Bear (ship)
Encyclopedia
The Bear was a dual steam-powered and sailing ship built with six inch (15.2 cm) thick sides which had a long life in various cold-water and ice-filled environs. She was a forerunner of modern icebreaker
s and had an exceptionally diverse service life. According to the United States Coast Guard
official website, the Bear is described as "probably the most famous ship in the history of the Coast Guard."
Built in Scotland in 1874, as a steamer for sealing she was owned and operated out of Newfoundland for ten years. In the mid-1880s, she took part in the search for the Greely
Expedition. Captained by the legendary Michael Healy of the United States Revenue Cutter Service
(later part of the US Coast Guard
), she worked the 20,000 mile coastline of Alaska
. She later assisted with relief efforts after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
.
Her services also included the second expedition of Admiral Richard E. Byrd to Antarctica, and again to the southernmost continent in 1941 to evacuate Americans at the beginning of World War II
. She later served in patrol duty off the coast of Greenland
for the U.S. Navy. Between some of these missions, she was a museum ship in Oakland, California
and starred in the 1930 film version of Jack London
's The Sea-Wolf
.
After World War II, the Bear was returned to use again as a sealing vessel. Finally, in 1963, 89 years after she had been built, while being towed to a stationary assignment as a floating restaurant
in Philadelphia, Bear foundered and sank in the North Atlantic Ocean about 100 miles (160.9 km) east of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia
. The figurehead from the Bear is on display at the Mariners' Museum
in Newport News, Virginia
.
but her main power was a steam engine designed to smash deep into ice packs to reach seal herds. At the time her arrival in St. John's, there were 300 vessels outfitted each season to hunt seas. However most were small schooners or old sailing barque
s. The new sealing ships represented by Bear radically transformed the Eastern North Atlantic seal fishery as they replaced the hundreds of smaller sealing vessels owned by merchants in outports around Newfoundland with large and expensive steamships owned by large British and Newfoundland companies based in St. John's. Owned at first by the Scottish firm W. Grieve and Sons, she was acquired in 1880 by R. Steele Junior. Bear spent a decade of sealing from St. John. In 1884, the Steeles sent Bear back to Scotland for a refit.
, whose seven survivors were found at Cape Sabine
.
From 1885 to 1926, Bear served as a U.S. Revenue Cutter Service cutter stationed in Alaska
, where she looked out for seal poachers, shipwrecked whalers, and illicit trade with Alaska Natives
, ferried reindeer from Siberia
to Alaska, and served as a floating courthouse. By order of the Department of the Treasury
the Bear was given free run to arrest and seize possessions of poachers, smugglers and illegal traders, as well as take census of people and ships, record geological/astronomical information, take note of tides, and escort whaling ships. One captain of the Bear, Michael "Hell Roaring Mike" Healy, was considered a savior to many of the whalers and native Eskimos, as he bought Siberian reindeer at his own expense for the starving natives to use as the foundation for a new herd in Alaska. During one of its yearly trips back to San Francisco, the Bear assisted in rescue operations for the 1906 earthquake catastrophe.
The Revenue Cutter Service became part of the US Coast Guard in 1915 and the ship was renamed the USCGC Bear.
in 1926 and transferred to the city for use as a museum ship, Bear starred as the sealer Macedonia in the 1930 film version of Jack London
's The Sea-Wolf
.
The "Bear of Oakland" was used in the second Byrd Expedition alongside the USMS North Star. After the expedition, Admiral Richard E. Byrd leased the large barkentine style ship to the Navy for one dollar a year.
During the 1939-1940 Antarctic voyage, the renamed USS Bear carried a Barkley-Grow
seaplane
on board. Lieutenant Commander Richard H. Cruzen was captain of Bear for this mission.
The USS Bear assisted in the 1941 evacuation of Antarctica, as international tensions rose in the months that led up to America's entrance into World War II
. Bear arrived at the Mikkelsen Islands
, just north of the Antarctic Circle
, on 16 March 1941, and its crew helped to build an adequate airstrip to evacuate personnel and equipment from the United States Antarctic Service Expedition
base in the area.
" Patrol. The rigging was cut down to two masts to became a fully motorized ship with auxiliary wind power. Bear made the first capture of a vessel by the US in World War II when it found the German ship Busko setting up a U-boat radio transceiver. When up-to-date ships were available to replace her, Bear was laid up in Boston until the end of the war.
for $5199. Shaw intended to use the ship for sealing. Renamed Arctic Bear, her refit for sealing proved costly and with the decline of the large-scale Newfoundland seal hunt, she was laid up in Halifax Harbour
subject to on and off again refits and lay derelict for periods of times as she remained at various moorings around Halifax and Dartmouth
. By the early 1960s Bear was considered for restoration as a museum ship by the City of Dartmouth as well as her old home at Oakland and by the San Francisco marine museum
. However the purchase price from Shaw Steamships and he extensive restoration costs scuttled museum plans. In 1962 she was purchased by Alfred Johnston of Philadelphia for a floating sea food restaurant. Repairs were made to the ship at Industrial Shipping Limited in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia
for her new role including the carving of a new Bear figurehead.
at 42°40N, 65°11W. She went down early in the morning of 19 March 1963 after a gale struck and severed the tow line. The mast collapsed and punctured the hull causing the sinking. Her crew of two were rescued by the Irving Birch.
