USCGC Salvia (WLB-400) was a United States Coast Guard in commission from 1944 to 1991. She operated in the Great Lakes and along the United States Gulf Coast during her career. Sold and renamed Brian Davis in 2020 for use as a memorial vessel, she was scuttled as an artificial reef in 2020.
Construction and commissioning Salvia was constructed by the Zenith Dredge Corporation at Duluth, Minnesota. Launched on 19 September 1943, she was commissioned on 19 February 1944.
Design The Iris-class buoy tenders were constructed after the Mesquite-class buoy tenders. Salvia cost $923,995 to construct and had an overall length of . She had a beam of and a draft of up to at the time of construction, although this was increased to in 1966. She initially had a displacement of ; this was increased to in 1966. She 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. She 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, they had to initially operate at , although this increased to in 1966. The ships 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. They were fitted with a SL1 radar system and QBE-3A sonar system in 1945. Their armament consisted of one 3"/50 caliber gun, two 20 mm/80 guns, two Mousetraps, two depth charge tracks, and four Y-guns in 1945; these were removed in 1966.
Career
After commissioning, Salvia was assigned to aid-to-navigation (ATON) and icebreaking duties in the Great Lakes. In May 1944, she was assigned to the 5th Coast Guard District and stationed in Portsmouth, Virginia, where she remained until the end of World War II in 1945.
After the war, Salvia was homeported in Mobile, Alabama, and continued to perform general ATON duties. In April 1951 she was disabled in Calasieu Pass near Cameron, Louisiana, and was towed back to port by the cutter . In December 1968, Salvia searched for survivors from the lost coastal buoy tender . She was decommissioned on 4 October 1991.
Salvia was used as a training vessel for the United States Navy for a time as well (dates unknown). It was docked at JEB Little Creek while belonging to Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2. It was used to train Navy Divers in salvage operations.
Disposal
By mid-May 2019, Salvia was lying at Virginia Beach, Virginia, in scrap condition, with her engines and most equipment removed, and the General Services Administration had put her up for auction.GSA Auctions SALE/LOT# 21QSCI1905200
In 2020, Salvia was sold for use as a memorial vessel and artificial reef. Renamed Brian Davis in memory of a local diver, she was scuttled on 24 July 2020 in southern Onslow Bay off Topsail Beach, North Carolina, about from Topsail Inlet and from Masonboro Inlet at , as a part of artificial reef project AR-368.
See also List of United States Coast Guard cutters
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