List of lightships of the United States
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This is a list of lightships of the United States, listing lightships operated by the United States government. The first US lightship was put in place off of Willoughby Spit in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, in 1820.[1] Lightships remained in service in the United States until March 29, 1985, when the last ship, the Nantucket I, was decommissioned.[2] During that period, lightships were operated by several branches of the government: by the Lighthouse Establishment from 1820 to 1852, the Lighthouse Board from 1852 to 1910, the Lighthouse Service from 1910 to 1939, and the Coast Guard from 1939 to 1985.
The naming conventions used for lightships are not consistent. Until 1867, there was no uniform method to refer to individual lightships. Lightships in that period generally took the name of the station that they served, but occasionally other names. These names were not permanently assigned to an individual vessel. Rather, whenever a lightship was moved to a new station she took on that name. That made identifying individual ships nearly impossible. Beginning in 1867, lightship numbers (hull numbers) were assigned to ships still in service. These numbers are the primary means of identifying individual lightships across her various stations. In 1938, the Lighthouse Service retroactively allocated letter codes to the unnumbered lightships based on their research of available records, although some ships may have been lost or misidentified.[3] Even with the hull numbers, it is common to refer to a lightship by the name of the station it serves (or Relief, if it is a relief ship) and a few, such as the Nantucket I and Nantucket II, have been given individual names.
Lightships
| Designation | Start year | End year | Stations | Fate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightship A | c. | 1838 | c. | 1868 | St. Helena Bar (1838 – 1859) Combahee Bank (1859–1868) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship B | 1821 | 1861 | Smith Point (1821 – 1861) | Sunk by the Confederate States Navy in 1861 | [A] | [3] | ||
| Lightship C | 1820 | c. | 1859 | Willoughby's Spit (1820) Craney Island (1821 – 1859) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship D | c. | 1854 | c. | 1860 | Frying Pan Shoal (1854 – 1860) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship E | c. | 1854 | c. | 1860 | Rattlesnake Shoal (1854 – 1860) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship F | c. | 1849 | after | 1860 | Ship Shoal (1849 – 1859) Relief (1860 – Unknown) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship G | c. | 1865 | 1866 | Cross Rip (1865 – 1866) | Abandoned and sunk by December 30, 1866 | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship H | c. | 1828 | 1864 | Cross Rip (1828 – 1864) | Wrecked at Cape Poge, Martha's Vineyard in 1864 | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship K | c. | 1839 | c. | 1859 | Martins Industry (1839 – 1855) Calibouge Sound (1855 – 1859) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship L | c. | 1835 | after | 1849 | Bartlett Reef (1835 – 1849) Eel Grass Shoal (1849 – Unknown) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship M | c. | 1826 | c. | 1855 | Wade Point Shoal (1826 – 1855) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship N | 1823 | c. | 1855 | Brandywine Shoal (1823 – 1850) Minots Ledge (1851 – 1854) Relief (1855) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship O | c. | 1835 | 1861 | Bowlers Rock (1835 – 1861) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship P | c. | 1848 | after | 1848 | Tybee Island Knoll (1848 – Unknown) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship Q | 1821 | c. | 1847 | Willoughby's Spit (1821 – 1847) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship R | 1847 | 1867 | Willoughby's Spit (1847 – 1867) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | ||
