USRC Androscoggin

For other ships with the same name, see USCGC Androscoggin.

USRC Androscoggin shortly after commissioning, 1908
History
United States
Namesake	Androscoggin River, Maine, U.S.
Operator	U.S. Revenue Cutter Service
Builder	Rodermond Bros., Tomkins Cove, New York; Pusey & Jones, Wilmington, Delaware
Cost	US$230,087 (Original contract price)
Launched	16 January 1907
Commissioned	8 July 1908
Decommissioned	26 August 1921
Fate	Sold 10 May 1922 at Baltimore, Maryland
General characteristics
Displacement	1200 tons
Length	210 ft (64 m)
Beam	36 ft (11 m)
Draft	17 ft 6 in (5.33 m)
Installed power	1,800 SHP
Propulsion	Triple-expansion steam engine, 20.75 in (52.7 cm), 32 in (81 cm), 50 in (130 cm) diameter x 27 in (69 cm) stroke
Speed	13.2 knots (max)
Complement	44
Armament	4 x 6-pounders

Design and construction

USRC Androscoggin was built by Rodermond Bros. Shipyard at Tomkins Cove, New York and placed under sea trials on 3 March 1908 before being finished by Pusey and Jones Shipyard at Wilmington, Delaware. Additional work by Pusey and Jones put the final cost at US$249,600.97. She was the Revenue Cutter Service's first purposely built icebreaker and the last major revenue cutter with a wooden hull, having been constructed of white oak, larch and pine. At the time, wood was thought to be appropriate for ice work because of its elasticity. Androscoggin was fitted with a iron-strengthened bow so that she could push navigation obstructions out of the way and break ice. She had a flush weather deck that made it easier to do assistance work during rescue operations which was departure from the design of earlier classes of revenue cutters. Androscoggin was designed to have a 1,800 shaft horsepower triple expansion steam engine that powered a single screw which gave the cutter a top speed of 13.2 knots. The engine room included water-tube boilers fired with oil rather than coal, a departure from older Revenue Service cutters. The cutter was initially fitted with four 6-pounder naval guns.

History

1908–1917

Androscoggin was placed in commission at the Revenue Cutter Service Depot, Curtis Bay, Baltimore, Maryland on 8 July 1908 and on 22 July received sailing orders that permanently stationed her at Portland, Maine with cruising grounds along the coast of Maine. On 10 March 1909, she was ordered to take station at Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York to temporarily relieve USRC Mohawk and received orders returning her to Portland on 13 April. During June 1909, she was assigned regatta duty at New London, Connecticut. Androscoggin was detailed on 11 August to search for 6 missing sailors from U.S. Navy tug Nezinscot which had capsized off Cape Ann, Massachusetts. She spent the balance of the fall of 1909 assisting at various yacht races and community celebrations. In January 1910, She conducted a search for survivors of the steam lighter Colombia, which had left New York City bound for Port-au-Prince, Haiti with a crew of eleven. Androscoggin traveled 2,999 mi (4,826 km) in search of the lost ship but did not find a trace of the lost ship or her crew. During the summer of 1910 she was temporarily transferred to Washington, DC. In November, she was directed to proceed to the Boston Navy Yard for repairs, which took until January 1911 to complete. Androscoggin returned to her cruising schedule off the Maine coast after leaving Boston. During the bulk of 1911 she cruised the coast from Maine to Boston and arrived at the Revenue Cutter Service Yard at Baltimore for repairs in November 1911. The year of 1912 saw more cruising of the Maine coast until November when she was sent to cover the cruising area of USRC Itasca. She was relieved by Itasca on 11 December and resumed her own cruising area. Androscoggin conducted searches for missing schooners Future and Winslow off the Virginia capes January 1913. During the rest of 1913 she spent much of the year patrolling at various shows, regattas, and public functions involving newly appointed Secretary of the Treasury William McAdoo. On 13 October Androscoggin sighted the burning derelict steamer Templemore which had been abandoned two days before by her crew. The cutter crew managed to install tow lines on the aft section of the steamer because the bow was still too hot. After an awkward tow through a gale and rough seas Androscoggin finally reached Boston. She received winter sailing orders on 13 November. Androscoggin arrived at the Revenue Cutter Service Yard on 13 December for repairs and left the yard on New Year's Day, 1914, only to run aground near Cove Point Light, Maryland three days later. She was re-floated with the assistance of USRC Apache with apparently no damage and proceeded to Boston where a Board of Inquiry was convened on 10 January to investigate the cause of the grounding. On 11 February Androscoggin arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia to help free USS Potomac, a Navy tug which was stuck in ice while attempting to free ice bound vessels. The attempt to free Potomac was abandoned on 14 February and the tug remained on the ice until spring.

World War I service

The United States Congress declared war on the German Empire on 6 April 1917 and with that act of war the Coast Guard was transferred to U.S. Navy control.

1919–1922

On 26 August 1921 Androscoggin was placed out of commission at the Coast Guard Depot, Curtis Bay, Baltimore, Maryland. Androscoggin was sold at the depot to Charles A. Jording of Baltimore on 10 May 1922 for US$8,250.

References

• "Androscoggin (1908)". Browse by Topic, Water Assets. U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
• "General Order No. 1" (PDF). U.S. Coast Guard Documents & Publications. U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
• "Record of Movements, Vessels of the United States Coast Guard, 1790–December 31, 1933" (PDF). Historic Documents. U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
• Canney, Donald L. (1995). U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790–1935. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-1-55750-101-1.
• Evans, Stephen H. (1949). The United States Coast Guard 1790–1915: A Definitive History. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. No ISBN
• Johnson, Robert Irwin (1987). Guardians of the Sea, History of the United States Coast Guard, 1915 to the Present. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-0-87021-720-3.
• King (1996), Irving H. (1996). The Coast Guard Expands, 1865–1915: New Roles, New Frontiers. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-1-55750-458-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
• Larzelere, Alex (2003). The Coast Guard in World War I: An Untold Story. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-1-55750-476-0.