USCGC Fir (WLM-212) - History

History

Fir was launched in the United States Lighthouse Service, but completed under the U.S. Coast Guard, making her the last United States Lighthouse Service tender constructed. Sea trials were held on San Francisco Bay on 17 August 1939. The Trial Board consisted of R. R. Tinkham, Chief Lighthouse Engineer, Portland, Oregon; W. C. Dibrell, Superintendent of Lighthouses, Ketchikan, Alaska with F. C. Hingsburg, Superintendent of Lighthouses, Portland, Oregon, acting as his alternate; and F. H. Conant, Assistant Lighthouse Engineer, San Francisco, California. On 18 August 1939, Fir departed for Portland, Oregon. On 30 December 1939, she received orders to proceed to Lake Union, Seattle, Washington. She was commissioned as the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Fir (WAGL-212) on 1 October 1940. On 4 November 1949 Fir rescued 19 persons from MV Andalucia off Neah Bay, Washington. In 1954 Fir assisted the distressed SS Beloit Victory near Destruction Island, Washington.

In early June 1958 USS Tinian (CVE-123) was taken in tow at Tacoma, Washington, by the U.S. Navy Military Sea Transportation Service's tugboat USNS Yuma (T-AF94), destined for San Diego. California. While very near the Swiftsure Bank lightship at the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Yuma developed engine troubles. Yuma's distress call brought Fir to her rescue. The crew of the Swiftsure lightship went to general quarters, ready to assist. Fir then escorted Yuma and Tinian to safety. On 9 June 1958, Yuma and Tinian arrived at San Diego, California. In 1959 Fir was engaged in a major search operation for a downed U.S. Navy plane in her operations area. Brief video footage of Fir can seen in a 1961 season episode of Sea Hunt titled "Skipper". The tender is raising what appears to be a damaged Coast Guard patrol boat. In 1962 Fir salvaged a submerged U.S. Coast Guard HO4S helicopter which had crashed in her operations area. In 1968 Fir assisted in firefighting operations at Todd Shipyards in Seattle, Washington.

On 5 July 1990 Fir extinguished a rapidly burning fire in a personal craft at Shilshole Bay, Washington. An entrapped mariner was rescued and his boat was saved.

Before decommissioning in 1991, Fir was responsible for 138 lighted and unlighted buoys in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Puget Sound areas.

Fir was decommissioned on 1 October 1991, one year after her 50th birthday. Over 600 attendees were on hand to honor the last surviving lighthouse tender in US Coast Guard service. The oldest commissioned cutter award was presented to CDR Philip E. Sherer, USCG, commanding officer of the USCGC Storis (WMEC-38), by Fir's commanding officer, LCDR Nutting, USCG.

After decommissioning, Fir remained in Seattle, Washington for many years while efforts were made to turn her into a floating museum. When these efforts failed, she was transferred to the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) facility, Suisun Bay, California, in 1997. Her shafts and rudder locked, she was towed 930 miles by USCGC Mariposa (WLB-397) to San Francisco's Golden Gate where she was met by a commercial tug that towed her the rest of the way to Suisun Bay. Significant objects were removed from the vessel and stored at a U.S. Coast Guard facility in Forestville, Maryland.

On 27 April 1992 Fir was placed on the U.S. National Register of Historical Places and designated a US National Historic Landmark. She was transferred to the Liberty Maritime Museum, Sacramento, California on 30 September 2002.