USFS Red Wing

USFS Red Wing was an American fishery patrol vessel that operated in the waters of the Territory of Alaska as part of the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) fleet from 1928 to 1939. Before her fishery service, she operated under the control of the United States Department of Agriculture.

USFS Red Wing
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Name: Red Wing
Fate: Transferred to U.S. Bureau of Fisheries 1926
U.S. Bureau of Fisheries
Name: USFS Red Wing
Namesake: Previous name retained
Acquired: 1926
Commissioned: 1928
Decommissioned: 1939
Fate: Condemned and dismantled August 1939
General characteristics (as BOF fishery patrol vessel)
Type: Fishery patrol vessel
Tonnage: 10 GRT
Length: 40 ft (12.2 m)
Beam: 11 ft (3.4 m)
Draft: 3.5 ft (1.1 m)
Propulsion:
Sail plan: 1919: Schooner rig
Crew: 5

U.S. Department of Agriculture

In 1919, a National Geographic expedition to Katmai on the Alaska Peninsula photographed Red Wing at Kalsin Bay on Kodiak Island in the Territory of Alaska while she was operating under the control of the United States Department of Agriculture.[1] At the time, she was a motor schooner used by the Department of Agriculture Kodiak station at Kalsin Bay for transportation to and from Kodiak.[1]

U.S. Bureau of Fisheries

The U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) acquired Red Wing from the Department of Agriculture in 1926.[2] She remained out of commission at the BOF fish hatchery at Afognak Lake (also known as Litnik Lake) on Afognak Island in the Kodiak Archipelago while awaiting the installation of a new engine[2] to replace her original 40-horsepower (30 kW) engine.[1] She was outfitted with berths for a crew of five[2] and, after the new engine – a three-cylinder Standard gasoline engine[2] – and new fuel tanks were installed, she was commissioned in 1928.[2]

The BOF assigned Red Wing fishery patrol duties in the Kodiak Archipelago.[2] She also provided transportation for BOF personnel to and from the Afognak Lake salmon hatchery.[2] In 1935 she began fishery patrols along the Alaska Peninsula.[2]

While she was hauled out of the water for the 1938–1939 offseason, Red Wing suffered damage during an earthquake in the spring of 1939.[2] As a result, she performed poorly on patrol during the 1939 fishing season, and the BOF cut her service short that year.[2] The Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation assessed that her condition was so poor that she was not worth repairing.[2] The BOF therefore condemned and dismantled Red Wing in August 1939.[2]

References
  1. University of Alaska Anchorage Consortium Library Archives & Special Collections: "The Red Wing at Kalsin Bay", 1919 Retrieved September 5, 2019
  2. NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center AFSC Historical Corner: Blue Wing & Red Wing, Kodiak-Afognak Patrol Boats
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