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USSCalypso(SP-632)

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For other ships with the same name, seeUSS Calypso.

USSCalypso(SP-632) tied up in an icy harbor sometime between 1917 and 1919.
History
United States
NameCalypso
NamesakeCalypso,inGreek mythology,anymphwho lived on the island ofOgygia,where, according to theOdyssey,she detainedOdysseusfor seven years
OwnerA. L. Mason,Westfield,New Jersey(1917)
BuilderNew York Yacht, Launch & Engine Company,Morris Heights,Bronx,New York
Completed1909
FateSold toU.S. NavyJune 1917
United States Navy
NameUSSCalypso
NamesakePrevious name retained
AcquiredJune 1917
CommissionedJuly 1917
FateTransferred toU.S. Bureau of Fisheries9 September 1919
U.S. Bureau of Fisheries
NameUSFSMerganser
NamesakeMerganser, a fish-eatingduckof thegenusMergusin thesubfamilyAnatinae
Acquired9 September 1919
Identification
FateTransferred toFish and Wildlife Service30 June 1940
U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service
NameUS FWSMerganser
NamesakePrevious name retained
Acquired30 June 1940
Decommissioned1942 or 1943
General characteristics (as private motorboat)
TypeMotorboat
Length45 ft (13.7 m)
Propulsion20hp(15kW)Alcogasoline engine
General characteristics (as U.S. Navy patrol boat)
TypePatrol vessel
Length54 ft (16.5 m)
Propulsion20 hp (15 kW) Alco gasoline engine
General characteristics (as BOF patrol boat)
TypeFisherypatrol vessel
Tonnage
Length54 ft (16.5 m)
Beam10 ft 6 in (3.2 m)
Draft3 ft 8 in (1.1 m)
Propulsion
  • 1919: 20 hp (15 kW) Alco gasoline engine, 100 US gallons (380 L; 83 imp gal) fuel
  • 1922: 16 hp (12 kW) engine
Speed9mph(14 km/h)

The secondUSSCalypso(SP-632)was aUnited States Navypatrol vesselin commission from 1917 to 1919. She originally operated as the privatemotorboatCalypsofrom 1909 to 1917. After the conclusion of her U.S. Navy career, she served as thefisherypatrol vessel in theUnited States Bureau of Fisheriesfleet from 1919 to 1940 asUSFSMerganserand in theFish and Wildlife Servicefleet asUS FWSMerganserfrom 1940 to 1942.

Construction

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Calypsowas built as a privatemotorboatof the same name by theNew York Yacht, Launch & Engine CompanyatMorris Heightsin theBronx,New York,in 1909.[2]She operated as apleasure craft.[2]

U.S. Navy service

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In June 1917, the U.S. Navy purchasedCalypsofrom her owner, A. L. Mason ofWestfield,New Jersey,[2]for use as asection patrolboat duringWorld War I.After the Navy modified her into amotorlaunch,[2]she wascommissionedas USSCalypso(SP-632) in July 1917. She performed patrol duty along the coast of thenortheastern United Statesfor the rest of World War I.

World War I ended on 11 November 1918, and sometime thereafter the NavydecommissionedCalypso.Under anexecutive orderdated 24 May 1919 addressing the disposition of vessels the Navy no longer required,Calypsowas among several vessels designated for transfer to theUnited States Bureau of Fisheries(BOF).[2]The Navy duly transferred her to the BOF on 9 September 1919.

U.S. Bureau of Fisheries service

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Prior toCalypso's official transfer, the Bureau of Fisheries took possession of her atQuincy,Massachusetts, in July 1919 and renamed her USFSMerganser.[2]The BOF vesselUSFSPhalaropetowedMerganserand another former U.S. Navy patrol boat, the BOF vesselUSFSPetrel,from Quincy to theNorfolk Navy YardinPortsmouth,Virginia.[2]ThereMerganserandPetrelwere loaded aboard the U.S. NavycollierUSSNeptuneon 3 October 1919.[2]Neptunetransported them to thePuget Sound Navy YardinBremerton,Washington,arriving there in early 1920.[2]After they were unloaded,MerganserandPetrelwere taken toSeattle,Washington, to undergo inspection.[2]

After the inspections were complete,MerganserandPetrelwere loaded aboard thePacific American FisheriessteamerRedwood,which transported them toKings Cove,Territory of Alaska,whereRedwoodarrived on 18 June 1920.[2]The BOF intended to use them to conductfisherypatrols in the waters of Alaska, but withheld them from service, and instead sent them back to Seattle for repairs and to modify them for fishery patrol work as funds became available for the repairs and modifications.[2]During the remainder of 1920,Merganserunderwent overUS$3,000 in repairs at Seattle.[2]

In March 1921, theUnited States Forest ServicevesselHiawathatowedMergansertoKetchikan,Territory of Alaska.[2]She conducted no fishery patrols, and nearly a year later, in early 1922, the BOF vesselUSFSAuklettowed her fromWrangell,Territory of Alaska, back to Seattle, where she underwent additional repairs and had her original 20-horsepower(15kW)Alcogasoline enginereplaced with a new 16-horsepower (12 kW) engine.[2]After two months in Seattle, she was loaded aboard theNorthwestern Fisheries CompanyshipSt. Paul,which transported her toChignik,Territory of Alaska, arriving there on 25 April 1922.[2]

Merganserfinally took up her fishery patrol duties during the 1922 fishing season, and began her career oflaw enforcementprotectinghalibut,salmon,sea otter,andfur sealpopulations in the waters of the Territory of Alaska.[2]Generally, she patrolled actively each year during the fishing season, then was hauled out of the water during each off season.[2]

During the mid-1920s,Merganserwas based atIkatanonUnimak Islandin theAleutian Islands,from which she conducted fishery patrols along theAlaska Peninsula.[2]In 1925, she ran aground on Unimak Island and was declared missing.[2]Sent to search for her, theUnited States Coast GuardcutterUSCGCHaidadiscovered her 10 days after she ran aground and pulled her free;Merganserwas found to have suffered only minor damage.[2]

In 1931, the BOF transferredMerganserfrom fishery patrol duty to duty as thetenderfor thefish hatcheryatYes Bay,Territory of Alaska, replacing the BOF launchUSFSPuffinin this capacity.[2]After the hatchery closed in 1933,Merganserreturned to fishery patrols, operating in the southwestern district in the Territory of Alaska.[2]

Fish and Wildlife Service

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In 1939, the BOF was transferred from theUnited States Department of Commerceto theUnited States Department of the Interior,[3]and on 30 June 1940, it was merged with the Interior Department's Division of Biological Survey to form the new Fish and Wildlife Service,[4]an element of the Interior Department destined to become theUnited States Fish and Wildlife Servicein 1956.[5]The vessel thus became part of the FWS fleet as US FWSMerganser.Merganserlast appeared on an FWS vessel list in 1942;[2]she did not appear on FWS lists in 1943,[2]and presumably was decommissioned in the meantime.

References

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  1. ^U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Navigation and Steamboat Inspection,Merchant Vessels of the United States (Including Yachts and Government Vessels), Year Ended June 30, 1933,Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1932, pp. 151, 1131.
  2. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyNOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center "AFSC Historical Corner:PetrelandMerganser,World War I Boats "
  3. ^"Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1930's".NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA). 16 June 2011.Retrieved11 September2017.
  4. ^"Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1940's".NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA). 16 June 2011.Retrieved11 September2017.
  5. ^"Fisheries Historical Timeline: Historical Highlights 1950's".NOAA Fisheries Service: Northeast Fisheries Science Center.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA). 16 June 2011.Retrieved11 September2017.
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