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The United States Coast Guard Cutter ''Fir'' (WAGL/WLM 212) was the last lighthouse tender built specifically for the United States Lighthouse Service to resupply lighthouses and lightships, and to service buoys. ''Fir'' was built by the Moore Drydock Company in Oakland, California in 1939. On 22 March 1939, the U.S. Lighthouse Tender ''Fir'' was launched. She was steam driven with twin screws, in length, had a beam of , drew of water, and displaced 885 tons. ''Fir'' was fitted with a reinforced bow and stern, and an ice-belt at her water-line for icebreaking. She was built with classic lines and her spaces were lavishly appointed with mahogany, teak, and brass. The crew did intricate ropework throughout the ship. The cost to build ''Fir'' was approximately 390,000. ''Fir's'' homeport was Seattle, Washington for all but one of her fifty one years of service when she was temporarily assigned to Long Beach, California when was decommissioned on 1 July 1982. On 1 July 1939 the United States Lighthouse Service became a part of the United States Coast Guard. On 1 October 1940 ''Fir'' was commissioned as the United States Coast Guard Cutter ''Fir'' (WAGL-212). With the onset of World War II ''Fir'' was assigned to the U.S. Department of the Navy and painted battleship grey. The following armament was installed for war service: M2 Browning machine guns, a 3 inch gun, and depth charges. Her wartime duties included picket duty, towing gunnery targets, and patrolling the Washington and Oregon coasts. In 1965, ''Fir'' was reclassified as a USCG coastal buoy tender (WLM). On 27 May 1988, after the decommissioning of , ''Fir'' gained the distinction as the U.S. Coast Guard's oldest commissioned cutter. In accordance with a Coast Guard custom, she displayed gold hull numbers on her bow and was designated as "Queen of the Fleet" on 30 May 1988. On 1 October 1990, the 200th anniversary year of the U.S. Coast Guard, ''Fir'' was honored again with the celebration on her 50th birthday. One year later, on 1 October 1991 ''Fir'' was decommissioned, and; on 27 April 1992 was designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Secretary of the Interior. During her career, ''Fir'' was a multi-mission ship whose accomplishments mirrored the changing American maritime scene, and the needs of the U.S. Coast Guard for more than half a century. ''Fir''s primary duties included resupplying coal, potable water, food, and other vital provisions; icebreaking, aids to navigation (ATON) maintenance, delivery and pick-up of U.S. Mail for lightships and lighthouses on the Washington and Oregon coasts. ''Fir'' tended the lightships at Umatilla Reef off La Push, Washington and Swiftsure Bank at the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca Washington. In addition to servicing aids to navigation (ATON), ''Fir'' stood war duties during World War II, performed search and rescue missions, marine environmental protection, and law enforcement. For her last project, ''Fir'' was tasked to do what she was originally built for in 1939. In July 1991, ''Fir'' renovated and restored the Cape Flattery Lighthouse on Tatoosh Island at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. There is successor cutter also named ''Fir'', , currently in active use by the Coast Guard, which is a cutter. She was launched in 2003 and is based in Astoria, Oregon. ==History== ''Fir'' was launched in the United States Lighthouse Service, but completed under the U.S. Coast Guard, making her the last United States Lighthouse Service tender constructed. Sea trials were held on San Francisco Bay on 17 August 1939. The Trial Board consisted of R. R. Tinkham, Chief Lighthouse Engineer, Portland, Oregon; W. C. Dibrell, Superintendent of Lighthouses, Ketchikan, Alaska with F. C. Hingsburg, Superintendent of Lighthouses, Portland, Oregon, acting as his alternate; and F. H. Conant, Assistant Lighthouse Engineer, San Francisco, California. On 18 August 1939, ''Fir'' departed for Portland, Oregon. On 30 December 1939, she received orders to proceed to Lake Union, Seattle, Washington. She was commissioned as the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter ''Fir'' (WAGL-212) on 1 October 1940. On 4 November 1949 ''Fir'' rescued 19 persons from MV ''Andalucia'' off Neah Bay, Washington. In 1954 ''Fir'' assisted the distressed SS ''Beloit Victory'' near Destruction Island, Washington. In early June 1958 was taken in tow at Tacoma, Washington, by the U.S. Navy Military Sea Transportation Service's tugboat , destined for San Diego. California. While very near the Swiftsure Bank lightship at the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, ''Yuma'' developed engine troubles. ''Yuma's'' distress call brought ''Fir'' to her rescue. The crew of the Swiftsure lightship went to general quarters, ready to assist. ''Fir'' then escorted ''Yuma'' and ''Tinian'' to safety. On 9 June 1958, ''Yuma'' and ''Tinian'' arrived at San Diego, California. On 10 August 1958 Bill Muncey crashed his boat ''Miss Thriftway'' at the Seattle Seafair unlimited hydroplane races on Lake Washington. Muncey lost rudder control and collided with a USCG 40 foot patrol boat ''CG-40575''. Both boats sunk within minutes, however all personell involved were rescued and survived with relatively minor injuries. Assisting in the immediate rescue were: ''CG-40378'', USCG Auxiliary ''Plumb Crazy'' and a Coast Guard Sikorsky HO4S 2G (or3G) HH-19G helicopter. On 11 August 1958 ''Fir'' recovered both boats. ''CG-40575 was a total loss. In 1959 ''Fir'' was engaged in a major search operation for a downed U.S. Navy plane in her operations area. Brief video footage of ''Fir'' can seen in a 1961 season episode of Sea Hunt titled "Skipper". The tender is raising what appears to be a damaged Coast Guard patrol boat. In 1962 ''Fir'' salvaged a submerged U.S. Coast Guard HO4S helicopter which had crashed in her operations area. In 1968 ''Fir'' assisted in firefighting operations at Todd Shipyards in Seattle, Washington.〔 On 5 July 1990 ''Fir'' extinguished a rapidly burning fire in a personal craft at Shilshole Bay, Washington. An entrapped mariner was rescued and his boat was saved.〔 Before decommissioning in 1991, ''Fir'' was responsible for 138 lighted and unlighted buoys in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Puget Sound areas.〔 ''Fir'' was decommissioned on 1 October 1991, one year after her 50th birthday. Over 600 attendees were on hand to honor the last surviving lighthouse tender in US Coast Guard service. The oldest commissioned cutter award was presented to CDR Philip E. Sherer, USCG, commanding officer of the , by ''Fir''s commanding officer LCDR Nutting, USCG.〔 After decommissioning, ''Fir'' remained in Seattle, Washington for many years while efforts were made to turn her into a floating museum. When these efforts failed, she was transferred to the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) facility, Suisun Bay, California, in 1997. Her shafts and rudder locked, she was towed 930 miles by to San Francisco's Golden Gate where she was met by a commercial tug that towed her the rest of the way to Suisun Bay. Significant objects were removed from the vessel and stored at a U.S. Coast Guard facility in Forestville, Maryland.〔 On 27 April 1992 ''Fir'' was placed on the U.S. National Register of Historical Places and designated a US National Historic Landmark. She was transferred to the Liberty Maritime Museum, Sacramento, California on 30 September 2002.〔 As of 26 May 2014, ''Fir'' is listed for sale at 360,000.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Adventure Yacht Ex-Lighthouse Tender, San Francisco Bay Delta, CA )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USCGC Fir (WLM-212)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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