Petrel, 1926 (WAGL-162)

March 7, 2021
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Petrel, 1926

later-Pine, WAGL-162


The Petrel was named for the sea bird of the order Procellariiformes


Type/Rig/Class: 100-foot patrol boat

Builder: Defoe Boat & Motor Works, Bay City, Michigan

Dates of Service: 1926 - 1948

Disposition: Sold

Displacement: 210 tons

Length: 99' 8"

Beam: 23'

Draft: 4' 6"

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

Speed: 12 knots maximum

Complement: 15 (with 1 warrant officer)

Armament: 1 x 3"/23 (1930)


History:

The Petrel, a 100-foot patrol boat built to combat rum-runners during Prohibition, was one of 13 in her class.  These 13 were steel-hulled patrol boats that were capable of close inshore work but were slower than the 75-foot patrol boats.  They made up for their slower speed and lack of maneuverability with better accommodations for the crew so that they could stay at sea for longer periods and work well off-shore.  They were all built by Defoe Boat & Motor Works of Bay City, Michigan. 

The Petrel was initially based out of New London, Connecticut.  She transferred to St. Petersburg, Florida in 1927.  She remained there until she was transferred to Cleveland, Ohio in 1933.  She served out of Erie, Pennsylvania sometime thereafter through 1938.

She was modified for aids to navigation work and was renamed the Pine on 1 September 1940.  She was stationed at Portland, Maine, where she tended buoys until being placed out of service in 1947 and sold in 1948.


Sources:

Donald Canney.  U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790-1935.  Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1995.

U.S. Coast Guard.  Record of Movements: Vessels of the United States Coast Guard: 1790 - December 31, 1933.  Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1934; 1989 (reprint).