| Lightship S | 1821 | after | 1821 | Wolf Trap Shoal (1821 – Unknown) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship T | 1856 | 1861 | Wolf Trap / York Spit (1856 – 1861) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy in 1861 | [A] | [3] | ||
| Lightship U | c. | 1834 | 1861 | Windmill Point (1834 – 1861) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy in 1861 | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship V | c. | 1863 | 1864 | Fishing Rip (1863 – 1864) | Captured during the American Civil War, and commandeered by the United States Navy from July 5, 1863 to March 1864. It is unknown what became of it after the war. | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship W | c. | 1847 | 1860 | Merrills Shell Bank (1847 – 1860) | Sunk by the Confederate States Navy in 1860 | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship X | 1823 | c. | 1845 | Upper Middle Shoal (1823 – 1845) | May be Lightship LV-19, which was sunk in 1900 | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship Y | c. | 1857 | c. | 1861 | Dames Point (1857 – 1861) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship Z | 1847 | c. | 1860 | Vineyard Sound (1847 – 1860) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship AA | c. | 1825 | c. | 1841 | Carysfort Reef (1825 – 1841) | May have been converted to a bell boat in 1841, but may have been two ships. (The first retired in 1830.) | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship BB | c. | 1841 | c. | 1852 | Carysfort Reef (1841 – 1841) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship DD | c. | 1825 | 1861 | Lower Cedar Point (1825 – 1861) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy in 1861 | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship EE | before | 1859 | c. | 1859 | Upper Cedar Point (unknown – 1859) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship FF | c. | 1831 | after | 1831 | Brant Island Shoal (1831 – Unknown) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship GG | c. | 1863 | c. | 1863 | Brant Island Shoal (1863) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship HH | c. | 1828 | c. | 1862 | Neuse River (1828 – 1862) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship JJ | c. | 1825 | 1861 | Long Shoal (1825 – 1861) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy in 1861 | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship KK | c. | 1864 | c. | 1867 | Long Shoal (1864 – 1867) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship LL | c. | 1821 | after | 1821 | Upper Cedar Point (1821 – Unknown) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship MM | c. | 1835 | 1861 | Roanoke River (1835 – 1861) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy in 1861 | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship NN | c. | 1838 | c. | 1854 | Northwest Passage (1838 – 1854) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship PP | c. | 1846 | c. | 1853 | Sand Key (1846 – 1853) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship QQ | c. | 1836 | 1861 | Harbor Island (1836 – 1861) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy in 1861 | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship RR | c. | 1835 | c. | 1861 | Roanoke Island (1835 – 1861) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship SS | c. | 1827 | 1861 | Nine Foot Shoal (1827 – 1859) Upper Cedar Point (1859 – 1861) | Sunk or captured by the Confederate States Navy in 1861 | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship TT | c. | 1852 | c. | 1859 | Okracoke Channel (1852 – 1859) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship UU | c. | 1851 | c. | 1870 | Horseshoe Shoal (1851 – 1870) | Unknown | [A] | [3] |
