USCGC Balsam (WLB-62)
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| Career (United States) |  |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Zenith Dredge, Duluth, Minnesota |
| Cost: | $916,109 |
| Laid down: | 25 October 1941 |
| Launched: | 15 April 1942 |
| Commissioned: | 14 October 1942 |
| Decommissioned: | 6 March 1975 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Cactus |
| Displacement: | 1,025 LT (1,041 t/1,148 ST) |
| Length: | 180 ft (55 m) |
| Beam: | 37 ft (11 m) |
| Propulsion: | 2 × General Motors EMD 645 V8 Diesel engines |
| Speed: | 13 kn (24 km/h/15 mph) |
| Range: | 8,000 nmi (15,000 km/9,200 mi) at 13 kn (24 km/h/15 mph) |
| Complement: | 48 |
| Armament: | Wartime: 20 mm guns, a 3 inch cannon, and depth charges. Peacetime: None |
The USCGC Balsam (WLB-62) is a 180 foot sea going buoy tender (WLB). A Cactus class vessel, she was built by Zenith Dredge Company in Duluth, Minnesota. Balsam's preliminary design was completed by the United States Lighthouse Service and the final design was produced by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth. On 25 October 1941 the keel was laid, she was launched on 15 April 1942 and commissioned on 13 October 1942. The original cost for the hull and machinery was $916,109.
Balsam is one of 39 original 180-foot seagoing buoy tenders built between 1942-1944. All but one of the original tenders, the USCGC Ironwood (WLB-307), were built in Duluth.
Her initial service was in the South Pacific during WWII. After the war, she returned to the west coast of the United States where she served in Astoria, Oregon and Eureka, California. She also was home ported in Honolulu, Hawaii before being transferred to Alaska to serve her remaining years in the Coast Guard fleet.
The Balsam was decommissioned in 1975 and sold to a private company for $53,687. She was subsequently sold again and then converted into an Alaskan crab fishing boat.
[edit] References
- National Park Service Report on the 180 foot buoy tenders
- Photo history of USCG buoy tenders by the Coast Guard Historian's Office
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