oceanography
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...
. In June 1941, ''Guide'' was transferred back to the Navy, converted into a salvage ship, and renamed USS ''Viking'' (ARS-1). As ''Viking'', she worked primarily from bases in California until 1953, when she was sold for scrapping.
Elizabethport
Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New Jersey. She was launched on 24 August 1918 and commissioned as USS ''Flamingo'', Minesweeper No. 32, on 12 February 1919. ''Flamingo'' fitted out at the
New York Navy Yard
The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, and later shifted to
Tompkinsville Tompkinsville may refer to:
*Tompkinsville, Kentucky
* Tompkinsville, Maryland
*Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York
** Tompkinsville (Staten Island Railway station)
The Tompkinsville station is a Staten Island Railway station in the neighborh ...
,
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
, New York, on 29 March 1919. The minesweeper performed various towing jobs and carried stores locally in the
3rd 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 ...
into the spring of 1919. On 10 April 1919, she suffered damage in a collision with an unnamed Panama Railroad Company
tug
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...
, and she underwent repairs at Port Richmond, Staten Island. Shifting to the New York Navy Yard soon thereafter, ''Flamingo'' began fitting out for "distant service."
''Flamingo'' departed Tompkinsville on 18 May 1919 bound for the
Orkney Islands
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
. Proceeding via Boston, Massachusetts, she arrived at Kirkwall, Scotland, on 5 June 1919 to begin her tour of duty with the United States Minesweeping Detachment, North Sea. Along with U.S. Navy
submarine chaser
A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War II.
...
s, chartered British
naval trawler
Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some—known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers"— were purpose-built to ...
s, and fellow ''Lapwing''-class minesweepers, ''Flamingo'' participated in the clearing of the
North Sea Mine Barrage
The North Sea Mine Barrage, also known as the Northern Barrage, was a large minefield laid easterly from the Orkney Islands to Norway by the United States Navy (assisted by the Royal Navy) during World War I. The objective was to inhibit the m ...
. Laid by the U.S. Navy after the United States entered World War I, the barrier had served as a formidable obstacle for German
submarine
A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
s based at North Sea ports. By 1919, however, the barrage merely hampered the resumption of peaceful commerce.
On 23 June 1919, ''Flamingo'' transported officers and men from Kirkwall to
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
, Scotland, and returned to her base in the evening carrying supplies for the detachment flagship, ( Destroyer Tender No. 9).''Flamingo'' then performed tug duty at Kirkwallcbetween 25 June and 7 July 1919. On 11 July 1919, she departed to assist in clearing Group 11 of the mine barrage in the second phase of the fourth clearance operation conducted by the Minesweeping Detachment.
The first days were uneventful. On 15 July, ''Flamingo'' anchored for the night, as was usual practice, to the north of the minefield. During the ensuing evening hours, strong winds and currents caused herto drag her anchor. She slowly worked southward from her original position. The next morning, when ''Flamingo'' weighed anchor to get underway, she discovered that she had drifted into the minefield and had fouled one of the mines in her anchor cable. The mine was trailing just beneath the
fantail
Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as "f ...
of the ship and exploded beneath ''Flamingo''′s stern. The underwater blast badly damaged the rudder, disabled the capstan and
generator
Generator may refer to:
* Signal generator, electronic devices that generate repeating or non-repeating electronic signals
* Electric generator, a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy.
* Generator (circuit theory), an eleme ...
, and dished in the ship's stern plating in several places. (Minesweeper No. 17) lent assistance and towed ''Flamingo'' to Invergordon, Scotland, for
drydock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
ing and repairs on 17 July 1919.
''Flamingo'' was ready to return to the base at Kirkwall by early August 1919. She transported a cargo of
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
and lumber to ''Black Hawk'' on her return voyage, arriving at Kirkwall on 13 August 1919. Two days later, the minesweeper towed her crippled
sister ship
A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
(Minesweeper No. 27) to
South Shields
South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the 20 ...
, England, for drydocking and repairs in the wake of ''Pelican''′s mining in July.
Later in August, ''Flamingo'' resumed her minesweeper duties with the detachment, working out of the Norwegian ports of Lervic,
Stavanger
Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...
, and
Haugesund
Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...
Orkney
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
, on 7 September 1919. She subsequently participated in the final sweep of the mine barrage – the climactic sweep which detonated five mines, cut loose 47, and destroyed 50 – into late September 1919. Once the arduous and dangerous job was complete, ''Flamingo'' departed Kirkwall on 1 October 1919 and, after a voyage which took her via
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, Portugal; the Azores; and Bermuda, eventually arrived at Tompkinsville on 20 November 1919.
The pause at Tompkinsville was a brief one, however, for ''Flamingo'' was underway five days later, on 25 November 1919, bound for the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Kittery, Maine. She arrived on 28 November 1919 and soon commenced an overhaul. Assigned to the 1st Division, 2nd Mine Squadron, United States Atlantic Fleet, on 1 July 1920, ''Flamingo'' received the classification AM-32 on 17 July 1920, as the U.S. Navy adopted its modern system of alphanumeric hull numbers on that date. ''Flamingo'' operated with the 2nd Mine Squadron into the autumn of 1920, then was placed in reserve at Portsmouth Navy Yard on 18 November 1920.
