USCGC Bittersweet
USCGC Bittersweet was a C or Iris-class 180-foot buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard.
Built by the Zenith Dredge Company of Duluth, Minnesota, the ship was laid down on 16 September 1943 and launched on 11 November 1943.
Career
Following her commissioning on 11 May 1944, Bittersweet was based at Kodiak, Alaska. There she carried out numerous search and rescue operations, fought fires, delivered medical supplies, and enforced fishing laws. On the January 15, 1945 she departed to assist the Navy patrol craft YP-73 which had been reported aground near the Hanin Rocks. Upon arriving Bittersweet found YP-73 breaking up on a reef. Six crewmembers were rescued and transported to Kodiak. Bittersweet returned to the wreckage and recovered the bodies of nine missing sailors.In late 1976 Bittersweet was transferred to Woods Hole, Massachusetts and used for aids to navigation operations and icebreaking. In addition, she took part in oil spill cleanup operations following the grounding of the tanker Argo Merchant, and also participated in the International Ice Patrol.
Bittersweet was decommissioned on 18 August 1997 and transferred to Estonia. Renamed Valvas, the ship served in the Estonian Border Guard until it was decommissioned in July 2014 and given to the Estonian Maritime Museum. It is to become a museum ship.
Design
The Iris-class buoy tenders were constructed after the Mesquite-class buoy tenders. Bittersweet cost $926,769 to construct and had an overall length of. It had a beam of and a draft of up to at the time of construction, although this was increased to in 1966. It initially had a displacement of ; this was increased to in 1966. It was powered by one electric motor. This was connected up to two Westinghouse generators which were driven by two CooperBessemer GND-8 four-cycle diesel engines. It had a single screw.The Iris-class buoy tenders had maximum sustained speeds of, although this diminished to around in 1966. For economic and effective operation, it had to initially operate at, although this increased to in 1966. The ship had a complement of six officers and seventy-four crew members in 1945; this decreased to two warrants, four officers, and forty-seven men in 1966. It was fitted with a SL1 radar system and QBE-3A sonar system in 1945. Its armament consisted of one 3"/50 caliber gun, two 20mm/80 guns, two Mousetraps, two depth charge tracks, and four Y-guns in 1945; these were removed in 1966.