Brier, 1943 (WLI 299)

Nov. 9, 2020
PRINT | E-MAIL

Brier, 1943

WAGL/WLI 299


Brier: a very prickly woody vine of the eastern United States growing in tangled masses having tough round stems with shiny leathery leaves and small greenish flowers followed by clusters of inedible shiny black berries


Builder: Dubuque Boat & Boiler Works, Dubuque, Iowa

Length: 100'

Beam: 24' 7"

Draft: 5' 4"

Displacement: 178 tons (fl)

Cost: $175,001

Launched: 5 August 1942

Commissioned: 2 July 1943

Decommissioned: 9 November 1967

Disposition: Transferred to USN on 10 March 1968

Machinery: 2 Murphy 6-cylinder diesel engines; 330 BHP; twin propellers

Performance: 10.0 knots (maximum); 3,000 nm range @ 6.5 knots

Deck Gear: 5 ton boom capacity; hoist was air-powered

Complement: 16

Armament: None


Tender History:

The Brier, an inland buoy tender and one of eight Cosmos or Bluebell-Class tenders that entered service, were designed by the Coast Guard and constructed by the Dubuque Boat & Boiler Works of Dubuque, Iowa.  She was assigned to the 6th District and was stationed at Charleston, South Carolina, where she conducted general aids to navigation work and search and rescue operations when needed.  On 16 January 1952 she was transferred to Brunswick, Georgia, where she operated out of until 1965.

On 17 to 18 July 1953 she salvaged a crashed USAF B-29 at Rockfish Creek, Georgia.  On 17 September 1955 she assisted in a hurricane evacuation on the Frederica River.  On 25 May 1956 she escorted the motor vessel Busy Bee to Isle of Hope.  ON 17 March 1962 she collided with the fishing vessel Two Brothers Second in Creighton Narrows.

She transferred to Atlantic City, New Jersey on 9 November 1965 and was then placed in reserve at St. George, Staten Island, New York on 10 November 1966.  She remained in reserve until 25 April 1967 when she was placed back in commission and was then based at Boston.  She was decommissioned on 9 November 1967 and was then transferred to the U.S. Navy on 10 March 1969. 


Sources:

Cutter History File.  USCG Historian's Office, USCG HQ, Washington, D.C.

Robert Scheina.  U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II.  Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1982.

Robert Scheina.  U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft, 1946-1990.  Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1990.