Brier, 1943
WAGL/WLI 299
Brier: a very prickly woody vine of the eastern United States growing in tangled masses having tough round stems with shiny leathery leaves and small greenish flowers followed by clusters of inedible shiny black berries
Builder: Dubuque Boat & Boiler Works, Dubuque, Iowa
Length: 100'
Beam: 24' 7"
Draft: 5' 4"
Displacement: 178 tons (fl)
Cost: $175,001
Launched: 5 August 1942
Commissioned: 2 July 1943
Decommissioned: 9 November 1967
Disposition: Transferred to USN on 10 March 1968
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
Tender History:
The Brier, an inland buoy tender and one of eight Cosmos or Bluebell-Class tenders that entered service, were designed by the Coast Guard and constructed by the Dubuque Boat & Boiler Works of Dubuque, Iowa. She was assigned to the 6th District and was stationed at Charleston, South Carolina, where she conducted general aids to navigation work and search and rescue operations when needed. On 16 January 1952 she was transferred to Brunswick, Georgia, where she operated out of until 1965.
On 17 to 18 July 1953 she salvaged a crashed USAF B-29 at Rockfish Creek, Georgia. On 17 September 1955 she assisted in a hurricane evacuation on the Frederica River. On 25 May 1956 she escorted the motor vessel Busy Bee to Isle of Hope. ON 17 March 1962 she collided with the fishing vessel Two Brothers Second in Creighton Narrows.
She transferred to Atlantic City, New Jersey on 9 November 1965 and was then placed in reserve at St. George, Staten Island, New York on 10 November 1966. She remained in reserve until 25 April 1967 when she was placed back in commission and was then based at Boston. She was decommissioned on 9 November 1967 and was then transferred to the U.S. Navy on 10 March 1969.
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.