US FWSPenguin IIwas an Americanrefrigerated cargo shipin commission in the fleet of theUnited States Fish and Wildlife Servicefrom 1950 to 1963. She ran a cargo service betweenSeattle,Washington,and thePribilof Islands,and also delivered provisions toAleutcommunities on theAlaska Peninsulaand in theAleutian Islands.Prior to her fisheries service, she was theUnited States Armycargo shipU.S. ArmyLt. Raymond Zussman(FS-246).
| |
 United States Army | |
|---|---|
| Name | U.S. ArmyLt. Raymond Zussman(FS-246) |
| Namesake | Second LieutenantRaymond Zussman(1917–1944),World War IIU.S. ArmyMedal of Honorrecipient |
| Builder | Northwestern Shipbuilding Company,Bellingham,Washington |
| Completed | June 1944 |
| Fate | Sold to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 9 June 1950 |
 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | |
| Name | MVLt. Raymond Zussman |
| Namesake | Previous name retained |
| Acquired | From United States Army 9 June 1950 |
| Commissioned | 1950 |
| Renamed | US FWSPenguin II21 September 1950 |
| Namesake | USFS/US FWSPenguin,U.S. Bureau of Fisheriesand Fish and Wildlife Service "Pribilof tender,"1930–1950 |
| Decommissioned | 1963 |
| Homeport | Seattle,Washington |
| Fate | Sold 18 August 1964 |
| Status | Extant 1976 asColombiancommercial vesselAurora |
| General characteristics as Fish and Wildlife Service cargo ship | |
| Type | U.S. Army Design 342 Freight and Supply (FS) |
| Tonnage | 540Gross register tons |
| Length | 148 ft (45 m) |
| Beam | 33 ft 3 in (10.13 m) |
| Propulsion | 875-hp(740-kw)Fairbanks-Morsediesel engine |
| Capacity | 20 passengers; 15,000cubic feet(424.75cubic meters) of cargo |
| Crew | 14 |
| Sensors and processing systems | Radar |
| Notes | Refrigerationadded 1951 |
Construction and U.S. Army service
edit
TheSeattle,Washington,naval architectHarold Cornelius Hanson[1][2]designed the vessel as a wooden-hulledcoastal cargo ship.[1]The official designation was Design 342 (Vessel, Passenger-Cargo, Diesel, Wood, 148') with only fifteen, FS-238 through FS-252, being built by three builders in Washington and California.[3][4][5][note 1]TheNorthwestern Shipbuilding Companyconstructed her atBellingham,Washington, and delivered her to theUnited States Armyin June 1944 for use duringWorld War II.[1][6]The U.S. Army placed her in service as the "freight and supply" shipU.S. ArmyLt. Raymond Zussman(FS-246)and retained the ship for use after the war.[1][3]
Fish and Wildlife Service
editOn 21 April 1910, theUnited States Congressassigned the responsibility for the management and harvest ofnorthern fur seals,foxesand otherfur-bearing animals in thePribilof Islandsin theBering Sea,as well as for the care, education, and welfare of theAleutcommunities in the islands to theUnited States Bureau of Fisheries.[7]TheUnited States Department of the Interior′s Fish and Wildlife Service – renamed theUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service(USFWS) after a 1956 reorganization – assumed these responsibilities when it replaced the Bureau of Fisheries in 1940.[7]Since 1917, the Bureau of Fisheries and Fish and Wildlife Service had operated a "Pribilof tender"[7]– a dedicated supply vessel used to transport passengers and cargo to and from the Pribilof Islands[7]
On the night of 3 June 1950, the FWS Pribilof tenderUS FWSPenguincaught fire while moored at the FWS dock inLake Unionin Seattle.[8]Before firefighters could extinguish the blaze, it destroyed hersuperstructureandcabins.[8]Although her hull remained intact,[8]the FWS determined that the cost of repairing the damage – originally estimated at US$15,000 to US$20,000,[8]but later at US$75,000[1]– was more than the cost of replacing her.[1]Before the fire,Penguinhad been scheduled to depart Seattle for the Pribilofs with much-needed provisions on 13 June 1950,[1]so the matter of replacing her was one of urgency. On 9 June 1950, the FWS purchasedLt. Raymond Zussmanfrom the U.S. Army.