USS F. Mansfield and Sons Co. (SP-691)

F. Mansfield and Sons Co. (SP-691), sometimes seen as Mansfield & Sons Co., was a United States Navy mine sweeper serving in non-commissioned status, thus not properly bearing the U.S.S. prefix, from 1917 to 1919.[1] The vessel was a small commercial freighter that was acquired by the Navy for World War I service. After the war the vessel was transferred to the United States Lighthouse Service for operation as a tender on 28 October 1919 and renamed Shrub. Upon merger of that service with the U.S. Coast Guard the vessel was designated the buoy tender USCGS Shrub (WAGL 244) until 1947.

History
United States
Name:
  • F. Mansfield and Sons Co.
  • USCGS Shrub (WAGL 244)
Laid down: 1912
Acquired: by USN 25 May 1917
In service:
  • USN 5 June 1917 – 28 October 1919
  • USLHS/USCG 28 October 1919-1947
Identification: Official Number 210784
Fate: disposal & sold commercially 1947
General characteristics
Type: Mine sweeper
Tonnage: 214 gross register tons
Length: 100 ft (30.5 m)
Beam: 29 ft (8.8 m)
Draft: 7 ft 5 in (2.3 m)
Speed: 9.5 knots (10.9 mph; 17.6 km/h)
Crew:
  • 7 commercial
  • 24 (USN)
Armament: 2 x 1 pounder

Commercial service

F. Mansfield and Sons Co. was built as a wood hulled commercial steam vessel by William G. Abbott Shipbuilding Co., Milford, Delaware in 1912.[2][3] The vessel's name matches the name of the seafood company, specializing in oysters, based in Fair Haven, Connecticut.[4] The vessel was classed in 1913 as a freighter, official number 210784, 214 GRT, 100 ft (30.5 m) in length (110 ft (33.5 m) length between perpendiculars in USN reference) and 29 ft (8.8 m) in breadth, a draft of 7 ft 5 in (2.3 m), a speed of 9.5 knots (10.9 mph; 17.6 km/h) with crew of seven and the home port of Perth Amboy, New Jersey.[3][5] By 1916 the vessel had changed home port to New Haven, Connecticut.[6]

World War I service

The U.S. Navy accepted the vessel 25 May 1917, paying $55,000, placing it in service as F. Mansfield and Sons Co. (SP-691) 5 June 1917 as a mine sweeper in the 2d Naval District armed with two one pounder guns and crewed by two officers and twenty-two men.[1][3][7]

The vessel saw active naval service along the United States East Coast into July 1919 and then was ordered to new duties in the Panama Canal Zone at Coco Solo along with the minesweeper, and tug USS Breakwater (SP-681) and the patrol vessel USS SP-467 proceeding at "the earliest practicable date and when ready proceed in company by Canal Zone to assigned stations."[8]

USLH and Coast Guard service

F. Mansfield and Sons Co. was transferred to the United States Lighthouse Service on 28 October 1919, renamed Shrub, to be used as a tender.[2] Shrub is shown as being stationed in Boston in 1921.[9] On merger of the Lighthouse Service with the United States Coast Guard the tender became USCGS Shrub (WAGL 244). Shrub, operating out of the Chelsea, Massachusetts base for normal tending aids to navigation early in the war, was attached to the First Naval District, arriving 1 October 1944 for additional rescue and salvage duty.[10]

The vessel was apparently disposed of by the Coast Guard in 1947 and sold commercially.[11][12]

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References
  1. Naval History And Heritage Command (9 February 2016). "F. Mansfield & Sons Co. (S. P. 691)". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  2. Reports of the Department of Commerce. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1920. p. 677. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  3. Construction & Repair Bureau (Navy) (1 November 1918). Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 218-223, 312. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  4. "Sixth Annual Report of the Commissioner of Health of the State of Pennsylvania, 1911". 1911: 1371. Retrieved 5 October 2018. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. Forty Fifth Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, Year ended June 30, 1013. Washington, D.C.: Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of Navigation. 1913. p. 170. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  6. Forty Fifth Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, Year ended June 30, 1916. Washington, D.C.: Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of Navigation. 1916. p. 113. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  7. Historical Section, Navy Department (1920). German Submarine Activities on the Atlantic Coast of the United States and Canada (PDF). Washington, D.C. p. 135. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  8. Naval History And Heritage Command (9 February 2016). "Breakwater". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  9. Fifty Third Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States, Year ended June 30, 1921. Washington, D.C.: Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of Navigation. 1921. p. 561. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  10. Historical Section, Public Affairs Division, U. S. Coast Guard (1949). Aids to Navigation (PDF). The Coast Guard at War. 15. Washington, D.C.: U. S. Coast Guard. p. 19-20. Retrieved 5 October 2018.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. "U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) by Noun Name". SemperParatus.com. 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  12. Radigan, Joseph M. "USCGC Shrub (WAGL 244)". NavSource. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
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