USS ''Barbican'' (ACM-5) was a in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. ''Barbican'' was later commissioned in

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi ...

as USCGC ''Ivy'' (WLB / WAGL-329). ''Barbican'' was constructed as the Army

Mine planter Mine planter and the earlier "torpedo planter" was a term used for mine warfare ships into the early days of World War I. In later terminology, particularly in the United States, a mine planter was a ship specifically designed to install controlle ...

USAMP '' Col. George Armistead'' (MP-3) by the Marietta Manufacturing Co. at

Point Pleasant, West Virginia Point Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Mason County, West Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers. The population was 4,101 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Point Pleasant, ...

and delivered to the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in December 1942. The ship was acquired by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

from the Army Coast Artillery at

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, on 6 January 1945; renamed ''Barbican'' and designated an auxiliary

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...

, ACM-5, on 19 January 1945; converted for naval service by the

Charleston Navy Yard Charleston Naval Shipyard (formerly known as the Charleston Navy Yard) was a U.S. Navy ship building and repair facility located along the west bank of the Cooper River, in North Charleston, South Carolina and part of Naval Base Charleston. H ...

; and placed in commission there on 24 March 1945.

Service history

U.S. Navy

Following shakedown training out of

, between 31 March and 24 April 1945, ''Barbican'' arrived in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

late in the summer of 1945 too late to participate in the war against Japan. In fact, ''Barbican'' did not depart

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

and head for the western

until 17 August 1945, two days after the Japanese capitulation ended hostilities. On her way west, the auxiliary minelayer made one stop at

Midway Island Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...

before arriving at

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

in the

Marianas The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

on 20 September 1945. There, she reported for duty with the Commander, Minecraft, Pacific Fleet. For a little more than a month, she served as tender and

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

for a squadron of motor minesweepers ( YMS), performing those duties both at Saipan and at

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

. Late in October 1945, the ship moved from Okinawa to

Sasebo is a core city located in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. It is also the second largest city in Nagasaki Prefecture, after its capital, Nagasaki. On 1 June 2019, the city had an estimated population of 247,739 and a population density of 581 persons p ...

, where she took part in the postwar

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the victorious Allies of World War II from the 1945 surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the war until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. The occupation, led by the United States wi ...

. That assignment lasted until 24 February 1946, when she headed back to the United States reporting to the Commandant,

12th Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...

, late in April 1946 for duty pending inactivation. ''Barbican'' was placed out of commission at San Francisco, on 12 June 1946 and was transferred simultaneously to the

. Her name was struck from the

Navy list A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

on 19 July 1946.

U.S. Coast Guard

The fourth tender named ''Ivy'', she was one of five Chimo-class U.S. Army mine-layers acquired by the Coast Guard and entered service with the Coast Guard in 1947. She was initially stationed at Miami, Florida, and was assigned to tend aids to navigation (ATON) and conduct search and rescue (SAR) and law enforcement (LE) operations when required. She also tended the Cape Flattery Light Station frequently. During her Coast Guard service ''Ivy'' frequently operated from Tongue Point Coast Guard Base Astoria, Oregon for extended periods.U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office. https://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/Ivy_1947.pdf Retrieved: 23 August 2015 She transferred to Portland, Oregon on 29 June 1951 where she remained home ported during the rest of her Coast Guard career. On 29 June 1951 she assisted M/V ''Alan Seeger'' and M/V ''Audrey'' following a collision. On 23 October 1952 she assisted the M/V ''Paul T. Seafarer'', and on 12 February 1954 she assisted F/V ''Western Fisherman''. On 27 March 1954 she dragged for a sunken fishing vessel off the lower

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

. On 1 August 1958 she grounded near

Lake Washington Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It borders the cities of Seattle on the west, ...

but sustained no damage and was re-floated. In August 1959 she served on a law enforcement patrol off

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

, Washington. On 15 January 1961 she assisted in the search and recovery attempt of F/V ''Mermaid'' off the

Columbia River Bar The Columbia Bar, also frequently called the Graveyard of the Pacific, is a system of bars and shoals at the mouth of the Columbia River spanning the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington. It is known as one of the most dangerous bar crossings in ...

. During the end of February 1968 to 1 March 1968 ''Ivy'' waited out a storm at anchor in

Willapa Bay Willapa Bay () is a bay located on the southwest Pacific coast of Washington state in the United States. The Long Beach Peninsula separates Willapa Bay from the greater expanse of the Pacific Ocean. With over of surface area Willapa Bay is the ...

, Washington. On 1 March 1968 she was called to assist the Japanese M/V ''Suwaharu Maru'' carrying a cargo of logs and the Liberian M/V ''Mandoil II ''carrying a cargo of

naptha Naphtha ( or ) is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture. Mixtures labelled ''naphtha'' have been produced from natural gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and the distillation of coal tar and peat. In different industries and regions ''n ...

which had collided 340 miles from Columbia River Bar off the Oregon coast. Due to heavy seas ''Ivy'' was underway to the scene for nearly 24 hours. In heavy seas, darkness and a snow storm ''Ivy'' rescued 68 crewmen from the Japanese vessel, which had jettisoned logs in an effort to stay afloat. Floating logs destroyed one of ''Ivy's'' lifeboats, however no men lost were lost. The Liberian tanker of naphtha exploded and burned; the entire crew perished. The ''Ivy'' was relieved by USCGC ''Modoc'' (WATA-194) and transported the Japanese crew to

Astoria, Oregon Astoria is a port city and the seat of Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1811, Astoria is the oldest city in the state and was the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. The county is the northwest corne ...

. Two merchant vessels also participated in the rescue: MV ''Kure Maru'' and MV ''Transoneida''. During her Coast Guard service ''Ivy'' frequently operated from Tongue Point Coast Guard Base for extended periods. After 2 years of Navy service and 24 years of Coast Guard service ''Ivy'' was decommissioned on 26 November 1969. The vessel was then acquired by

Foss Maritime Foss Maritime (formerly Foss Launch and Tug Company), is an American tugging company. The company was founded in 1889 by Thea Foss (1857–1927) and her husband Andrew Foss. The company is now the largest tug and towing concern on the west coast ...

and renamed as ''Agnes Foss'', the second ex Army mine planter of the name ''Col. George Armistead'' to be operated by Foss as ''Agnes Foss''.

References

External links

NavSource Online: Mine Warfare Vessel Photo Archive – USCGC Ivy (WBL 329) – ex-USCGC Ivy (WAGL 329) – ex-Barbicon (ACM 5) – ex-Colonel George Armistead

Ivy, 1947 ACM-5; WLB / WAGL-329 ex-Barbican; ex-Colonel George Armistead

* ttps://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs.html Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships {{DEFAULTSORT:Barbican (ACM-5) Chimo-class minelayers Ships built in Point Pleasant, West Virginia 1942 ships World War II mine warfare vessels of the United States Mine planters of the United States Army

Service history

U.S. Navy

U.S. Coast Guard

See also

References

External links