| Lightship VV | 1823 | c. | 1829 | Sandy Hook (1823 – 1829) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship WW | 1839 | c. | 1854 | Sandy Hook (1839 – 1854) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship XX | 1849 | c. | 1870 | Galveston (1849 – c. 1870) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship YY | 1832 | c. | 1851 | Mackinaw Straight (1832 – 1851) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship ZZ | 1820 | c. | 1823 | Northeast Pass (1820 – 1823) | Unknown | [A] | [3] | |
| Lightship LV-1 | 1856 | 1930 | Nantucket New South Shoal (1856 – 1892) Martins Industry (1892 – 1896) Frying Pan Shoal (1896 – 1911) Martins Industry (1911 – 1922) Savannah (1922 – 1930) | Donated to the Sea Scouts in 1930. Later ran aground on the banks of the Merrimack River in a flood in 1936. | [B] | [4] | ||
| Lightship LV-2 | 1849 | 1921 | Pollock Rip (1849 – 1875) Winter Quarter Shoal (1875 – 1876) Hen and Chickens (1877 – 1907) Relief (1907 – 1921) | Unknown | [B] | [5] | ||
| Lightship LV-3 | 1852 | 1923 | Shovelful Shoal (1852 – 1916) Relief (1916) Handkerchief Shoal (1916 – 1923) | Unknown | [B] | [6] | ||
| Lightship LV-4 | 1856 | 1924 | Bishop and Clerks (1856 – 1858) Handkerchief Shoal (1858 – 1916) Relief (1916 – 1924) | Unknown | [B] | [7] | ||
| Lightship LV-5 | 1866 | 1930 | Hen and Chickens (1866 – 1867) Cross Rip (1867 – 1915) Relief (1916) Stonehorse Shoal (1916 – 1923) Handkerchief Shoal (1923 – 1924) Relief (1925 – 1930) | Unknown | [B] | [8] | ||
| Lightship LV-6 | 1862 | 1918 | Succonnesset Shoal (1862 – 1912) Relief (1912 – 1915) Cross Rip (1915 – 1918) | Disappeared on February 4, 1918. LV-6 was stuck in moving ice, and presumably sank with all hands. | [B] | [9] | ||
| Lightship LV-7 | 1854 | 1909 | Minots Ledge (1854 – 1860) Vineyard Sound (1861 – 1875) Relief (1875 – 1881) Wreck of Scotland (1881 – 1902) Relief (1902 – 1909) | Unknown | [B] | [10] | ||
| Lightship LV-8 | 1860 | 1879 | Frying Pan Shoal (1860) Han and Chickens (1867 – 1877) Relief (1877 – 1879) | Sunk by the Confederate States Navy in 1860 at Cape Fear River. LV-8 was later salvaged by USLHT Iris in 1866, and repaired. It is unknown what became of this ship. | [B] | [11] | ||
| Lightship LV-9 | 1858 | 1925 | Relief (1858–1915) Hedge Fence (1915–1925) | Unknown | [B] | [12] | ||
| Lightship LV-10 | 1887 | 1902 | Grosse Pointe (1887–1902) | LV-10 was originally purchased as a construction barge for the Lighthouse Service, then was converted to a lightship in 1887. It is unknown what became of this ship after it left service. | [13] | |||
| Lightship LV-11 | 1854 | 1925 | Nantucket New South Shoal (1854–1855) Brenton Reef (1856–1897) Relief (1897–1902) Scotland (1902–1925) | Unknown | [B] | [14] | ||
| Lightship LV-12 | c. | 1835 | 1871 | Eel Grass Shoal (unknown–1871) | Unknown | [C] | [15] | |
| Lightship LV-13 | 1854 | 1913 | Relief (1854 – 1855) Succonnessett Shoal (1855 – 1862) Relief (1862 – 1867) Bartlett Reef (1867 – 1933) Relief (1933 – 1934) | Unknown | [B] | [16] | ||
| Lightship LV-14 | 1853 | 1872 | Brenton Reef (1853 – 1856) Cornfield Point (1856 – 1872) Relief (1872) | Unknown | [B] | [17] | ||
| Lightship LV-15 | 1838 | 1879 | Stratford Shoal (1837 – 1877) Relief (1877 – 1879) | LV-15 was replaced by Stratford Shoal Light in 1877, then was used as a barracks for workers building the Great Beds Light in 1880. She was sold at the end of that year at auction for $1,010. It is unknown what became of this ship after the auction. | [B] | [18] | ||
| Lightship LV-16 | 1854 | 1935 | Sandy Hook (1854 – 1891) Relief (1891 – 1935) | Unknown | [B] | [19] | ||
| Lightship LV-17 | 1848 | 1891 | Bartlett Reef (1848 – 1867) Relief (1867 – 1877) Eel Grass Shoal (1877 – 1882) Relief (1882 – 1891) | Transferred to US Navy in 1891 for use as target practice, and sunk later that year. | [B] | [20] | ||
| Lightship LV-18 | 1839 | 1875 | Five Fathom Bank (1839 – 1869) Relief (1869 – 1875) | Transferred to US Navy in 1875 for use as target practice, presumably sunk. | [B] | [21] | ||
