Barberry, 1943 (WAGL / WLI-294)
Barberry: Any of various shrubs of the genus Berberis, with small leaves, yellow flower clusters, and small orange or red berries.
Builder: Dubuque Boat & Boiler Works, Dubuque, Iowa
Length: 100'
Beam: 24' 7"
Draft: 5' 4"
Displacement: 178 tons (fl)
Cost: $172,557
Launched: 14 November 1942
Commissioned: 3 January 1943
Decommissioned: 1 September 1970
Disposition: Donated, 23 February 1971
Machinery: 2 Murphy 6-cylinder diesel engines; 330 BHP; twin propellers
Performance: 10.0 knots (maximum); 3,000 nm range @ 6.5 knots
Deck Gear: 5 ton boom capacity; hoist was air-powered
Complement: 16
Armament: None
History:
Barberry was built by the Dubuque Boat & Boiler Works of Dubuque, Iowa and entered commissioned service on 3 January 1943. She was one of eight 100-foot Cosmo or Bluebell Class tenders built. They were designed by the Coast Guard.
Barberry was assigned to the 5th District and was stationed at Morehead City, North Carolina, beginning in 1943. During the war she conducted general aids to navigation duties. From 6 January 1945 until 16 May 1950 she was stationed at Coinjock, North Carolina. From there she transferred to Portsmouth, Virginia, where she remained stationed until the end of her career with the Coast Guard. Her primary duties were general aids to navigation work and search and rescue, when needed.
On 12 September 1955 she patrolled the President's Cup Regatta in Washington, D.C. On 26 April 1956 she assisted in the search for a Navy F9F aircraft off Stingray Point. On 2 December 1958 she assisted a yacht that had grounded near Wilkerson Creek, North Carolina. In January 1959 she broke ice to clear a channel to Crisfield, Maryland. She was again used as an icebreaker in February, 1961, in the same area.
She was decommissioned on 1 September 1970 and was eventually acquired by the State of Maryland.
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: Naval Institute Press, 1982.
Robert Scheina. U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft, 1946-1990. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1990.