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
s and had an exceptionally diverse service life. According to the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
official website, the Bear is described as "probably the most famous ship in the history of the Coast Guard."
Built in Scotland in 1874, as a steamer for sealing she was owned and operated out of Newfoundland for ten years. In the mid-1880s, she took part in the search for the Greely
Adolphus Greely
Adolphus Washington Greely , was an American Polar explorer, a United States Army officer and a recipient of the Medal of Honor.-Early military career:...
Expedition. Captained by the legendary Michael Healy of the United States Revenue Cutter Service
United States Revenue Cutter Service
The United States Revenue Cutter Service was established by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in 1790 as an armed maritime law enforcement service. Throughout its entire existence the Revenue Cutter Service operated under the authority of the United States Department of the Treasury...
(later part of the US Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
), she worked the 20,000 mile coastline of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. She later assisted with relief efforts after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
.
Her services also included the second expedition of Admiral Richard E. Byrd to Antarctica, and again to the southernmost continent in 1941 to evacuate Americans at the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She later served in patrol duty off the coast of Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
for the U.S. Navy. Between some of these missions, she was a museum ship in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
and starred in the 1930 film version of Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
's The Sea-Wolf
The Sea-Wolf
The Sea-Wolf is a 1904 psychological adventure novel by American novelist Jack London about a literary critic, survivor of an ocean collision who comes under the dominance of Wolf Larsen, the powerful and amoral sea captain who rescues him...
.
After World War II, the Bear was returned to use again as a sealing vessel. Finally, in 1963, 89 years after she had been built, while being towed to a stationary assignment as a floating restaurant
Floating restaurant
A floating restaurant is a kind of vessel which is usually a type of steel barge used as a restaurant on water. For example, the Jumbo Palace at Aberdeen in Hong Kong is one such restaurant. Sometimes retired ships are given a second lease on life as floating restaurants. The former car ferry New...
in Philadelphia, Bear foundered and sank in the North Atlantic Ocean about 100 miles (160.9 km) east of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. The figurehead from the Bear is on display at the Mariners' Museum
Mariners' Museum
The Mariners' Museum is located in Newport News, Virginia. It is one of the largest maritime museums in the world as well as being the largest in North America.- History :The museum was founded in 1932 by Archer Milton Huntington, son of Collis P...
in Newport News, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
.
Construction and Sealing Career
The Bear was built in 1874 as a sealer at Dundee, Scotland shipyards. Custom-built for sealing out of St. John's, Newfoundland, Bear was the most outstanding sealing vessel of her day, the lead ship in a new generation of sealers. Heavy-built with six inch (15.2 cm) thick wooden planks, Bear was rigged as a sailing barquentineBarquentine
A barquentine is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts.-Modern barquentine sailing rig:...
but her main power was a steam engine designed to smash deep into ice packs to reach seal herds. At the time her arrival in St. John's, there were 300 vessels outfitted each season to hunt seas. However most were small schooners or old sailing barque
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
s. The new sealing ships represented by Bear radically transformed the Eastern North Atlantic seal fishery as they replaced the hundreds of smaller sealing vessels owned by merchants in outports around Newfoundland with large and expensive steamships owned by large British and Newfoundland companies based in St. John's. Owned at first by the Scottish firm W. Grieve and Sons, she was acquired in 1880 by R. Steele Junior. Bear spent a decade of sealing from St. John. In 1884, the Steeles sent Bear back to Scotland for a refit.
American Government Service
The massive wooden hulls of Newfoundland sealing vessels had proved ideal for arctic exploration. Just back from her refit in 1884 and ready for another season of sealing, Bear was instead purchased by the US government in 1884 and took part in the search for the Lady Franklin Bay ExpeditionLady Franklin Bay Expedition
The 1881-1884 Lady Franklin Bay Expedition into the Canadian Arctic was led by Lt. Adolphus Greely and was promoted by the United States Army Signal Corps. Its purpose was threefold: to establish a meteorological-observation station as part of the First International Polar Year, to collect...
, whose seven survivors were found at Cape Sabine
Cape Sabine
right|thumb|300px|Pim Island to the memory of dead men from the expedition of [[Adolphus Greely]]. Photographed in 2005Cape Sabine is a land point on Pim Island, in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada.-History:...
.
From 1885 to 1926, Bear served as a U.S. Revenue Cutter Service cutter stationed in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, where she looked out for seal poachers, shipwrecked whalers, and illicit trade with Alaska Natives
Alaska Natives
Alaska Natives are the indigenous peoples of Alaska. They include: Aleut, Inuit, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, Eyak, and a number of Northern Athabaskan cultures.-History:In 1912 the Alaska Native Brotherhood was founded...