| Lightship LV-19 | c. | 1845 | 1900 | Cross Ledge (1845 – 1875) Fourteen Foot Bank (1876 – 1886) Ram Island Reef (1886 – 1894) Relief (1894 – 1900) | May be the same ship as Lightship X. LV-19 was transferred to US Navy in 1900 for use as target practice, and presumably sank. | [B] | [22] | |
| Lightship LV-20 | 1867 | 1923 | Relief (1867 – 1868) Wreck of Scotland (1868 – 1870) Relief (1870 – 1876) Wreck of Scotland (1876 – 1880) Relief (1880 – 1886) Wreck of Oregon (1886) Relief (1886 – 1918) Cross Rip (1918 – 1922) Relief (1923) | Sold in 1923 and used by rumrunners during Prohibition. She was eventually grounded, abandoned, and burned near Plymouth, Massachusetts. | [B] | [23] | ||
| Lightship LV-21 | 1864 | 1880 | Upper Cedar Point (1864 – 1867) Willoughby Split (1867 – 1868) Relief (1869 – 1871) Wreck of Weehawken (1871 – 1872) Tybee Island Knoll (1872 – 1880) | Unknown | [B] | [24] | ||
| Lightship LV-22 | c. | 1846 | 1903 | Relief (1846–Unknown) York Split (1863–1864) Wolf Trap Shoal (1864–1870) Eel Grass Shoal (1871–1872) Cornfield Point (1872–1882) Relief (1884–1885) Hog Island Shoal (1885–1901) Relief (1901–1903) | This was the only lightship to be renumbered (see note C). It is unknown what became of LV-22. | [C] | [15][25] | |
| Lightship LV-23 | 1862 | 1925 | Smith Point (1862 – 1868) Willoughby Split (1868 – 1872) Relief (1872 – 1874) Wreck of Scotland (1874 – 1876) Relief (1876 – 1882) Cornfield Point (1882 – 1892) Relief (1892 – 1894) Ram Island Reef (1894 – 1925) | Originally A. J. W. Applegarth, she was acquired by the Lightship Service in 1862. It is unknown what became of this ship after she left service. | [B] | [26] | ||
| Lightship LV-24 | 1864 | 1869 | Lower Cedar Point (1864 – 1867) York Spit (1867 – 1870) Relief (1870 – 1874) Winter Quarter Shoal (1874 – 1875) Relief (1875 – 1889) | Unknown | [B] | [27] | ||
| Lightship LV-25 | 1827 | 1884 | Hooper Straight (1827 – 1867) Relief (1867 – 1870) Choptank River entrance (1870 – 1871) Eel Grass Shoal (1872 – 1877) Relief (1877 – 1884) | Unknown | [B] | [28] | ||
| Lightship LV-28 | 1864 | 1906 | Bowlers Rock (1864 – 1868) Relief (1868 – 1869) Galveston (1870 – 1906) | Unknown | [B] | [29] | ||
| Lightship LV-29 | 1865 | 1915 | Frying Pan Shoal (1865 – 1871) Martins Industry (1871 – 1875) Frying Pan Shoal (1875 – 1877) Relief (1877 – 1880) Martins Industry (1880 – 1887) Relief (1887 – 1888) Frying Pan Shoal (1888 – 1892) Relief (1893 – 1906) Martins Industry (1906 – 1911) Relief (1911 – 1915) | Unknown | [B] | [30] | ||
| Lightship LV-30 | 1863 | 1871 | Rattlesnake Shoal (1863 – 1871) | Unknown | [B] | [31] | ||
| Lightship LV-31 | 1865 | 1871 | Wreck of Weehawken (1865 – 1871) | Formerly James Gray, commissioned in the Confederate States Navy as CSS Lady Davis. Captured by the USN in 1865, stripped, and transferred into lightship service. LV-31 served until 1871 after which her fate is unknown. | [B] | [32] | ||
| Lightship LV-32 | 1863 | 1890 | Frying Pan Shoal (1863 – 1864) Martins Industry (1864 – 1871) Relief (1871 – 1877) Frying Pan Shoal (1877 – 1883) Relief (1883 – 1886) Rattlesnake Shoal (1886 – 1889) Relief (1889 – 1890) | Unknown | [B] | [33] | ||
| Lightship LV-33 | 1857 | 1872 | Relief (1857 – 1861) Martins Industry (1862 – 1864) Relief (1864 – 1868) Fishing Rip (1868 – 1869) Tybee Island Knoll (1869 – 1872) | Unknown | [B] | [34] | ||
| Lightship LV-34 | 1866 | 1924 | Relief (1866 – 1876) Frying Pan Shoal (1871 – 1875) Martins Industry (1876 – 1880) Rattlesnake Shoal (1880 – 1886) Martins Industry (1887 – 1892) Rattlesnake Shoal (1892 – 1894) Charleston (1894 – 1924) | Unknown | [B] | [35] | ||
| Lightship LV-35 | 1858 | 1862 | Martins Industry (1858 – 1862) | it was originally sunk by the Confederate States Navy in the Savannah River in 1862. Four years later it was raised, and intended to be used for lightship duly as LV-35. Subsequently, it was found to be too damaged so it was scrapped. | [D] | [36] | ||
