The USCGC ''Bibb'' (WPG-31) was a Secretary-Class (also known as " Treasury Class") Coast Guard ship commissioned in 1936. Seven similar "combat cutters" were built and named for secretaries of the

United States Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...

. ''Bibb'' was named for U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (July 4, 1844 – March 7, 1845) George M. Bibb.

History

''Bibb'' saw service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The ship fought in the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allies of World War II, ...

serving as a convoy escort. In February 1943, the convoy came under attack and the was torpedoed. Capt. Raney ignored the order to leave the survivors and went back and rescued 202 men from the icy waters. In 1944 ''Bibb'' provided convoy escort between the United States and North Africa — mainly to Bizerte in Tunisia. In January 1945 ''Bibb'' left Charleston, South Carolina for service in the Pacific theater where, as an AGC, she served temporarily as the flagship for Commander, Mine Craft, Pacific Fleet. ''Bibb'' is credited with destroying one Japanese kamikaze aircraft in action at Karema Retto. In peacetime the ''Bibb'' spent time on ocean station providing weather information and beacons to trans-Atlantic traffic. While on ocean station, the ''Bibb'' came to the rescue of the airliner, the Bermuda Sky Queen. In the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, the ''Bibb'' transported

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

after he was shot on his Swift boat.

Fate

''Bibb'' was decommissioned in 1985 and remained docked until it was transported to the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami a ...

for use as an artificial reef. The ship was sunk in November 1987 just outside the coral reef tract, about six miles (10 km) offshore of the island of

Key Largo Key Largo () is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and is the largest section of the keys, at long. It is one of the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the keys connected by U.S. Highway ...

. It lies on its side at a depth of about . Nearby, a second Treasury-Class ship, the USCGC ''Duane'' (WPG-33) was also sunk as an artificial reef. The ''Bibb'' rests at .

Noteworthy crewmembers

Among those serving on ''Bibb'' was James A. Watson, a rear admiral who was the onsite ranking officer in the

Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill was an environmental disaster off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico, on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. It is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum in ...

. Watson was an Engineering Officer/Student Engineer (1978–1980).

World War II convoys escorted

In popular culture

The USCGC ''Bibb'' appeared in the 1952 film ''

Walk East on Beacon ''Walk East on Beacon'' is a 1952 American film noir drama film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring George Murphy, Finlay Currie, and Virginia Gilmore. It was released by Columbia Pictures. The screenplay was inspired by a May 1951 ''Reade ...

'' at the film's climactic end.

References

External links

Bibb shipmates association

uscg.mil/history: USCGC ''Bibb''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bibb (WPG-31) Treasury-class cutters Ships of the United States Coast Guard Shipwrecks of the Florida Keys 1937 ships Maritime incidents in 1987 Ships sunk as artificial reefs Ships built in Charleston, South Carolina