1882-1932

Location & historical notes: New Jersey, about 12 miles east of Hereford Inlet and 19.7 miles and 085 degrees from the Cape May Lighthouse.  The Five Fathom Bank Northeast Lighted Whistle Buoy "2FB" is close to the former lightship station.

Lightships assigned:

1882-1926: LV-44

YEAR BUILT: 1882

BUILT AT: Wilmington (DE)

APPROPRIATION: $50, 000

CONTRACT PRICE: $49,999.58

BUILDER: Pusey & Jones Co.

SISTER VESSELS: None

DESIGN: Iron hull; 2 masts, each with lattice daymark surmounted with ball; stack ahead of mainmast; 2 boilers 40"dia x 136" long; steam auxiliary machinery

LENGTH: 115'6" (loa); BEAM: 25'; DRAFT: 10'6" (depth); TONNAGE: 197 gross measurement

PROPULSION: Sail-schooner rig, fore and main carried on Spencer masts

ILLUMINATING APPARATUS: 2 lanterns, each with 8 oil lamps and reflectors

FOG SIGNAL: 12" steam whistle; hand operated 1000 lb bell

CONSTRUCTION NOTES - MODIFICATIONS - EQUIPMENT CHANGES & IMPROVEMENTS: LV 44
-First US lightship designed and built with an unsheathed, all-metal hull
-Because of evidence of corrosion, vessel was painted annually until about 1890 and thereafter at 2 year intervals. Many different paints were experimented with including red and white lead mixed, "germicide" paint, Williams submarine anti- corrosive, and antifouling bottom paint; all these being mixed in some cases.
-Boilers were perennial problem; complete replacement 3 times between 1882ã1899
-189?: Daymark removed from mainmast
-1910: Equipped with submarine bell signal.
-1912: Both masts replaced with steel skeleton towers; larger stack installed; converted from oil to acetylene lens lanterns; fog signal changed to steam siren
-1919: Equipped with radio
-1927: Fog signal changed to air siren
-1931: Fitted with electric lens lanterns

STATION ASSIGNMENTS:LV44
1882-1926: Northeast End (NJ)
1926-1938: Cornfield Point (CT)

(1882: Positioned 9 1/4 mi NNE of Five Fathom Bank lightship station)
(1894: Position moved 2 mi E 1/2 S in 84 ft)

HISTORICAL NOTES: LV 44
-1882: Jun 1, placed on Northeast End (NJ)
-1883: Jun 14, parted chain while sighting the anchor, losing anchor and chain
-1884: May 10-Jun 24 relieved for repair after 2 years on station. Pitted plates
and corroded rivets indicated need for annual painting. "Cost of taking her from
station so frequently.. . having a relief lightship during her absence... and rapid
deterioration of the iron raise question as to the wisdom of building more iron
lightships without (wood) sheathing"
-1889: Aug 8-Sep 18, relieved for painting and boiler repairs (by LV 24)
-1890: Sep, both boilers failed, whistle disabled, bell used for fog signal
-1890: Dec 10-Feb 15 1891, withdrawn for installation of new boilers and
repainting; initially replaced by whistle buoy, then schooner 5.5. HUDSON
placed on station as temporary lightship
-1893: May 3-Jun 13, relieved (by LV 37) for boiler repairs and repainting
-1894: Jul 25-Aug 5, relieved by whistle buoy for repainting
-1894: Sep 1, position moved 2 mi E 1/2 5 in 84 ft
-1895: Jul 29-Aug 15, withdrawn for painting; whistle buoy substituted
-1896: Jul 20-?, withdrawn for repair, painting & installation of new stack
-1897: Jul 15-?, withdrawn for installation of automatic steam whistle

More notes: LV 44
-1899: Aug 1-Sep 28, relieved (by LV 16) for boiler repairs and installation
of 2 new masts
-1901: Aug 24-Oct 3, relieved (by LV 11) for boiler repairs and repainting
-1904: May 8-Jun 24, relieved (by LV 16) for repairs
-1906: Aug, relieved (by LV 16) for repairs
-1918: Aug 14, crew placed lantern in rigging of 5 masted schooner sunk nearby
-1926: Placed on Cornfield Point (CT)
-1936: During severe winter storms, dragged off station by moving ice on 4
occasions; ice from 4 to 15 inches thick collected on the vessel in one storm
-1938: Badly strained during hurricane, and withdrawn for retirement
-This was the last lightship in service without propelling machinery, except for
the radio controlled LV 75 on the Great Lakes

