USCGC ''Mackinaw'' (WAGB-83) is a former Coast Guard icebreaker on exhibit as a

museum ship A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small numb ...

at the Ice Breaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum in Mackinaw City, Michigan. The vessel has been known as the "Queen of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

" and "The Largest Icebreaker on the

"; the site states that "she was built ... during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to meet the heavy demands of war materials and transportation during the winter months". ''Mackinaw'' was both commissioned and homeported during active service in

Cheboygan, Michigan Cheboygan ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,876. It is the county seat of Cheboygan County. The name of the city shares the name of the county and probably has its origin from the ...

. Due to her age and expensive upkeep, she was decommissioned and replaced with a smaller multipurpose vessel, , which was commissioned in Cheboygan the same day. The old ''Mackinaw'', LR number 6119534, moved under her own power on 21 June 2006 Cheboygan to a permanent berth at the dock on the eastern end of the old railroad dock; entry to the area is just south of the Shepler's Marine Service.

Construction

The ''Mackinaw'' (WAGB-83) was laid down on 20 March 1943 at

Toledo Shipbuilding Company The Toledo Shipbuilding Company was a shipyard located on Toledo, Ohio. History The Toledo Shipbuilding Company was founded in 1905 when a syndicate of investors purchased the Craig Shipbuilding Company in Toledo, Ohio. The group was composed of L ...

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

, launched (sideways) on 4 March 1944, and commissioned on 20 December 1944. Due to the

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

war efforts Toledo area male workers were at an all-time low. The shipyard opened their hiring to Toledo area women. They initially hired 12 'helpers' within a short time and eventually hired over 100 women workers. ''Mackinaw''’s design was based on the of Coast Guard icebreakers, but the cutter was built wider and longer than the other Wind-class vessels so that her draft would be shallower. Because she was built specially for the Great Lakes — she was too wide to fit through the pre-1959

Saint Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Americ ...

— her hull was built lighter than the Wind-class vessels, but shared many characteristics, such as a relatively short length in proportion to the great power developed, a cut-away forefoot, rounded bottom, and fore, aft and side heeling tanks. Diesel electric machinery was chosen for its controllability and resistance to damage, and she also had a bow propeller. The original blueprints of the ''Mackinaw'' called for 300 ft in length. She was built with a length of 290 ft. For ground tackle she shipped two Bower Stockless

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...

s with links.

Service history

The ''Mackinaw'' was commissioned in the closing years of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

to serve and defend the Great Lakes and the shipping across them as the cargo delivered across the Great Lakes was vital to the American war effort, especially to Detroit. After WWII ended with the surrender of Nazi Germany in May 1945 and the Empire of Japan in September of the same year, the ''Mackinaw'' was slated to continue its service to the USCG in icebreaking duty in the Great Lakes due to being too large to navigate the channels to reach open ocean from the Great Lakes. Aided by several smaller icebreakers in the USCG fleet, such as the USCGC ''Katmai Bay'', the ''Mackinaw'' provided safe passage for freighters as they delivered their cargo of taconite, corn, grain, and other resources, around the Great Lakes to ports such as Detroit, Duluth, Chicago, Gary, and more. When the

Soo Locks The Soo Locks (sometimes spelled Sault Locks but pronounced "soo") are a set of parallel locks, operated and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, that enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lowe ...

closed for winter maintenance each year until reopening in late March, the ''Mackinaw'' was kept busy creating channels in the ice for the larger freighters to navigate safely to reach the Locks when they reopened for service, including the SS ''Arthur M. Anderson'', the last ship to have contact with the SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' before it sank with all hands on Lake Superior on November 10th, 1975. Tragically, the ''Mackinaw'' was unavailable to support the freighters on that fateful night, and was unable to support in the futile search for survivors over the following days. As years passed, the ''Mackinaw'' began aging. After 62 years of service to the Coast Guard and the United States, the ''Mackinaw'' was reaching the end of her military service. In preparation for her decommissioning, the USCG commissioned the construction of a new ''Mackinaw'' to replace her, the USCGC ''Mackinaw'' (WLBB-30). On June 10th, 2006, the ''Mackinaw'' was officially decommissioned and retired from service in a large ceremony at her home base in Cheboygan, Michigan, where her successor was also commissioned into active service. After her decommissioning, the ''Mackinaw'' was purchased and prepared to be turned into a museum ship as testament to her service on the Great Lakes and spare her being taken to the scrapyard. She sailed under her own power for the last time on June 21st, 2006 to Mackinaw City, Michigan, taking up her permanent berth at the former railroad dock for the railroad ferry boat SS ''Chief Wawatam''.

As museum ship

The museum provides educational tours and overnight stays on the vessel. Visitors can tour the mess deck, the captain's quarters, bridge, engine room, ward room, sick bay and other areas. A retail store on the vessel sells relevant products. A fee is charged to visitors but all current and former USCG personnel are admitted free upon presentation of proper identification.

Amateur radio

The Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet Counties Public Service Communications Organization (CCECPSO), has established a full-time

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...

station on board the Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum. The CCECPSCO has two repeaters on ''Mackinaw'' to provide communications coverage throughout the

Straits of Mackinac The Straits of Mackinac ( ; french: Détroit de Mackinac) are the short waterways between the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas, traversed by the Mackinac Bridge. The main strait is wide with a maximum depth of , and connects ...

. These repeaters, operating under the call-sign W8AGB to match the ship's WAGB-83 designation, are on a radio frequency of 145.110 MHz with 103.5 Hz PL tone and 444.375 MHz with 107.2 Hz PL tone. The organization is also actively assisting the museum with restoration and operation of various communications, navigation, and power systems. Included with the radios on board the ship are two Sunair RT-9000 HF transceivers with matching antenna couplers and vertical antennas. Scheduled for spring 2010 is the installation of a third RT-9000 paired with an LPA-9600 solid-state kilowatt amplifier and CU-9100 kilowatt autotuner along with a Sunair F-9800 automatic pre/post filter for each radio to permit simultaneous operation of all three stations, and Sunair RCU-9310 remote control panels. The vessel is equipped with a 160-40 Meter Dipole, antenna couplers and vertical antennas linked to the two Sunair RT-9000 transceivers. The CCECPSCO group planned to add extra antennae for VHF and UHF repeater use and a KC8TU customized wire antenna.http://www.ccecpsco.org/icebreaker-mackinaw-6/, Icebreaker Mackinaw Museum Ship - W8AGB Amateur radio operators visiting ''Mackinaw'' may operate the W8AGB station whenever a CCECPSCO member is present. The CCECPSCO conducts Amateur Radio Field Day operations from ''Mackinaw'' on the fourth full weekend in June.

Awards

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

- * World War II Victory Medal - * National Defense Service Medal with three service stars - * Global War on Terrorism Service Medal -

References

Bibliography

Fan site

*

External links

Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum official site

* ttp://www.ccecpsco.org Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet Counties Public Service Communications Organization {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackinaw (Wagb-83) Icebreakers of the United States Coast Guard Museum ships in Michigan 1944 ships Museums in Cheboygan County, Michigan Ships built by the Toledo Shipbuilding Company