| Lightship LV-37 | 1869 | 1893 | Five Fathoms Bank (1869 – 1876) Winter Quarter Shoal (1876 – 1888) Relief (1888) Fenwick Island Shoal (1888 – 1892) Relief (1892 – 1893) | Sank on station on August 4, 1893 with the loss of four crewmen. | [E] | [37] | ||
| Lightship LV-38 | 1870 | 1892 | Relief (1870 – 1871) Rattlesnake Shoal (1871 – 1880) Relief (1881 – 1883) Frying Pan Shoal (1883 – 1888) Relief (1888 – 1889) Rattlesnake Shoal (1889 – 1892) | Unknown | [E] | [38] | ||
| Lightship LV-39 | 1875 | 1935 | Vineyard Sound (1875 – 1876) Five Fathom Bank (1876 – 1877) Relief (1877 – 1897) Brenton Reef (1897 – 1935) | Sank in 1975 near Beverly, Massachusetts. | [39] | |||
| Lightship LV-58 | 1894 | 1905 | Nantucket New South Shoal (1894 – 1896) Fire Island (1896 – 1897) Relief (1897 – 1905) | Sank in 1905 due to a gale. | [40] | |||
| Lightship LV-71 | 1897 | 1918 | Diamond Shoals (1897 – 1918) | Torpedoed, and sank in 1918 | [41] | |||
| Lightship LV-73 | 1901 | 1944 | Pollock Rip Shoal (1901 – 19??) Vineyard Sound (19?? – 1944) | Sunk on September 19, 1944 in a hurricane. | [42] | |||
| Lightship LV-79 | 1904 | 1967 | Five Fathom Bank (1904 – 1924) Relief (1924 – 1926) Barnegat (1927 – 1942) Examination Vessel, WWII (1942 – 1945) Barnegat (1945 – 1967) | Now a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. | [43] | |||
| Lightship LV-82 | 1912 | 1936 | Buffalo (1912-1913) Relief (1916-1925) Eleven Foot (1926-1936) | Scrapped in 1942, or possibly sunk by vandals in 1945. | [44] | |||
| Lightship LV-83 | 1905 | 1960 | Blunts Reef (1905 – 1930) San Francisco (1930 – 1942) Examination Vessel, WWII (1942 – 1945) San Francisco (1945 – 1951) Relief (1951 – 1960) | Now a museum in Seattle, Washington. | [45] | |||
| Lightship LV-87 | 1907 | 1966 | Now a museum in New York City, New York. | |||||
| Lightship LV-97 | 1895 | 1918 | Bush Bluff (1895 – 1918) | Scrapped in 1945. | [46] | |||
| Lightship LV-100 | 1929 | 1971 | Blunts Reef (1930 – 1942) Examination Vessel, WWII (1942 – 1945) Blunts Reef (1945 – 1959) Relief (1959 – 1969) San Francisco (1969 – 1971) | Transferred to the U.S. Navy on August 6, 1971 for further transfer to Vietnam. it is unknown what became of this ship. | [F] | [47] | ||
| Lightship LV-101 | 1916 | 1963 | Cape Charles (1916 – 1924) Relief (1925 – 1926) Overfalls (1926 – 1951) Stonehorse Shoal (1951 – 1963) | Now a museum in Portsmouth, Virginia. | [48] | |||
| Lightship LV-102 | 1916 | 1963 | Southwest Pass (1917 – 1918) South Pass (1918 – 1933) Relief (1933 – 1934) Brenton Reef (1935 – 1962) Cross Rip (1962 – 1963) | [49] | ||||
| Lightship LV-103 | 1921 | 1970 | Relief (1921 – 1923) Grays Reef (1924 – 1926) Relief (1927 – 1928) Grays Reef (1929) Relief (1929 – 1933) North Manitou Shoal (1934 – 1935) Relief (1935) Lake Huron (1936 – 1970) | Now a museum in Port Huron, Michigan. | [50] | |||
| Lightship LV-105 | 1922 | 1944 | Diamond Shoal (1922 – 1942) Examination vessel (1942 – 1944) | [51] | ||||
| Lightship LV-106 | 1923 | 1967 | Nantucket Shoals (1923 – 1931) Relief (1931 – 1934) Nantucket Shoals (1934 – 1936) Relief (1936 – 1942) Examination vessel (1942 – 1945) Relief (1945 – 1967) | [52] | ||||
| Lightship LV-107 | 1923 | 1968 | Cape Lookout Shoals (1924 – 1933) Winter Quarter Shoal (1934 – 1942) Examination vessel (1942 – 1956) Winter Quarter Shoal (1945 – 1960) Delaware (1960 – 1965) Relief (Third District) (1965 – 1968) | Moored at the Liberty Landing Marina in Liberty State Park, Jersey City, New Jersey | [53] | |||
| Lightship LV-108 | 1923 | 1970 | Relief (Third District) (1923) Five Fathom Bank (1924 – 1942) Examination vessel (1942 – 1945) Five Fathom Bank (1945 – 1970) | [54] | ||||
| Lightship LV-109 | 1923 | 1966 | Relief (6th district) (1924 – 1954) Savannah (1954 – 1964) New Orleans (165 – 1966) | [55] | ||||
