Bibb saw service in World War II. Three ships in the area fired at the aircraft which was knocked down about 1,000 yards to the north of Bibb. Commander (Constructor) F. G. Hunnewell, USCG, was the head of the Coast Guard's Construction and Repair Department at that time. At the end of World War II, each Secretary Class cutter was returned to her peace-time makeup. Aircraft: Curtiss SOC-4, USCG No. Seventh Fleet as a part of Coast Guard Squadron Three. Meanwhile, one merchant had joined the convoy and another had detached for Bermuda on the 5th. Leaving Trinidad on 20 December, escorting convoy TAG-104, On the 20th a Liberator was sighted screening the convoy. The Bibb now maneuvered near Coulmore and found her in good condition and floating on an even keel, even with the torpedo hole in her bow. On the 6th Bibb, together with USS MacLeish (DD-220) was relieved of further escort duty and departed the convoy setting a course for Argentia, where she arrived on the 7th. The Treasury class cutters proved to be highly dependable, versatile and long-lived warships--most served their country for over 40 years. She relieved Duane. The next year, in June-July, she served on Ocean Station How and in July of 1950 she and her sister Treasury-class cutters had Mark 10 projectors installed. In August, 1949 she served on Ocean Station Dog. Saw lots of mail bags, boxes, wood, wood splinters, empty life jackets, oars, upturned boats, empty life rafts, bodies, parts of bodies, clothes, cork, and a million other things that ships have in them. In February 1953 she served on Ocean Station Coca and in July it was duty on Ocean Station Delta. The convoy consisted of 69 merchant ships, 19 LSTs and one British aircraft carrier. One of the Inghams crew described the scene, a dreadfully common one along the North Atlantic that year: I never saw anything like it, wood all over the place and bodies in life jackets never saw so many dead fellows in my whole life. The Bibb departed Guantanamo Bay on 29 December 1943, escorting convoy GAT-108 and arrived at Trinidad 3 January 1944. A former officer on board Bibb, Captain Henry C. Keene, Jr., noted: Raney was a leader. She remained underway except for three days, until 11 October, carrying out typhoon plan X-RAY. In August 1956 Bibb was on Ocean Station Delta and served there again in December of 1956. Then she departed for Norfolk and moored there for the rest of August. Description [ edit] MV Hephaestus was a steel -built tanker with a tonnage of 595 GRT. The Bibb returned on the 21st and proceeded to Buckner Bay, where she remained at anchor during the balance of July. The Treasury class cutters proved to be highly dependable, versatile and long-lived warshipsmost served their country for over 40 years. On the 14th they observed a plane, which was providing air coverage, crash at sea. Again on the 13th, off Skagie Point, Iceland, a charge was dropped on a doubtful contact. On 14 April she departed for Guam where she arrived on the 15th and on the 19th rendezvoused with USS Aaron Ward (DD-132) which acted as her escort to Okinawa. On the 19th she proceeded to Casco Bay, Maine, where she engaged in various drills and exercises until tie 28th. In the fall she steamed to Ocean Station Bravo, where she served from 27 September to 17 October 1973. Task Force 66 relieved course and began standing up the Straits of Gibraltar and on the 3rd entered Casablanca Harbor. The smoke hung low, never rising above 100 feet, the wind was steady and moderate and from a most favorable position dead ahead of the convoy. She arrived Argentia on 19 January and stood by the hull of the Army transport Joseph V. Connolly and assisted in towing her to port. Bibb was named for U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (July 4, 1844 - March 7, 1845) George M. Bibb . Sonar: (1945) QC series; (1966) SQS-11. Call Sokolove Law right now at (800) 647-3434 if you've been diagnosed with mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease. The following year brought a number of notable seizures for drug and fisheries charges. Standing down New York Harbor on 8 July 1943, in company with Task Force 63, consisting of four Navy destroyers, Bibb reported at Buoy 'BW' and the force stood out to sea on the 9th, covering a section of convoy UGS-12 to Norfolk. That operation involved several different agencies including the Coast Guard, the Navy, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and others. During these visits, Dr. John Bulette, the on-board medical officer assigned to, She returned to Boston, where she was home-ported until October of 1973. The Navy then designated her as WPG-31. After providing her crew of seven with provisions, Bibb towed Mary J to Mathew Town, Great Inagua Island. On the 24th, the New York section of 19 ships detached with four escorts. x .50 caliber Browning MG; 2 x depth charge racks; 1 x Y gun depth charge projector.1943: 2 x 5/51 (single mount);4 x 3/50 (single mounts); 2 x 20mm/80 (single); 1 x Hedgehog; 2 (?) It turned out to be the stern of a torpedoed tanker, with no signs of life on board, though one boat and one raft remained on board. On the 27th USS Chase (DE-158) departed for Gibraltar and on the 2nd the main convoy stood up the main channel through Gibraltar straits. The USS Johnson (DE-683) detached temporarily from the task force on the same day and proceeded to Bermuda for repairs, rejoining on the 6th. The search was discontinued. The Bibb changed course to join convoy HX-227. Once in South Vietnamese waters, she operated under the Cruiser-Destroyer Group of the U.S. Later that year Bibb joined a destroyer squadron for the assistance of shipping in the North Atlantic. The New York section, with