Myrtle, 1932 (WAGL-263)

Feb. 28, 2021
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Myrtle, 1932

WAGL-263


Any of several evergreen shrubs of the family Myrtaceae having solitary white or pinkish flowers and dark-colored berries.


Builder: Dubuque Boat & Boiler Works, Dubuque, Iowa

Length: 92' 8"

Beam: 23'

Draft: 7'

Displacement: 186 tons

Cost: $89,743

Commissioned: 1932

Decommissioned: 8 February 1963

Disposition: Sold

Machinery: 2 Cummins diesel engines; twin propellers; 220 SHP; 

Performance & Endurance:

        Max: 8.0 knots
        Cruising: 5.0 knots; 980 mile range

Deck Gear: Steel boom, 3 ton capacity; gasoline-powered engine hoist

Complement: 8 (1932); 11 (1945)

Armament: Small arms only

Electronics: None


Tender History:

The second tender named Myrtle was built as a bay and sound tender.  She entered service in 1932 and was assigned to the 8th Lighthouse District and was based out of Galveston, Texas.  She tended aids to navigation in inland waters and the Gulf of Mexico.

On 17 December 1952 she assisted the tug Astral which was towing barges in San Antonio Bay Channel.  She transferred to Corpus Christi, Texas on 20 June 1963.  Photographic evidence shows that at times she was fitted with a pile driver mounted on the starboard side of her buoy deck.

She was decommissioned on 8 February 1963 and was sold.


Sources:

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

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.  Washington, DC: USGPO.

Douglas Peterson.  United States Lighthouse Service Tenders, 1840-1939. Annapolis: Eastwind Publishing, 2000.

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.