USS Narcissus (WAGL-238)

USS Narcissus (WAGL-238) was built for the United States Coast Guard by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation, Duluth, Minnesota, in 1939. Designed as a navigational aid tender, she was assigned to Wilmington, North Carolina. In 1940 she transferred to Portsmouth, Virginia.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Narcissus.

History
Name:	USCG Narcissus
Builder:	Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation
Laid down:	1939
In service:	1939
Out of service:	Transferred to the Navy, 1 November 1941
In service:	1 January 1946
Out of service:	1971
Homeport:	Portsmouth, Virginia
Fate:	Transferred to Guyana, 1971
Name:	USS Narcissus
Acquired:	Transferred from the Coast Guard, 1 November 1941
Fate:	Returned to the Coast Guard, 1 January 1946
General characteristics
Type:	Buoy tender
Displacement:	342 long tons (347 t)
Length:	122 ft (37 m)
Beam:	28 ft (8.5 m)
Draft:	8 ft (2.4 m)
Propulsion:	2 × Superior diesel engines 2 screws
Speed:	10.3 knots (19.1 km/h; 11.9 mph)
Complement:	17

Executive Order 8929 of 1 November 1941 transferred the Coast Guard to the US Navy. Through the war years Narcissus continued to serve as a large inland buoy tender, operating out of Portsmouth. When the Coast Guard returned to the Treasury Department on 1 January 1946, the tender remained in an active status. Through 1970 she has continued her buoytending duties from her permanent station at Portsmouth.

References

• US Coast Guard site
• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.