in 2007-2008). In May 2008, the webpage reports "Fir is sold!".[clarification needed]
In June 2010,Fir was moored at Pier 38, San Francisco.
In 2012,Fir was owned by Curt Lind and was undergoing restoration by Thomas Young.[9][unreliable source?]
As of 26 May 2014,Fir is listed for sale atUS$360,000.[10]
TheFir was moved again due to a dispute at Pier 38.[11] TheFir was listed for sale in 2016, with its location is simply listed as the "San Francisco Bay Delta, CA".[12] That location has been confirmed to be on the Little Potato Slough at the end of Eight Mile Road near Stockton, CA.[13]
Fir was purchased by The Lighthouse Project LLC, a Virginia group dedicated to the restoration and repurposing of aids to navigation, in spring 2017. Restoration has commenced.[14]
Fir was declared aNational Historic Landmark in 1992.[2] At that time, she was to be moored inStaten Island, New York.[2] She has been listed by the landmark program as being located inCalifornia[15] andNew York.[16]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Coast Guard.
| Preceded by | United States Coast Guard "Queen of the Fleet" 1988-1991 | Succeeded by |
| United States Navy | |
|---|---|
 Honduran Navy |
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