The best bar trivia teams, and perhaps even a few Jeopardy champions, might be stumped by the trivia question: what is the oldest operational U.S. military vessel in service today? If your answer is the USS Constitution, you’d be wrong!
The keywords to keep in mind are operational and in service, so while Old Ironsides is still the world’s oldest commissioned warship, she isn’t actively in service.
This is also a trick question of sorts, as sailors aboard the amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge will be quick to remind us that it is the oldest deployed warship in the U.S. Navy.
Yet, that would also be incorrect.
While USS Blue Ridge, the flagship of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, has been in service for nearly fifty-five years and completed her most recent dry dock maintenance in 2018, at least two older U.S. military vessels are now operational and in service… with the United States Coast Guard!
The Queen of the Fleet: The USCGC Bluebell
Earlier this month, the USCG announced that it was honoring the eightieth anniversary of the commissioning of the inland buoy tender USCGC Bluebell (WLI-313), which operates out of Portland, Oregon, and continues to patrol more than 500 miles of the Columbia, Willamette, and Snake Rivers. The vessel is one of two 100-foot inland buoy tenders in service, yet neither has the distinction of being the Coast Guard’s “Queen of the Fleet.”
That honor actually goes to USCGC Smilax, a Cosmos-class inland construction tender that was commissioned in November 1944. Last year marked the vessel’s eightieth anniversary, making her the Queen of the Fleet as the oldest operational and in-service USCG cutter. She has held this title since 2011, when USCGC Acushnet was decommissioned after nearly seven decades of service.
Though USCGC Smilax isn’t a true warship, it was built during the Second World War, and its first crew was made up of “the Greatest Generation.”
The USCGC Smilax: Its Role in the Coast Guard Fleet
Built by Dubuque Boat & Boiler Works in Dubuque, Iowa, construction was delayed due to wartime shortages, taking nearly a year. Since entering service, her mission has remained unchanged—to aid in navigation, which today includes maintaining lights and range markers along North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Displacing 175 long tons, USCGC Smilax is 100 feet long, with a nearly twenty-four-foot beam. The inland construction tender is powered by twin Waukesha diesel engines that provide 450 kW of power, enabling the vessel to reach 10.5 knots. She can push a 70-foot barge with a crane that can lift 8.2 tons.
The crane is used during search and rescue/search and recovery missions, and it has also helped salvage the cannons and barrel hoops from Queen Anne’s Revenge, the famed pirate vessel of Edward “Blackbeard” Teach.
For her service in wartime and peace, the USCGC Smilax was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation, Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award, Coast Guard Unit Commendation, American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
“As long as I’ve been in the Coast Guard, the Smilax has always been regarded as the Queen of the Fleet,” said Chief Petty Officer Jordan Bickford, the executive petty officer of USCGC Smilax.
“It’s been a goal of mine to stay and serve in the Aids to Navigation (ATON) afloat community throughout my career. It’s truly an honor to serve aboard the Smilax, contributing to its legacy.”
Most cutters have a service life of around fifty-five years, yet the current Queen of the Fleet shows no signs of slowing down.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Shutterstock/ Chief Petty Officer David Mosley.
