 USCGC Mesquite in World War II
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Builder | Marine Ironworks & Shipbuilding Corporation, Duluth, Minnesota |
| Cost | $874,798 |
| Laid down | 20 August 1942 |
| Launched | 14 November 1942 |
| Commissioned | 27 August 1943 |
| Decommissioned | January 31, 1990 |
| Identification | Signal letters NRPW |
| Fate | Ran aground December 4, 1989; scuttled for underwater diving preserve 1990 |
| General characteristics as built in 1942 | |
| Class and type | Mesquite |
| Displacement | 935 tons |
| Length | 180 ft (55 m) |
| Beam | 37 ft (11 m) |
| Draft | 12 feet (3.7 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 × Cooper-Bessemer GN8 diesel engines |
| Speed | 13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Range | 8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi) at 13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Complement | 6 officers and 74 enlisted |
| Armament | 2 x 20 mm guns, 3-inch gun, and depth charges. |
USCGC Mesquite (WAGL/WLB-305) was the lead ship in the Mesquite class of seagoing buoy tenders operated by the United States Coast Guard. She served in the Pacific during World War II, and spent the rest of her Coast Guard career in the Great Lakes. She ran aground and was wrecked in December 1989 off the Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior. She was scuttled nearby as a recreational diving attraction.