Argus (floating base), 1925
A figure of Greek mythology: A giant with 100 eyes who was made guardian of Io and was later slain by Hermes.
History:
The Coast Guard acquired six "floating bases" for use as mobile floating headquarters units for the increasing patrol boat fleets coming into service for the enforcement of Prohibition. They were: Argus, City Point, Colfax, Moccasin, Pickering, and Wayanda. Four of the six were concrete-hulled vessels; the other two had wooden-hulls. All had extensive cabin structures topside.
Argus was originally the concrete-hulled Major E. Pickett. Her dimensions were: 128' 5" x 28' x 12'. She was commissioned as Argus on 1 December 1924 at Rockaway Inlet, New York and was moved to New London, Connecticut, in May of 1925. There she became the flagship of the Coast Guard Destroyer Force.
She was decommissioned on 1 November 1929 and turned over to the U.S. Public Health Service.
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).