[1]The ship was faster and larger (540gross register tonsthanPenguin(394 gross register tons), and, asUS FWSLt. Raymond Zussman,she departed Seattle for her first voyage to the Pribilofs on 17 June 1950, only four days later thanPenguin′s scheduled departure.[1]During the summer of 1950,United States Secretary of the InteriorOscar L. Chapmanannounced thatLt. Raymond Zussmanwould undergo a name change, saying, "The goodwill built up for 20 years in the name of thePenguinwill not be lost...the vessel's successor has been namedPenguin II."[1]Accordingly, the FWS formally renamed the shipUS FWSPenguin IIon 21 September 1950.[1]Penguin IImade three round-trips between Seattle and the Pribilof Islands in 1950.[1]
Penguin IIunderwent renovations in February 1951 which gave her more cabin area, doubled her cargo capacity, and gave her ten times therefrigerated storagespace of her predecessorPenguin;[1]later, she also received an electromechanical steering system.[1]She made five round trips between Seattle and the Pribilofs in 1952, during which she logged 26,387 nautical miles (48,869 km; 30,366 mi).[1]She made six trips in 1953, logging 32,351 nautical miles (59,914 km; 37,229 mi) and carrying 612 passengers, 3,450 tons of general cargo, and 146,484 U.S. gallons (117,187Imperial gallons;554,502 liters) offuel oil.[1]She transported many of the 66,378sealskinsharvested in 1953 at the Pribilofs to Seattle.[1]
In addition to making voyages between Seattle and the Pribilofs,Penguin IIalso made trips within the Pribilofs betweenSaint Paul IslandandSt. George Islandto provide inter-island transportation for local passengers and cargo.[1]She also delivered provisions to smallAleutcommunities on theAlaska Peninsulaand in theAleutian Islands.Each autumn, she deliveredChristmas treesduring her voyages.[1]In 1956, the Fish and Wildlife Service was renamed theUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service(USFWS) as part of a reorganization that year that created the USFWS′s new Bureau of Commercial Fisheries (BCF), which thereafter maintained and operatedPenguin II.
By the early 1960s, the demand for supplies in the Pribilof Islands had increased to the point that the BCF consideredPenguin IItoo small to serve as its Pribilof tender.[1]In October 1962, the U.S. Army loaned the refrigerated cargo shipFSR-791to the BCF, which placed her in service as the new Pribilof tenderUS FWSPribilofin 1963.[9]Consequently, the BCF decommissionedPenguin IIin 1963 and sold her at auction in Seattle on 18 August 1964.[1]
Later career
editPenguin IIwas sold into commercial service. She was sighted in thePort of Los AngelesatLos Angeles,California,in 1976, operating under theColombian flagwith the nameAuroraand with her home port atSan AndrésinColombia.[1]
Footnotes
edit- ^Martinolich Repair, San Francisco, California built 5, Northwestern Shipbuilding, Bellingham, Washington built 6 and Pacific Shipways, Anacortes, Washington built 4.
References
edit- ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvAFSC Historical Corner:Penguin II,Pribilof Islands Tender (1950-64) Retrieved September 6, 2018
- ^AFSC Historical Corner:Brown Bear,Grizzly Bear&Black Bear- "Bear" Boats Retrieved September 14, 2018
- ^abGrover, David (1987).U.S. Army Ships and Watercraft of World War II.Naval Institute Press.pp. 78, 88.ISBN0-87021-766-6.LCCN87015514.
- ^Jackson, Ramon (2007)."Army FP/FS Vessels".Retrieved3 October2020.
- ^Colton, Tim (November 28, 2012)."U.S. Army Coastal Freighters (F, FS) Built During WWII".ShipbuildingHistory.Retrieved3 October2020.
- ^Colton, Tim (January 20, 2015)."Northwestern Shipbuilding, South Bellingham WA".ShipbuildingHistory.Retrieved3 October2020.
- ^abcdAFSC Historical Corner: The Pribilof Islands Tender Vessels Retrieved September 4, 2018
- ^abcdAFSC Historical Corner:Penguin,Pribilof Tender for 20 Years (1930-50) Retrieved September 6, 2018
- ^AFSC Historical Corner:Pribilof,Bureau's Last Pribilof Tender (1964-75) Retrieved September 4, 2018