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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

AG-29 Bear


USS Bear (AG-29) served the US Navy, and US Coast Guard at various times
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Defense Service Medal (with Fleet clasp)
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
  • Screw Steamer, built in 1874 as the sealing vessel Bear by Alexander Stephen and Sons Ltd., Linthouse, Goven, Scotland
  • Purchased by the US Navy, 28 January 1894, at St John's Newfoundland
  • Commissioned, USS Bear, 17 March 1894, LT. W. H. Emory in command
  • Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Register in April 1895
  • Transferred to the Revenue Cutter Service (Coast Guard)
  • Sold by the Coast Guard to the City of Oakland, CA, in 1929 for use as a museum
  • Repurchased by the US Navy and commissioned, USS Bear (AG-29), 11 September 1939
  • Decommissioned, 17 May 1944
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal, 13 February 1948
  • Sold by the Maritime Commission for commercial service in 1948, renamed Arctic Sealer used as a sealer homeported at Halifax, Canada
  • Resold in 1962 for conversion to a floating museum and restaurant at Philadelphia, PA.
  • Final Disposition, foundered while under tow off Chatham, MA., 19 March 1963, on her way to Philadelphia
    Specifications:
    Displacement 751 t.(lt) 1,675 t.(fl)
    Length 190' 4"
    Beam 29' 9"
    Draft 12'
    Complement 51
    Armament 3 x 6-pound rapid fire guns (1885)
    Propulsion compound-expansion steam engine, 25 5/8" and 50" diameter x 30" stroke, 101 nominal hp (1885)
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    USCGC Bear
    Bear 56k USCGC Bear at anchor, date and location unknown. Robert Hurst
    USS Bear (AG-29)
    Bear 30k Bear (AG-29) at anchor, 16 March 1943, place unknown.
    US Navy photo     		Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Bear 48k Bear (AG-29) underway, date and place unknown.
    US Navy photo from DANFS.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Bear 70k Bear (AG-29) underway, date and place unknown.
    US Coast Guard photo    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Bear 59k Bear (AG-29) at anchor, date and place unknown. Note the seaplane on her aft deck.
    US Navy photo    		 Robert Hurst
    View the Bear (AG-29)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center web site
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    The CG History Center
    Office of the Coast Guard Historian - United States Revenue Cutter (USRC) Bear
    Back to the Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back To The Miscellaneous (AG) Photo Index
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2008 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 9 February 2007