, ferried reindeer from Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
to Alaska, and served as a floating courthouse. By order of the Department of the Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
the Bear was given free run to arrest and seize possessions of poachers, smugglers and illegal traders, as well as take census of people and ships, record geological/astronomical information, take note of tides, and escort whaling ships. One captain of the Bear, Michael "Hell Roaring Mike" Healy, was considered a savior to many of the whalers and native Eskimos, as he bought Siberian reindeer at his own expense for the starving natives to use as the foundation for a new herd in Alaska. During one of its yearly trips back to San Francisco, the Bear assisted in rescue operations for the 1906 earthquake catastrophe.
The Revenue Cutter Service became part of the US Coast Guard in 1915 and the ship was renamed the USCGC Bear.
Bear of Oakland
Laid up at OaklandOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
in 1926 and transferred to the city for use as a museum ship, Bear starred as the sealer Macedonia in the 1930 film version of Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
's The Sea-Wolf
The Sea-Wolf
The Sea-Wolf is a 1904 psychological adventure novel by American novelist Jack London about a literary critic, survivor of an ocean collision who comes under the dominance of Wolf Larsen, the powerful and amoral sea captain who rescues him...
.
The "Bear of Oakland" was used in the second Byrd Expedition alongside the USMS North Star. After the expedition, Admiral Richard E. Byrd leased the large barkentine style ship to the Navy for one dollar a year.
During the 1939-1940 Antarctic voyage, the renamed USS Bear carried a Barkley-Grow
Barkley-Grow
The Barkley-Grow Aircraft Corp. was a US aircraft manufacturer established by Archibald Barkley and Harold Grow in Detroit in 1937 to produce a small civil transport of Barkley's design, the Barkley-Grow T8P-1. Sales were disappointing and the firm was bought by AVCO in 1940, that company in turn...
seaplane
Barkley-Grow T8P-1
|-References:NotesBibliography* Gerritmas, Joop and Hazewinkel Harm. "The Barkley-Grow T8P-1." AAHS Journal 50 , 2005.* Taylor, J.H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions, 1989, p. 121. ISBN 0-51710-316-8....
on board. Lieutenant Commander Richard H. Cruzen was captain of Bear for this mission.
The USS Bear assisted in the 1941 evacuation of Antarctica, as international tensions rose in the months that led up to America's entrance into World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Bear arrived at the Mikkelsen Islands
Mikkelsen Islands
Mikkelsen Islands is a small group of islands and rocks lying off the southeast coast of Adelaide Island, southeast of the Leonie Islands. Discovered by the French Antarctic Expedition under Jean-Baptiste Charcot, 1908-10, and named by him for Otto Mikkelsen, Norwegian diver who inspected the...
, just north of the Antarctic Circle
Antarctic Circle
The Antarctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs south of the Equator.-Description:...
, on 16 March 1941, and its crew helped to build an adequate airstrip to evacuate personnel and equipment from the United States Antarctic Service Expedition
United States Antarctic Service Expedition
The United States Antarctic Service Expedition , often referred to as Byrd’s third Antarctic Expedition, was an expedition jointly sponsored by the United States Navy, State Department, Department of the Interior and The Treasury...
base in the area.
World War II
From 1941 to 1944, USS Bear served in the Northeast Atlantic "GreenlandGreenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
" Patrol. The rigging was cut down to two masts to became a fully motorized ship with auxiliary wind power. Bear made the first capture of a vessel by the US in World War II when it found the German ship Busko setting up a U-boat radio transceiver. When up-to-date ships were available to replace her, Bear was laid up in Boston until the end of the war.
Postwar
Bear was purchased from the US government in 1948 by Frank M. Shaw of Halifax, Nova ScotiaCity of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
for $5199. Shaw intended to use the ship for sealing. Renamed Arctic Bear, her refit for sealing proved costly and with the decline of the large-scale Newfoundland seal hunt, she was laid up in Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour
Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality.-Harbour description:The harbour is called Jipugtug by the Mi'kmaq first nation, anglisized as Chebucto...
subject to on and off again refits and lay derelict for periods of times as she remained at various moorings around Halifax and Dartmouth
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth founded in 1750, is a community and planning area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes after the large number of lakes located in the city.On April 1, 1996, the provincial...
. By the early 1960s Bear was considered for restoration as a museum ship by the City of Dartmouth as well as her old home at Oakland and by the San Francisco marine museum
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
The San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park is located in San Francisco, California, USA. The park includes a fleet of historic vessels, a visitor center, a maritime museum, and a library/research facility...
. However the purchase price from Shaw Steamships and he extensive restoration costs scuttled museum plans. In 1962 she was purchased by Alfred Johnston of Philadelphia for a floating sea food restaurant. Repairs were made to the ship at Industrial Shipping Limited in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia
Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia
Mahone Bay is a town located on the northwest shore of Mahone Bay along the South Shore of Nova Scotia in Lunenburg County.- History :...
for her new role including the carving of a new Bear figurehead.
Sinking
In 1963, while in tow by the tug Irving Birch to Philadelphia, Bear foundered about 100 miles (160.9 km) east of Cape Sable Island, Nova ScotiaNova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
at 42°40N, 65°11W. She went down early in the morning of 19 March 1963 after a gale struck and severed the tow line. The mast collapsed and punctured the hull causing the sinking. Her crew of two were rescued by the Irving Birch.