USCGC ''Salvia'' (WLB-400) was a

United States 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, mult ...

in commission from 1944 to 1991. She operated in 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 along the

United States Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...

during her career. Sold and renamed ''Brian Davis'' in 2020 for use as a memorial vessel, she was

scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

as an

artificial reef An artificial reef is a human-created underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, to control erosion, block ship passage, block the use of trawling nets, or improve surfing. Many re ...

in 2020.

Construction and commissioning

''Salvia'' was constructed by the Zenith Dredge Corporation at

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Launched on 19 September 1943, she was commissioned on 19 February 1944.

Design

The Iris-class buoy tenders were constructed after the Mesquite-class buoy tenders. ''Salvia'' cost $923,995 to construct and had an overall length of . She had a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

of up to at the time of construction, although this was increased to in 1966. She initially had a displacement of ; this was increased to in 1966. She was powered by one electric motor. This was connected up to two Westinghouse generators which were driven by two CooperBessemer GND-8 four-cycle diesel engines. She had a single screw. The ''Iris''-class buoy tenders had maximum sustained speeds of , although this diminished to around in 1966. For economic and effective operation, they had to initially operate at , although this increased to in 1966. The ships had a complement of six officers and seventy-four crew members in 1945; this decreased to two warrants, four officers, and forty-seven men in 1966. They were fitted with a SL1 radar system and QBE-3A sonar system in 1945. Their armament consisted of one

3"/50 caliber gun The 3"/50 caliber gun (spoken "three-inch fifty-caliber") in United States naval gun terminology indicates the gun fired a projectile in diameter, and the barrel was 50 calibers long (barrel length is 3 in × 50 = ). Different guns (identifi ...

, two 20 mm/80 guns, two Mousetraps, two depth charge tracks, and four Y-guns in 1945; these were removed in 1966.

Career

After commissioning, ''Salvia'' was assigned to aid-to-navigation (ATON) and

icebreaking An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

duties in the

. In May 1944, she was assigned to the 5th Coast Guard District and stationed in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, where she remained until the end of

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 ...

in 1945. After the war, ''Salvia'' was homeported in

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, and continued to perform general ATON duties. In April 1951 she was disabled in Calasieu Pass near Cameron,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, and was towed back to port by the cutter . In December 1968, ''Salvia'' searched for survivors from the lost coastal buoy tender . She was decommissioned on 4 October 1991.

Disposal

By mid-May 2019, ''Salvia'' was lying at

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

, Virginia, in scrap condition, with her engines and most equipment removed, and the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

had put her up for

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

. In 2020, ''Salvia'' was sold for use as a memorial vessel and

. Renamed ''Brian Davis'' in memory of a local diver, she was

on 24 July 2020 in southern

Onslow Bay Onslow Bay is an indentation of the North Carolina coast, between Cape Fear in the south and Cape Lookout in the north. Thirteen barrier islands form the shore of the bay. It is part of the open Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the sec ...

off Topsail Beach,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, about from

Topsail Inlet Topsail Island (, TOP-sill) is a 26-mile (41.8 km) long barrier island off the coast of North Carolina, roughly equidistant between the barrier islands of the Crystal Coast and the beaches of the Cape Fear region, lying south of Jacksonvil ...

and from

Masonboro Inlet Masonboro Inlet is an inlet in New Hanover County, North Carolina, separating the town of Wrightsville Beach from Masonboro Island. The inlet was used as a hideout by Confederate blockade runners during the Civil War A civil war or int ...

at , as a part of artificial reef project AR-368.

References

External links