USC&GS ''Guide''
''Flamingo'' remained inactive for almost a year a half before an executive order of 25 March 1922 authorized the Navy to transfer the vessel to the United States Department of Commerce for use by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, and she accordingly was decommissioned on 5 May 1922. Turned over to the Coast and Geodetic Survey at Portsmouth Navy Yard on 23 January 1923 for use as a survey vessel , the ship was renamed USC&GS ''Guide'', first Coast and Geodetic Survey ship of the name, on 1 March 1923. She and the survey ships USC&GS ''Discoverer'' and USC&GS ''Pioneer'', also former Navy minesweepers, were known as the "Bird Boats" in the Coast and Geodetic Survey because all had been named after birds – ''Guide'' had been USS ''Flamingo'', ''Discoverer'' had been , and ''Pioneer'' had been – while in Navy service.
By January 1923, the Coast and Geodetic Survey had decided to install a Hayes sonic rangefinder – an early echo sounder – aboard ''Guide'', which the Coast and Geodetic Survey planned to commission into its fleet later that year. It also decided to pursue the development of radio acoustic ranging, a new concept involving a method for determining a ship′s precise location at sea by detonating an explosive charge underwater near the ship, detecting the arrival of the underwater sound waves at hydrophones at remote locations, and radioing the time of arrival of the sound waves at the remote stations to the ship, allowing the ship′s crew to use
triangulation
In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points.
Applications
In surveying
Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle me ...
to determine the ship′s position.
Nicholas H. Heck
Captain Nicholas Hunter Heck (1 September 1882 – 21 December 1953) was a career officer of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps. A leading geophysicist of his time, Heck made important contributions in the study of seismology and o ...
(1882–1953), a United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Corpsofficer, took charge of that development process. Both echo sounding and radio acoustic ranging required a precise understanding of the speed of sound through water.NOAA History: The Start of the Acoustic Work of the Coast and Geodetic Survey /ref>
''Guide''′s conversion to and fitting out as a survey ship on the United States East Coast was completed in 1923. After Heck oversaw tests at Coast and Geodetic Survey headquarters in Washington, D.C., that demonstrated that shipboard recording of the time of an explosion could be performed accurately enough for his radio acoustic ranging concept to work, Heck had ''Guide'' based at New London, Connecticut. Under his direction, ''Guide'' both tested her new echo sounder's ability to make accurate depth soundings and conducted radio acoustic ranging experiments in cooperation with the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps. Despite many difficulties, testing of both echo sounding and radio acoustic ranging wrapped up successfully in November 1923.
In late November 1923, with Heck aboard, ''Guide'' departed New London, Connecticut, bound for her new home port, San Diego, California, via Puerto Rico and the Panama Canal, with her route planned to take her over a wide variety of ocean depths so that she could continue to test her echo sounder. ''Guide'' made history during the voyage, becoming the first Coast and Geodetic Survey ship to use echo sounding to measure and record the depth of the sea at points along her course; she also measured water temperatures and took water samples so that the Scripps Institution for Biological Research (now the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (sometimes referred to as SIO, Scripps Oceanography, or Scripps) in San Diego, California, US founded in 1903, is one of the oldest and largest centers for oceanography, ocean and Earth science research ...
salinity
Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal ...
levels. She also compared echo sounder soundings with those made by lead lines, discovering that using a single speed of sound through water, as had been the previous practice by those conducting echo sounding experiments, yielded acoustic depth-finding results that did not match the depths found by lead lines. She transited the Panama Canal on 8 December 1923. Before she reached San Diego later in December 1923, she had accumulated much data beneficial to the study of the movement of sound waves through water and measuring their velocity under varying conditions of salinity, density, and temperature, information essential both to depth-finding and radio acoustic ranging.
Upon arriving in California, Heck and ''Guide'' personnel in consultation with the Scripps Institution developed formulas that allowed accurate echo sounding of depths in all but the shallowest waters and installed hydrophones at La Jolla and Oceanside, California, to allow experimentation in the Pacific Ocean with radio acoustic ranging. Under Heck's direction, ''Guide'' then conducted experiments off the coast of California during the early months of 1924 that demonstrated that accurate echo sounding was possible using the new formulas. Experiments with radio acoustic ranging, despite initial difficulties, demonstrated that the method also was practical, although difficulty with getting some of the explosive charges to detonate hampered some of the experimental program. In April 1924, the Coast and Geodetic Survey concluded that both echo sounding and radio acoustic ranging were fundamentally sound, with no foundational problems left to solve, and that all that remained necessary was continued development and refinement of both techniques during their operational use. Heck turned over continued development of echo sounding and radio acoustic ranging to ''Guides commanding officer,
Commander
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain.
...
Robert Luce, and returned to his duties in Washington, D.C.
Operating off Oregon in 1924, ''Guide'' became the first ship to employ radio acoustic ranging operationally. While off Oregon that year, she successfully employed the technique at a distance of 206
nautical mile
A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude. Today ...