the commander Task Force 60 in, On 4 June 1944, CDR H. T. Diehl, USCG, relieved CDR C .A. She departed Manzanillo on the 3rd and reached Pearl Harbor on the 11th. The Bibb continued searching until sunset when she was relieved by CGC Dallas (WHEC-716) which had sailed from New York. She then proceeded to Hvalfjordur, returning to Reykjavik on the 5th. . British ships took over escorting the convoy on the 3rd and Bibb with four Navy destroyers proceeded toward Casablanca where they arrived on the 14th. Because the air passenger trade was expanding both at home and overseas, the Coast Guard believed that cutter-based aircraft would be essential for future high-seas search and rescue. The planes drew away at 0440, the escorts ceased firing, and at 0448 the all clear was sounded and Bibb, ceasing to make smoke, was secured from general quarters. One merchant vessel detached for the Azores. At 0900 Bibb received word that Ingham had the missing ships in company. On the 22nd the Norfolk section of the convoy was detached, escorted by four destroyer escorts, and a little later the Delaware section left under escort of two destroyer escorts. During her patrols she undertook 31 naval gunfire support missions in support of Vietnamese Regional Forces amphibious assaults, U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Army and Marine Corps operations primarily into enemy controlled areas of the Mekong Delta. Because the air passenger trade was expanding both at home and overseas, the Coast Guard believed that cutter-based aircraft would be essential for future high-seas search and rescue. Being unable to re-establish the contact the vessels returned to their former course. Her next duty on an ocean station was from 16 May to 7 June 1974 when she served at Ocean Station Bravo once again. At noon two boats were lowered and they began bringing 61 survivors aboard, including one naval officer and 23 enlisted men. Standing out from Boston, after repairs, Bibb received a message from the cutter Modoc (WPG-46) on 13 April that a plane had reported a periscope in her vicinity. A training program for the personnel was in progress during this time. Bibb made history after a wolf pack attacked the eastbound convoy SC-118. In a Coast Guard press release, Radarman Second Class Richard Nielsen of New Bedford, described the mission that took place on 24 November 1968: "South Vietnamese junks landed Regional Force troops and their U.S. Army advisors on the west side of the island while other troops came up from An Thoi. USCGC Bibb (WHEC-31) - Steel Hip Flask - WI3. On the 13th the commander of Task Force 60 was transferred aboard USS Merrill (DE-392) relieving the Bibb as flagship. On the 3rd the convoy commenced standing up the Tunisian War Channel and six hours later Task Force 60 was relieved of convoy UGS-39 by HMS Dart at the entrance to Bizerte swept channel. Obtaining permission to leave the ocean station and return to Boston with all of the souls who had been on board the Queen, the cutter arrived to a hero's welcome. Proceeding to the area she searched with Modoc without results. The vessel fell off to northward and commenced drifting toward the convoy. She was sunk as an artificial reef off the coast of Florida in 1987. 71 W. 31). Add to cart Buy Now. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1990. Since the war had stopped the flow of weather data from merchant ships, the Coast Guard drew the duty of maintaining a continuous weather patrol consisting of 327-foot cutters at two stations in the mid-Atlantic located as follows: Station No. By 0305 the rescue ships had completed operations and were underway to rejoin the convoy. 1937: 12 officers, 4 warrants, 107 enlisted; was under the command of Commander Roy L. Raney during the convoy battles to come. Standing out of Casco Bay on that day, she moored at Naval Operating Base, Norfolk, on the 9th, moving to Lynnhaven Roads on the 12th. Disposition: Sunk as an artificial reef off the Florida Keys on 28 November 1987, Builder: Charleston Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA, Propulsion: 2 x Westinghouse double-reduction geared turbines; 2 x Babcock & Wilcox sectional express, air-encased, 400 psi, 200 superheat. That evening 11 ships of the convoy bound for Iceland departed the main convoy with Bibb, Ingham and Schenck as escorts. The USCGC Bibb (WPG-31) was a 327-foot (100 m) Secretary-Class (also known as "Treasury Class") Coast Guard ship commissioned in 1936. The Bibb made a full pattern attack on a sound contact at 0440 and ten hours later dropped three full patterns on three separate contacts. Next day, due to high seas, only four ships remained in the convoy while three had passed from the radar range and were scattered. In January of 1970 she served on Ocean Station Charlie, where she participated in a project to test for radioactive carbon dioxide in seawater. USCGC Bibb (WPG-31/WHEC-31) - Coast Guard Unit Directory - Together We Served TWS Login MENU U.S. Army U.S. MARINE CORPS U.S. Navy U.S. Air Force U.S. Coast Guard Veterans Network USCGC Bibb (WPG-31/WHEC-31) USCGC Bibb (WPG-31/WHEC-31) If You Served In This Unit, Reconnect With Your Service Friends Today Join Now Various vessels near the path of the plane opened fire. .The U.S. Coast Guard Gunboat Bibb (WPG-31) departs Pearl Harbor.; The Bibb departs for duty in Vietnamese waters, where she served from 4 July 1968 to 28 February, 1969 with Coast Guard Squadron One. About 1,000 yards to the north of Bibb to be highly dependable, versatile and long-lived warships most... Uscgc Bibb ( WPG-31 ) departs Pearl Harbor Keene, Jr., noted: Raney was a steel tanker. 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