| Lightship LV-110 | 1923 | 1972 | Pollack Rip (1924 – 1942) Examination vessel (1942 – 1945) Pollack Rip (1945 – 1947) Vineyard Sound (1945 – 1947) Cross Rip (1954 – 1958) Buzzards Bay (1959 – 1961) Relief (4th and 5th districts) (1961 – 1967) Barnegat (1967 – 1969) Five Fathom Bank (1970 – 1971) | [56] | ||||
| Lightship LV-111 | 1926 | 1969 | Northeast End (1927 – 1932) Ambrose Channel (1932 – 1952) Portland (1952 – 1969) | [57] | ||||
| Lightship LV-112 | 1936 | 1975 | Nantucket Shoals (1936 – 1942) Examination Vessel, WWII (1942 – 1945) Nantucket Shoals (1945 – 1958) Relief (1958 – 1960) Nantucket Shoals (1960 – 1975) | Now a museum in East Boston, Massachusetts. | [58] | |||
| Lightship LV-113 | 1930 | 1968 | Swiftsure Bank (1930 – 1942) Examination Vessel, WWII (1942 – 1945) Swiftsure Bank (1945 – 1961) Umatilla Reef (1961) Relief (1961 – 1968) | Sank on June 16, 1988 while being towed to Ketchikan, Alaska. | [F] | [59] | ||
| Lightship LV-114 | 1930 | 1971 | Fire Island (1930 – 1942) Examination Vessel, WWII (1942 – 1945) Diamond Shoal (1945 – 1947) Relief (1947 – 1958) Pollock Rip (1958 – 1969) Portland (1969 – 1971) | Scrapped in 2007 after sinking (later raised) in New Bedford, Massachusetts. | [F] | [60] | ||
| Lightship LV-115 | 1930 | 1965 | Frying Pan Shoals (1930 – 1942) Examination Vessel, WWII (1942 – 1945) Frying Pan Shoals (1945 – 1964) Relief (1964 – 1965) | Operational, and available for rent | [F] | [61] | ||
| Lightship LV-116 | 1930 | 1970 | Fenwick Island Shoal (1930 – 1933) Chesapeake (1933 – 1942) Examination Vessel, WWII (1942 – 1945) Chesapeake (1945 – 1965) Delaware (1965 – 1970) | Now a museum in Baltimore, Maryland | [F] | [62] | ||
| Lightship LV-117 | 1931 | 1934 | Nantucket Shoals (1931 – 1934) | Sank in 1934 after being struck by the RMS Olympic. | [F] | [63] | ||
| Lightship LV-118 | 1938 | 1972 | Cornfield Point (1938 – 1957) Cross Rip (1958 – 1962) Boston (1962 – 1972) | Now a museum in Lewes, Delaware. | [64] | |||
| Lightship WLV-604 | 1951 | 1979 | Columbia River (1951 – 1979) | Now a museum in Astoria, Oregon. | [65] | |||
| Lightship WAL-605 | 1951 | 1975 | Overfalls (1951 – 1960) Blunts Reef' (1960 – 1969) Relief (1969 – 1975) | Now a museum in Oakland, California. | [66] | |||
| Lightship WLV-612 | 1950 | 1985 | San Francisco (1951 – 1969) Blunts Reef (1969 – 1971) Portland (1971 – 1975) Nantucket Shoals (1975 – 1983) | Sold to private owner, operational and available for charter. She is the last lightship to be decommissioned by the coast guard. | [67] | |||
| Lightship WLV-613 | 1952 | 1983 | Ambrose Channel (1952 – 1967) Relief (1967 – 1979) Nantucket Shoals (1979 – 1983) | Sold to private owner. Located in Wareham and New Bedford, Massachusetts in the 2010s. | [68] | |||
Notes
- ^ A. Name assigned retroactively in 1938. During her years in service, this ship was referred to exclusively by her station name.
- ^ B. Name/hull number assigned between 1867–70. Previously, she was referred to exclusively by her station name.
- ^ C. LV-12 was assigned to two ships. From circa 1867 to 1871, LV-12 was the former Guthrie and LV-22 was an unnamed Fifth District relief vessel. In 1871, old LV-12 was decommissioned and LV-22 was renumbered LV-12. For clarity, this list refers to her as LV-22 exclusively.
- ^ D. Name/hull number assigned between 1867–68 in anticipation of her return to service, but she was found not fit, condemned, and sold.
- ^ E. Either LV-37 or LV-38 was the first lightship to have launched with a LV designation. Except for the anomalously numbered LV-10 (which would have been 43), all subsequent US lightships were numbered sequentially.
- ^ F. Six identical vessels: LV 100/WAL 523 (1929), LV 113/WAL 535 (1929) and LV 114 / WAL 536 (1930) built at Albina Iron Works, Portland, Oregon. LV 115 / WAL 537 (1930), LV 116 / WAL 538 (1930) and LV 117 (1930) built at Charleston Drydock & Machine Company, Charleston, South Carolina.