USFS ''Red Wing'' was an American

fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish far ...

patrol vessel A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they ...

that operated in the waters of the

Territory of Alaska The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an Organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The ...

as part of the

United States Bureau of Fisheries United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

(BOF) fleet from 1928 to 1939. Before her fishery service, she operated under the control of the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

U.S. Department of Agriculture

In 1919, a ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

'' expedition to Katmai on the

Alaska Peninsula The Alaska Peninsula (also called Aleut Peninsula or Aleutian Peninsula, ; Sugpiaq language, Sugpiaq: ''Aluuwiq'', ''Al'uwiq'') is a peninsula extending about to the southwest from the mainland of Alaska and ending in the Aleutian Islands. T ...

photographed ''Red Wing'' at Kalsin Bay on

Kodiak Island Kodiak Island (, ) is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is the second largest island in the Un ...

in the

while she was operating under the control of the

.University of Alaska Anchorage Consortium Library Archives & Special Collections: "The Red Wing at Kalsin Bay", 1919 Retrieved September 5, 2019
/ref> At the time, she was a

motor An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

used by the Department of Agriculture Kodiak station at Kalsin Bay for transportation to and from Kodiak.

U.S. Bureau of Fisheries

The U.S. Bureau of Fisheries (BOF) acquired ''Red Wing'' from the Department of Agriculture in 1926.NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center AFSC Historical Corner: ''Blue Wing'' & ''Red Wing'', Kodiak-Afognak Patrol Boats
/ref> She remained out of commission at the BOF

fish hatchery A fish hatchery is a place for artificial breeding, hatching, and rearing through the early life stages of animals—finfish and shellfish in particular.Crespi V., Coche A. (2008) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Gloss ...

Afognak Lake Afognak (Alutiiq: ''Agw’aneq''; ) is an island in the Kodiak Archipelago north of Kodiak Island in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is long from east to west and wide from north to south and has a land area of , making it the 18th largest is ...

(also known as Litnik Lake) on

Afognak Island Afognak (Alutiiq: ''Agw’aneq''; ) is an island in the Kodiak Archipelago north of Kodiak Island in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is long from east to west and wide from north to south and has a land area of , making it the 18th largest i ...

in the

Kodiak Archipelago The Kodiak Archipelago () is an archipelago (group of islands) south of the main land-mass of the state of Alaska (United States), about by air south-west of Anchorage in the Gulf of Alaska. The largest island in the archipelago is Kodiak Islan ...

while awaiting the installation of a new engine to replace her original engine. She was outfitted with berths for a crew of five and, after the new engine – a three-

cylinder A cylinder () has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infinite ...

Standard

gasoline engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American and Canadian English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as Autogas, liquefied petroleum gas and Common ...

– and new fuel tanks were installed, she was commissioned in 1928. The BOF assigned ''Red Wing'' fishery patrol duties in the

. She also provided transportation for BOF personnel to and from the Afognak Lake

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

hatchery. In 1935 she began fishery patrols along the Alaska Peninsula. While she was hauled out of the water for the 1938–1939 offseason, ''Red Wing'' suffered damage during an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

in the spring of 1939. As a result, she performed poorly on patrol during the 1939 fishing season, and the BOF cut her service short that year. The

Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administra ...

assessed that her condition was so poor that she was not worth repairing. The BOF therefore condemned and dismantled ''Red Wing'' in August 1939.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Wing Fishery protection vessels Ships of the United States Bureau of Fisheries Maritime incidents in 1939