Oleander, 1941 (WAGL-264)

March 6, 2021
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Oleander, 1941

WAGL-264; WLR-73264


A poisonous evergreen shrub of the genus Nerium, found in warm climates, especially N. oleander, bearing fragrant white, purple, or rose flowers.


Builder:  Jeffersonville Boat & Machine Company, Jeffersonville, Indiana

Length: 73'

Beam: 18'

Draft: 5'

Displacement: 80 tons

Cost: $65,922

Commissioned: 20 September 1941

Decommissioned: 31 July 1977

Disposition: 

Machinery:  2 Gray Marine diesel engines; 300 BHP; twin propellers

Performance & Endurance:

        Max: 9.0 knots
        Cruising: 7.5 knots; 1,160 mile range

Deck Gear: 3-ton boom capacity; electric hoist

Complement: 9

Armament: None

Electronics: None (when launched);


History:

The second Oleander was built as a river tender and was designed to service aids to navigation on the Mississippi River and to render aid during floods.  She was launched on 24 May 1941 and was commissioned on 20 September 1941.  She was assigned to the 9th District and was stationed at Peoria, Illinois.  She serviced aids to navigation for 241 miles on the Illinois River, Chicago to Mile 80.

On 13 September 1950 she was transferred to Kansas City, Missouri where she remained home-ported until 31 July 1960 when she was transferred to St. Joseph, Missouri.  She was transferred yet again on 15 October 1961 to Point Pleasant, West Virginia, where she remained for the rest of her Coast Guard career.  In 1961 she underwent a major reconstruction and received a new pilothouse, rudder, and galley, among other improvements.

From December 1967 to February 1968 she marked a temporary channel following the collapse of the Point Pleasant bridge and supported the reconstruction operations.  In July 1969 she assisted following a chlorine gas leak at South Charleston, West Virginia.

She was decommissioned on 31 July 1977.


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.