1912-1918

Location & historical notes: Louisiana, off the entrance to the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River Delta.  Station was later considered unnecessary and discontinued.

Lightships assigned:

1912-1917: LV-43

YEAR BUILT: 1881

BUILT AT: Wilmington (DE)

BUILDER: Pusey & Jones Co.

APPROPRIATION: $65,000
(Approp. "for lightship & fog signal at Trinity Shoal La.")

CONTRACT PRICE: $50,000

SISTER VESSELS: None

DESIGN: Composite- iron hull sheathed with yellow pine, iron & bronze fastened; 2 masts with daymarks; stack ahead of mainmast; 2 aux. steam boilers and steam pump

LENGTH: 118;0" (loa); BEAM: 25'; DRAFT:126"; TONNAGE: 191 gross

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

ILLUMINATING APPARATUS: 2 lanterns, each with oil lamps & reflectors

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

CONSTRUCTION NOTES -MODIFICATIONS - EQUIPMENT CHANGES & IMPROVEMENTS: LV 43
-1882: Port boiler "giving out", 6 tubes plugged on station
-1885: May-Jul 31, hauled after being on station since 1881; painted "inside
and out"; boilers repaired; refitted
-1888: Jul-Oct 8, towed to New Orleans, new boilers installed, new deckhouse
built, deck recaulked, new spencer mast installed
-1892: 74 boiler tubes installed on station; hauled in May, hull strainers found
clogged with oysters
-1894: Aug-Nov extensive hull repairs; recoppered & rerigged; new lamps supplied
-1896: Two new locomotive-type boilers installed
-1898: Extensive repairs to hull and upper works
-1898-1904: Repaired as needed during months while withdrawn from station
-1905: Extensive repairs and both boilers replaced at Port Eads (LA)
-1910: Equipped with submarine bell signal

STATION ASSIGNMENTS: LV 43

1881-1894: Trinity Shoal (LA)
1894-1912: South Pass (LA)
1912-1917: Southwest Pass (LA)
1917-1920: Relief (laid up)

(1881: "Inside Trinity Shoal in 20 feet... believe she will ride out any gale without touching bottom, as the sea will break before reaching her" - position reported as 29-12N, 92-16W)
(1894: Aug 15, Trinity Shoal station discontinued)
(1894, South Pass position given as 28-58-42N, 89-07-40W in 72 feet approx. 1 mi SSE of South Pass East Jetty Light)
(Use of Southwest Pass was stopped in 1918 due to heavy silting)

HISTORICAL NOTES: LV 43
-1881: Jun 10, placed on Trinity Shoal (LA)
-1882: Sep 9, broke adrift, regained station unassisted
-1885: May-Jul 31, replaced by bell buoy while undergoing repairs
-1888: Steam fog signal out of service, bell in use 214 hours; remedied Jul--Oct
-1889: Aug 8, damaged surge-reliever, brought up 200 yds off station using spare
anchor; replaced on station by tender PANSY Aug 11
-1894:Aug 15, station discontinued "commerce having fallen off to almost
nothing"; replaced by bell buoy placed South of Trinity 8hoal
-1894: Nov 5, placed on South Pass (LA); "there being no fog in summer, vessel
will be withdrawn.., during the months of June July August and Sept. each year"
-1899: Decision made to withdraw only from August 1 to October 15 each year
-1903: Jan, characteristic changed to show 2 fixed white lights
-1912: Withdrawn from South Pass and placed on Southwest Pass
-1915: Sep 3/4, during hurricane, while vessel was in floating drydock at New
Orleans entire dock broke loose and blown ashore across river; lightship
undamaged and structure later ref bated
-1917 Withdrawn from Southwest Pass, designated Relief and laid up

More notes:

RETIRED FROM LIGHTSHIP DUTY: 1920; AGE: 39

SUBSEQUENT DISPOSITION: Sold Jun 17,1920 - $5,875

COMMANDING OFFICERS: LV 43

1898-1905: John Duff y, Master
1906: (Jan) Elwood C Evans, Master
1906: (Apr-Dec) Fred Tredup, Master
? -1913: F C Philips, Mate 1913 Walter P Raarup, Mate
1913ã1914: William J Burns, Mate
1914-1916: D H McCluskey, Master
1914ã1915: Frank Towers, Mate
1915-1916: Henry Olson, Mate
1916: Edgar Wilson, Mate
1916-1917: John McDonough, Master
1917-1920: Joseph P Francis, Mate