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
''City of Nome'', which was on fire at Aberdeen, Washington; ''Guide'' stood by ''City of Nome'' until 5 June 1927, pumped water into the schooner, and helped retard the fire sufficiently to allow
salvage
Salvage may refer to:
* Marine salvage, the process of rescuing a ship, its cargo and sometimes the crew from peril
* Water salvage, rescuing people from floods.
* Salvage tug, a type of tugboat used to rescue or salvage ships which are in dis ...
of ''City of Nome''s cargo. On 4 February 1933, she rendered assistance to the fishing boat ''Giuseppina'', which had broken down with engine trouble in Monterey Bay, California.
As tensions mounted in Europe and East Asia in the late 1930s, the U.S. Navy expanded to meet the emergency, especially after World War II began in Europe following the German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939. The Navy needed
auxiliary vessel
An auxiliary ship is a naval ship designed to support combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliary ships are not primary combatant vessels, though they may have some limited combat capacity, usually for purposes of self-defense.
Auxil ...
s of various types, and cast a wide net in looking for them. One of the ships identified for transfer to the Navy was ''Guide'', and, on 27 June 1941, she was transferred from the Coast and Geodetic Survey to the Navy.
Commemoration
An underwater geographic feature of the Pacific Ocean,
Guide Seamount
Guide Seamount is a seamount in the eastern Pacific Ocean, about 16.6 ±0.5 million years old. It is similar in shape and orientation to the nearby Davidson, Pioneer, Rodriguez, and Gumdrop seamounts. It is named for the United States Coast and ...
off the coast of California, is named for ''Guide''.
USS ''Viking''
On 25 July 1941, work to convert the vessel into a
rescue and salvage ship
Rescue and salvage ships (hull classification symbol ARS) are a type of military salvage tug. They are tasked with coming to the aid of stricken vessels. Their general mission capabilities include combat salvage, lifting, towing, retraction of grou ...
began at the San Diego Marine Construction Company in San Diego. During the reconfiguration, the Navy renamed the ship USS ''Viking'', third U.S. Navy ship of the name, on 5 August 1941 and classified her as ARS-1. While the alterations were still in progress, Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft attackedPearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941, plunging the United States into World War II. Placed in service on 3 January 1942, ''Viking'' was pronounced ready for duty on 12 February 1942.
Manned by a civilian crew and operated from San Diego by the Merritt, Chapman, and Scott
salvage
Salvage may refer to:
* Marine salvage, the process of rescuing a ship, its cargo and sometimes the crew from peril
* Water salvage, rescuing people from floods.
* Salvage tug, a type of tugboat used to rescue or salvage ships which are in dis ...
firm – a civilian company working under a contract let by the U.S. Navy
Bureau of Ships The United States Navy's Bureau of Ships (BuShips) was established by Congress on 20 June 1940, by a law which consolidated the functions of the Bureau of Construction and Repair (BuC&R) and the Bureau of Engineering (BuEng). The new bureau was to ...
– ''Viking'' was assigned to the
11th 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 ...
.
Between 3 and 6 July 1942, ''Viking'' assisted two U.S. Navy local patrol craft, ''YP-267'' and ''YP-269'', which had run aground off San Diego, towing them both back to port for repairs. According to her movement reports, ''Viking'' appears to have spent an uneventful autumn and winter at her home port.
''Viking'' shifted to San Francisco, California, briefly in January 1943, en route Guadalupe in Baja California, Mexico, to perform emergency salvage operations under the aegis of the Commander,
Western Sea Frontier
Sea Frontiers were several, now disestablished, commands of the United States Navy as areas of defense against enemy vessels, especially submarines, along the U.S. coasts. They existed from 1 July 1941 until in some cases the 1970s. Sea Frontiers ...
. Returning to San Diego in February 1943, ''Viking'' operated there into 1944.
On 27 October 1944, ''Viking'' steamed to San Pedro, California, for a refit. She returned to San Diego later in November 1944. On 31 December 1944, ''Viking'' departed San Diego in company with the
fleet ocean tug
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
bound for Clipperton Island. There, the two vessels joined the rescue and salvage ship in unsuccessful attempts to refloat the grounded tank landing ship . During the salvage operation, ''Viking'' suffered damage from heavy seas and put into San Diego for repairs soon thereafter.
''Viking'' subsequently operated out of San Diego and San Pedro through the end of World War II in mid-August 1945. She performed tug and tow services for ships ranging in size from
destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
s to tank landing ships into the 1950s. In December 1949, she aided the grounded steamer off the south point of California′s Santa Rosa Island. Eventually, ''Viking's'' area of operations embraced Long Beach and Port Hueneme, California, as well as the San Diego area.
Relieved by the rescue and salvage ship as salvage vessel for the 11th Naval District, ''Viking'' was returned to Navy custody by the Merritt, Chapman, and Scott salvage firm. On 17 March 1953, she was authorized for disposal, and her name was struck from the Navy list on 19 April 1953. She lay at the Naval Supply Depot at San Pedro until sold on 22 July 1953 to Nathan Cohen and Son, Inc., of Los Angeles, California. She was scrapped soon thereafter.