Anemone, 1908 (WAGL-202)

April 15, 2020
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Anemone, 1908 (WAGL-202)


A member of a species of a large genus of the buttercup family.


Builder: New York Shipbuilding Company, Camden, New Jersey

Commissioned: 25 July 1908

Decommissioned: 1 July 1946; transferred to Philippines

Length (overall): 190'

Beam: 30'

Draft: 15' 5 1/2"

Propulsion: 2 x triple expansion inverted direct acting steam engines; 2 x Scotch type boilers producing 1,100 shaft horsepower.

Complement: 5 officers, 23 crewmen (1909)

Armament: 1 x 3"/23; 2 x 20mm/80; 2 depth charge tracks (1945)


Class History:

The Anemone was constructed in 1908 at Camden, N. J., for the Lighthouse Service at a cost of $191,998.88. She was one of eight "Manzanita" class tenders (originally known as the "8" class for the eight tenders built) constructed for the Lighthouse Service. They were designed by the Navy Department and incorporated numerous innovations as compared with previous designs. "They were constructed of steel and completed as coal burners and were the first of their kind ever constructed. They were built with vertical sides, which provided a flat surface on which buoy pads could be attached. Also, the vertical flat sides reduced the tendency of a buoy to slide beneath the hull when the tender was maneuvering alongside. The deck edge on the forecastle was rounded in order to prevent the buoy cage or lantern from catching. Steel replaced wood for the booms, and wire rope replaced manila. The boom was somewhat longer than what might be expected to permit a special rigging for the transfer of supplies to lighthouses on inaccessible rocks and cliffs. Water capacity was significantly increased, with separate tanks for lighthouse replenishment. These ships had fine lines as opposed to their predecessors, making them faster and more maneuverable. They heeled sharply, however, when lifting buoys." [Scheina, p. 140.]  In 1932, all tenders in this class had their coal-fired steam plant replaced with an oil-fired plant and new water tube boilers were added as well.


History:

The Anemone entered service on 25 July 1908 and was assigned to the Eleventh Lighthouse District out of San Francisco. She was transferred to the Second Lighthouse District in 1915 and served out of Boston and Woods Hole. She was transferred to the Navy on 16 April 1917, after the United States entered World War I, and was commissioned as a naval vessel on 16 May 1917. Assigned to the 2d Naval District, the ship spent the war years patrolling, tending antisubmarine nets, adjusting buoys, and laying mines, Her name was struck from the Navy list on 4 March 1919, and she was returned to the Lighthouse Service. She returned to duty out of Boston and Woods Hole. During World War II, she was stationed at Woods Hole where she serviced anti-submarine nets and conducted other aids to navigation duty. Anemone was decommissioned after the war and was given to the Philippine Government along with her sister vessels Orchid, Sequoia, and Tulip.


Sources:

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol. I, Part A, p. 300.

Douglas Peterson, United States Lighthouse Service Tenders, 1840-1939 (Annapolis: Eastwind Publishing, 2000), pp. 85-87.

Robert Scheina, U. S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1981), p. 140.