USCGC Marion (WSC-145), was a United States Coast Guard Active-class patrol boat in commission from 1927 to 1962. She was named for Francis Marion, an American Revolutionary War general who was known for his unconventional warfare tactics. Marion served during the Rum Patrol and World War II performing defense, law enforcement, ice patrol, and search and rescue missions. Most notably, Marion served as the platform for the first intensive oceanographic studies made by the Coast Guard.
Construction and commissioning
Marion was built by American Brown Boveri Electric Corporation at Camden, New Jersey. She was commissioned as USCGC Marion (WSC-145) on 6 April 1927. She was the eleventh of the Active-class patrol boats to be commissioned, which were designed for trailing the "mother ships" that supported the smuggling boats of "rum-runners" during Prohibition. The Active-class ships were also referred to unofficially as the "Buck & a Quarter" class in reference to their 125-foot length.
Marion expedition to Davis Strait
Marion was initially assigned Rum Patrol duties with a home-port of New London, Connecticut, however, Lieutenant Commander Edward H. Smith had been directed by Coast Guard Commandant Frederick C. Billard to outfit her as an oceanographic research vessel for an expedition to Arctic waters off the coast of Greenland. The purpose of the expedition was to attempt to find information about the formation of icebergs and their movements. Marion was loaded with supplies and provisions for 70 days of cruising and spare parts for every piece of machinery on board. The complement was increased to two officers, two warrant officers and 23 men; six more than her normal complement. Marion departed Boston, Massachusetts, on 11 July 1928, stopped briefly at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and arrived at Sydney, Nova Scotia, where fuel and water supplies were topped off and 78 drums of fuel were stowed on deck. While at both Halifax and Sydney, Smith consulted local mariners familiar with the Labrador Sea and Davis Strait and updated the ship's charts with information from the mariner's charts.
Departing Sydney on 16 July using only one engine to conserve fuel, Marion headed through the Strait of Belle Isle and began her oceanographic survey mission. Initially, only Smith and his executive officer, Lieutenant Noble Ricketts, had the knowledge of how to sample the Arctic waters for temperature and salinity but they trained additional men to handle the instruments used for the survey. At each stop the ship's position was noted and a sounding was made while the temperature and salinity samples were collected. With of sample wire in the water, both winches that handled the sampling equipment failed on 27 July. The crew managed to retrieve the wire in the dark in three hours by using the anchor windlass to heave the line in. In the meantime, one failed winch was repaired using parts scavenged from a spare and the line was spooled back onto the winch. The repair evolution was completed by morning with one winch operational. By July 31, Danish officials in Greenland had radioed permission for Marion to put into Godthaab for repairs to the other winch and the crew worked through the day to remove the two ton winch to shore for repair and replace it on the deckhouse. Marion departed Godthaab that evening with repairs completed.