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USC&GS Derickson



Call sign:
Nan - Charlie - How - William

ex-AGS-6
ex-PCS-1458
ex-PC-1458


Derickson served only with the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey
PCS-1376 Class Patrol Craft Sweeper/Survey Ship:

  • Laid down 25 April 1943 as PC-1458 by the Ballard Marine Railway Company, Seattle, WA and reclassified PCS-1458 the same month
  • Launched 6 November 1943
  • Loaned to the Coast and Geodetic Survey 17 May 1944 and commissioned USC&GS Derickson
  • Named for Commander Richard B. Derickson (1873-1942), USC&GS, who rendered distinguished service in field assignments along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States and in the South Pacific Ocean, and had
    notable achievements as Assistant Chief of the Coast and Geodetic Survey's Hydrographic Division and Director of Coast Surveys in the Philippine Islands
  • Reclassified by U.S. Navy as a Survey Ship, AGS-6, 27 May 1944
  • Struck from the Navy Register and permanently transferred to Department of Commerce 23 November 1948
  • Sold in 1954 for $23,896.99
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 245 t.(lt) 338 t.(fl)
  • Length 136'
  • Beam 24' 6"
  • Draft 8' 7"
  • Speed 14.1 kts.
  • Complement 57
  • Armament: 20mm gun mounts or smaller
  • Propulsion: Two 1,000bhp General Motors 8-268A diesel engines, Snow and Knobstedt single reduction gear, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    PCS-1458
    PCS-1458 101k 6 November 1943
    Miss Mary Ann King (Triplett) christening PCS-1458    		 Susan Matthews
    USC&GS Derickson
    PCS-1458 199k Commander Richard B. Derickson was born in 1873 at Meadville, Pennsylvania, and attended schools in Chattanooga, Tennessee, graduating from Allegheny College in 1894 with the degree of Civil Engineer. He entered the Coast Survey in 1896 where his assignment covered technical and scientific engineering on both Coasts, as well as in Puerto Rico and Alaska. He was Assistant Chief of H. & T. from 1915-1920, Inspector of the Seattle Field Station from 1921-1926 and Director of Coast Surveys in the Philippines from 1926-1928. One of his notable accomplishments was the survey of a steamer track across the formerly uncharted waters of the Sulu Sea in the south Pacific Ocean, an assignment which required 2 years of hazardous hydrographic and oceanographic investigations between 1913 and 1915 and which provided a short route never before available. At his own request Commander Derickson retired from duty after 30 years service in 1929, and remained on inactive status until February 1, 1934, when he was returned to active duty during the National Industrial Recovery period. At the close of this duty he returned to inactive status on November 1, 1935. Commander Derickson was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Sons of the American Revolution, and the Rainier Club of Seattle, Washington. He is survived by his widow and two sons, Richard B., Jr., who is a Lieutenant Commander, U.S.N., and B. Derickson, also in the Navy
    Biography and Image courtesy of the NOAA Library    		 Bill Gonyo
    PCS-1458 108k Probably photographed on 30 May 1944 by her builder, the Ballard Marine Railway Co. of Seattle, Washington. This ship was converted for use by the U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey and was not commissioned in the Navy
    National Archives photo 19-N-66685 from the Naval History and Heritage Command on Shipscribe.com    		 Robert Hurst
    PCS-1458 75k NOAA Office of NOAA Corps Operations NOAA Website
    View the PCS-1458
    DANFS history entry located on the Haze Gray & Underway website
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Patrol Craft Sailors Association

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