1917-1918: LV-102 / WAL-525

YEAR BUILT: 1916

BUILT AT: Wilmington (DE)

BUILDER: Pusey & Jones

APPROPRIATION: $125,000
(Approp. Oct 22, 1913 for Southwest Pass light vessel)
CONTRACT PRICE: $110,065

SISTER VESSELS: LV 101 / WAL 524

DESIGN: Self propelled; steel whaleback hull; single large dia. tubular lantern mast forward; steel pilot house/bridge at foot of mast; small jigger mast aft

LENGTH: l0l'10" (loa); BEAM: 25'0"; DRAFT: 1l'4"; TONNAGE: 360 displ

PROPULSION: One 200 HP Mietz & Weiss 4 cylinder 2 cycle direct reversing kerosene engine driving 4 bladed propeller; speed 8 knots

ILLUMINATING APPARATUS: 500mm 5th order lens with 6 flash panels and kerosene
lamp revolved by weight driven clockwork; large cylindrical lantern; 24,000cp

FOG SIGNAL: 6" air siren; mushroom type horn on deck; compressor driven by two
40 HP kerosene engines; submarine bell; hand operated 700 lb bell

CONSTRUCTION NOTES - MODIFICATIONS - EQUIPMENT CHANGES & IMPROVEMENTS: LV 102-
Launched Nov 27, 1915; sea trials Dec 13, 1916; delivered Edgemoor DE Jan 1917-
1917: Lamp changed to Incandescent oil vapor (IOV)-
1919: Equipped with radio-
1931: Equipped with radiobeacon-
1932: Illuminating apparatus electrified-
1935: Fog signal changed to 10" plus 6" air whistles-
1945: Fitted with detection radar-
1944: Repowered with Cooper-Bessemer 315HP diesel engine-
1955: Original lantern housing and 5th Order lens removed and replaced with
duplex 375mm lens lantern, i3,OOOcp-
1963 USCG lists vessel at l1'9" max draft, 393.9 tons; air diaphragm horn
(Leslie 17" typhon); CR-103 radar; other characteristics in line with above-
Radio and visual call sign NMGR (1940-1963)

STATION ASSIGNMENTS: LV 102 / WAL 525
1917-1918: Southwest Pass (LA)
1918-1933: South Pass (LA)
1933-1934: Relief (MA)
1935-1962: Brenton Reef (RI)
1962-1963: Cross Rip (MA)

(1918: Southwest Pass unusable due to silting; station discontinued and LV 102
transferred to South Pass)
(1933: South Pass station discontinued)
(1942-1945: During WWII, remained on Brenton Reef station; no armament
provided)

HISTORICAL NOTES: LV 102 / WAL 525-
1917: Jan 10, departed Edgemoor (DE) Lighthouse Depot for New Orleans-
1917: Feb 24, placed on Southwest Pass (LA)-
1918: Moved to South Pass-
1926: Apr 18-21, while docked at Pensacola, during hurricane, stern stove in and
plating severely damaged by colliding repeatedly against the how of LV 81 which
was tied up astern. Both vessels hauled and repaired-
1933: Transferred to 2d District; assigned as Relief while being overhauled-
1935: Placed on Brenton Reef (RI) until 1962 than moved to Cross Rip (MA)

More notes:

RETIRED FROM LIGHTSHIP DUTY: 1963; AGE: 46

SUBSEQUENT DISPOSITION: Decommissioned at Boston Oct 25, 1963; towed to Portland (ME) for storage awaiting final disposition; sold Mar 2, 1965; then used as crab processing ship CROSS RIP in Seattle (WA). Listed in Merchant Vessels of the US 1970 as fishing out of Ketchican AK, named BIG DIPPER

COMMANDING OFFICERS: LV 102 / WAL 525
1916-1918: Albert C Scull, Master
1917-1918: Henry Olsen, Mate
1918-1919: Henry Olsen, Master
1918: Horace Gager, Mate
1919-1920: Dennis Morrissey, Mate
1919-1922: Frank Murphy, Master
1920-1921: Adolph Nordberg, Mate
1922: Henry Olsen, Mate
1922-1927: Henry Olsen, Master
1922-1927: William H Clements, Mate
1927-?: William H Clements, Master
1939-?: Norman Gray, Master
1962-1963: CWO Edward Godlewski, CO

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