"The Thorn of the Great Lakes"

"Arctic Aristocrats"

"The Bumble"

USCGC Bramble WAGL-392 WLC-392

The retired USCGC Bramble (WAGL/WLB-392) is one of 39 180-foot Seagoing Buoy Tenders designed and built in the early 1940s for the U.S. Coast Guard

Significant Dates

Keel Laid: 2 August 1943

Launched: 23 October 1943

Commissioned: 22 April 1944

Decommissioned: 22 May 2003

Key Specifications

Cost: $925,464
Length: 180' oa Beam: 37' mb
Draft: 12' (1945); 13'11" (1962)
Displacement: 935 fl (1945); 1025 fl (1962); 694 light (1962)

Armament: 1-3"/50 (single), 2-20mm/80 (single), 2 depth charge tracks, 2 Mousetraps, 4 Y-guns (1945); None (1966)

Propulsion / Mechanical

Propulsion: 1 electric motor connected to 2 Westinghouse generators driven by 2 Cooper-Bessemer-type GND-8, 4-cycle diesels; single screw

Top speed: 13.0 kts sustained (1945); 11.9 kts sustained (1966)

Economic speed: 8.3 kts (1945); 8.5 kts (1966)

Complement: 6 officers, 74 enlisted (1945); 3 officers, 2 warrants, 42 enlisted (1962)

Historical Deployments

Great Lakes '43-'44 San Pedro, CA '44-'45 Juneau, AK '45-'46 San Francisco, CA '46 Hawaii, HI '46-'47 San Francisco, CA '47-'49 San Juan, PR '49-'53 Miami Beach, FL '53-'62 Detroit, MI '62-'74 Port Huron, MN '74-2003

Bramble: A thorny plant of the genus rubus in the rose family.

Brambles include  blackberries, loganberries and other closely related plants.

Following World War II, the Bramble participated in “Operation Crossroads,” the first test of an atomic bomb’s effect on surface ships, at Bikini Island.

In 1957, along with the cutters "Spar" and "Storis", she headed for the Northwest Passage, traveling through the Bering Straits and Arctic Ocean.

These three surface vessels were the first to circumnavigate the North American Continent, an ambition mariners have had for more than 400 years.

News

From our Owner and Crew

USCGC Bramble – Update

We apologize for the lack of updates regarding the USCGC Bramble over the last 18 months or so. As you can imagine some personal, local, as well as global, issues have prevented getting around to posting information on this site. For those unaware, the Bramble was sold on December 4th, 2019, by court order, to…

USCGC Bramble – New Owner

The retired U.S. Coast Guard cutter Bramble could be repeating its historic 1957 voyage through the Northwest Passage. In a news release, Robert Klingler of Marine City said he has sold the Bramble to Tom Clarke, who is president of Kissito Healthcare Inc. in Roanoke, Virginia. According to the news release, Clarke plans to prepare the ship…

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Email : info@uscgc-bramble.com