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Lighthouse Tender Photo Archive

USCGC Hibiscus (WAGL 218)



Call sign (1942):
Nan - Roger - William - Able

ex-USLHT Hibiscus



Call sign (1924):
Nan - Able - King - Nan

Call sign (1927):
George - Vice - Roger - Fox

Cypress served the Lighthouse Service, the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard

Manzanita Class Lighthouse Tender:

  • The second Hibiscus was built in 1908 by the New York Shipbuilding Company, Camden, New Jersey
  • Launched 9 June 1908
  • Commissioned USLHT Hibiscus 15 June 1908
  • Delivered 15 August 1908
  • Transferred to the Navy 11 April 1917 and commissioned USS Hibiscus
  • Returned to the Lighthouse Service 1 July 1919
  • Designated WAGL-218 in 1942On 28 May 1942
  • On 28 May 1942 she was badly burned from a pier fire and beached at Argentia, Newfoundland, Canada
  • Repaired and returned to service 16 October 1942
  • Decommissioned 3 September 1946
  • Sold 26 June 1947
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 1,081 t.
    1927 - 677 t.
  • Length 190'
    1927 - 174'
  • Beam 30'
  • Draft 13' 3"
    1927 - 16'
  • Complement 34
    1945 - 44
  • Speed 12 kts.
    1945 - 13.5 kts.
  • Armament: None
    1944 - One 3'/50 mount, three 20mm mounts and two depth charge projectors
  • Propulsion: Two coal fired Scotch-type boilers, two 550hp triple expansion inverted direct-acting steam engines, two shafts
    1932 - Replaced with new water tubed oil fired boilers.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USLHT Hibiscus
    Hibiscus 357k National Archives photo group RG 26-LSH-21-1 The J. Candace Clifford Lighthouse Research Catalog
    Hibiscus 181k U.S. Coast Guard photo John Spivey
    Photo added 7 March 2021
    USCGC Hibiscus (WAGL 218)
    Hibiscus 292k 27 May 1942
    Naval Operating Base Argentia, Newfoundland
    Afire alongside Marginal Wharf. Photographed from USS Prairie (AD 15), which was able to back clear of the burning dock
    National Archives photo 80-G-10816 and 80-G-10817    		 Naval History and Heritage Command
    Hibiscus 372k
    View the Hibiscus
    DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command website
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    This page created by Joseph M. Radigan and maintained by David Wright
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