Jonquil, 1946
ACM-6; WAGL / WLB-330
ex-Bastion; ex-Colonel Henry J. Hunt
A widely cultivated ornamental plant (Narcissus jonquilla) native chiefly to southern Europe, having long narrow leaves and short-tubed yellow flowers.
Builder: Marietta Manufacturing Company, Point Pleasant, West Virginia
Length: 188' 8"
Beam: 37'
Draft: 12' 10"
Displacement: 1,323 tons
Cost: N/A
Commissioned: 1942 (US Army); 9 April 1945 (USN); 29 August 1946 (USCG)
Decommissioned: 15 September 1946
Disposition: ?
Machinery: Skinner Engine Company reciprocating steam engine; 2 Combustion Engineering boilers; 1,200 SHP; twin propellers.
Performance & Endurance:
Max: 11.5 knots; 2,375 mile range
Cruising: 8.5 knots; 3,000 mile range
Deck Gear:
Complement: 52
Armament: None (small arms only)
Electronics: SPS-53 radar
Tender History:
The Jonquil was originally a Chimo-class mine layer built for the U.S. Army Coastal Artillery Corps in 1942 by the Marietta Manufacturing Company, Point Pleasant, West Virginia. She was christened the Colonel Henry J. Hunt. She was transferred to the Navy on 4 January 1945 and commissioned as USS Bastion (ACM-6) on 9 April 1945, LT E. D. Fatkin, USNR, in command.
Bastion departed for the Pacific 17 June and arrived at San Diego 7 July. She reported to Commander, Minecraft, Pacific, at Pearl Harbor in August. During September she performed minesweeping and repair duties throughout the Marianas Islands and between October and December she continued these duties at Okinawa. She left Okinawa 17 December and arrived in Japan 21 December where she remained on occupation duty until 11 March 1946.
Returning to the west coast, Bastion was decommissioned 18 June 1946 at San Francisco and transferred to the Coast Guard the same day. After her conversion to a buoy tender, the Coast Guard commissioned her as the USCGC Jonquil on 29 August 1946. She was assigned to the Fifth Coast Guard District and was based out of Portsmouth, Virginia, where she serviced aids to navigation and participated in SAR and law enforcement cases when needed.
On 14 March 1950 she escorted a disabled trawler to Thimble Shoal. On 7 April 1950 she assisted a barge that was adrift. On 19 October 1951 she assisted the M/V Theofano Livano aground near Cape Henry. From 11 to 12 December 1951 she towed the disabled M/V McKittrick Hills to the Chesapeake Lightship where she was transferred to a commercial tug. From 26 to 27 February 1952 she assisted the grounded tug Mary Sheridan near the York Spit lighthouse. On 11 March 1952 she assisted the disabled F/V Elizabeth two miles southeast of Turner Lump. On 14 May 1954 she assisted a grounded barge near Diamond Marsh. In October 1954 she assisted the disabled ferry Princess Ann near Kiptopeke Beach, Virginia. On 11 April 1956 she assisted the M/V Paraporti aground near Lynnhaven Inlet.
She transferred homeports to Morehead City, North Carolina on 1 September 1960. On 27 September 1961 she helped fight a fire aboard the USNS Potomac at Beaufort, North Carolina. On 9 March 1962 she stood by the stern section of the tanker Gem following her breakup. From 6 to 7 December 1962 she towed the disabled yacht Cid for 185 miles to Morehead City, North Carolina. On 28 July 1969 she dewatered the schooner Chawe Souris 19 miles west of the Frying Pan light tower.
She was decommissioned on 15 September 1969.
Sources:
Cutter History File. USCG Historian's Office, USCG HQ, Washington, D.C.
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
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.