RETIRED FROM LIGHTSHIP DUTY: 1938 SUBSEQUENT DISPOSITION: ?
AGE: 56

COMMANDING OFFICERS: LV 44

1881-1884: Josiah C Falkinburg, Asst Keeper
1884-1915: Josiah C Falkinburg, Master
1893-1897: Horatiow C Pierson, Mate
1897-1915: Ingvald Pedersen, Mate
1915-1922: Ingvald Pedersen, Master
1915-1920: John Carr, Mate
1920-1921: Charles Peterson, Mate
1921-1922: Andrew Tarr, Mate
1922-1924: Martin Berg, Master
1923 -1924: Peter Shea, Mate
1924: Alfred K Haynes, Mate
1924-1925: Alfred M Haynes, Master
1925: Carl Lindberg, Mate
1925-1929: Hugh Donovan, Master
1936-1937: Justin C. Luick, Mate
1938-1938: George W Oat, Mate

1926: Relief LV-79 marked the station briefly in 1926 between the departure of LV-44 and the arrival of the newly constructed LV-111.

1927-1932: LV-111 / WAL-533

YEAR BUILT: 1926

BUILT AT: Bath (ME)

BUILDER: Bath Iron Works

APPROPRIATION: None
(see Const.Notes)

CONTRACT PRICE: $219, 883

SISTER VESSELS: LV 106,107,108, 109, 110

DESIGN: Diesel propelled; steel hull; steel pilot house and deck houses; 2 masts with lantern galleries; stack amidships

LENGTH: 132'4" (loa); BEAM: 30'0"; DRAFT: 14'7"; TONNAGE: 775 displ

PROPULSION: Diesel -- 8 cylinder full-diesel, direct reversing, 450 IHP; 4 bladed propeller; max speed 9 knots

ILLUMINATING APPARATUS: 375mm electric lens lantern wIth 250 watt lamp at each masthead; each rated at 15,000 cp

FOG SIGNAL: 6" air siren with 4-way multiple horns, submarine bell, hand operated bell

CONSTRUCTION NOTES - MODIFICATIONS -. EQUIPMENT CHANGES & IMPROVEMENTS: LV 111-
First US lightship built with full--Diesel propulsion; completed Dec 20, 1926-
Construction cost paid by Standard Oil as reparation for Linking of LV 51, 1919-
1926: Equipped with radio when built-
1932: Equipped with radiobeacon-
1934: Fog signal changed to air diaphragm horn (17" Leslie typhori)-
1945: Fitted with detection radar-
1963: USCG lists draft at i5'4", tonnage 797, max speed 7 knots; CR-los radar;
other characteristics as above-
Radio and visual call sign NMGY (1940-1963)

STATION ASSIGNMENTS: LV 111 / WAL 533

1927-1932: Northeast End (NJ)
1932-1952: Ambrose Channel (NY)
1952-1969: Portland. (ME)

(Northeast End station discontinued Aug 31, 1932)
(1942-1945 During WWII remained on Ambrose station; no armament provided)
HISTORICAL NOTES: LV 111 / WAL 533-
1927 Jan 6, placed on Northeast End (NJ), replacing Relief LV 79; remained assigned until station discontinued Aug 31, 1932-
Thereafter served as shown under Station Assignments

More notes:

RETIRED FROM LIGHTSHIP DUTY: 1969; AGE: 43

SUBSEQUENT DISPOSITION: Decommissioned and transferred to USN Jul 11, 1969: sold
to private owner, being displayed at Baltimore Harbor Place 1972-1979; later at
Ocean City MD; then at Toms River NJ. Later sold for scrap and was in 1984 at
North American Metals, a shipbreakers yard at Bordentown NJ. Still there 1988

COMMANDING OFFICERS: LV 111 / WAL 533

1927-?: Oswald Olsen, Mate
1932-1937: Gustave A Lange, Master
1937-?: Kolb Skari, Master
?-1961: CWO Zwalley, CO
1961-1963: CWO Paul Harp, CO
1961-1963: BMC Joseph Gelinas, 010

Back to Lightship Stations and the Ships that Served on them.

Copyright © 2004  United States Coast Guard Lightship Sailors Association INC. All rights reserved. Copyrights also protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998
Revised: 10/23/06.