Spruce, 1947
WAK-246
ex-FS-222
Any of various coniferous evergreen trees of the genus Picea, having needlelike foliage, drooping cones, and soft wood often used for paper pulp.
Builder: Higgins Industries, Inc.
Length: 176' 1"
Beam: 32'
Draft: 10'
Displacement: 935 tons
Cost: $
Commissioned: 31 January 1945 (Army);
Decommissioned: 6 January 1950
Disposition: Turned over to the Coast & Geodetic Survey
Machinery: 2 General Motors diesel engines; 1,000 SHP; twin propellers
Performance & Endurance:
Max: 13.7 knots; 4,000-mile range
Cruising:
Deck Gear: 1 x 15-ton capacity boom; 2 x 5-ton capacity booms
Cargo Capacity: 300 tons
Complement: 30 (1945); 36 (1947)
Armament: 1 x 40mm/60 (1945); none (1947)
Electronics: SO-4 radar
Radio Call Sign: NRWH
Tender History:
The second tender named Spruce has often been confused with the first tender of that name. The first Spruce was a former Army mine planter that was decommissioned in 1946 and was sold in 1947. The second Spruce was a former Army FS vessel acquired by the Coast Guard in 1947 and designated WAK-246, which was given the same hull number as the first Spruce but a different designation, reflecting her purpose of delivering construction and logistic supplies to the expanding Pacific LORAN chain. The USS FS-222 had served with a Coast Guard crew during the war.
The ex-FS-222 was turned over from the Army to the Coast Guard on 18 January 1946. She was commissioned as Spruce (WAK-246) and was assigned the home port of Honolulu. Due to a lack of personnel, she was ordered to steam to Seattle in 1947, where she was place "out of commission, in reserve." She was formally decommissioned on 6 January 1948 and was placed in storage at the Coast Guard Moorings at Kennydale, Washington. She was turned over to the Coast & Geodetic Survey on 17 May 1950.
Sources:
Cutter History File. USCG Historian's Office, USCG HQ, Washington, D.C.
Douglas Peterson. United States Lighthouse Service Tenders, 1840-1939. Annapolis: Eastwind Publishing, 2000.
Robert Scheina. U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft, 1946-1990. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1990.