USS PCS-1405 was a United States Navy minesweeper in commission from 1944 to 1946. She saw service in the latter stages of World War II.

USS PCS-1405 in San Francisco Bay, California, c. 1945-46
History
United States Navy
NameUSS PC-1405
BuilderGreenport Basin and Construction Company, Greenport, New York
Laid down1 May 1943
RenamedUSS PCS-1405, April 1943
ReclassifiedPatrol craft sweeper (PCS), April 1943
Launched21 August 1943
Commissioned1 February 1944
DecommissionedAugust 1946
StrickenFebruary 1947
FateTransferred to U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey 3 October 1946
History
U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey
NameUSC&GS Bowie (CSS 27)
NamesakeCaptain William Bowie (1872–1940), U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey Corps officer
Acquired3 October 1946
Commissioned3 October 1946
Decommissioned1 February 1967
FateSold 1967
General characteristics
Class and typePCS-1376-class minesweeper
Displacement245 tons light; 338 tons full load
Length136 ft (41 m)
Beam24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
Draft8 ft 7 in (2.62 m)
Propulsion
Speed14.1 knots (26.1 km/h)
Complement57
Armament

After her Navy service, she was transferred to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, where she saw service as the coastal survey ship USC&GS Bowie (CSS 27) from 1946 to 1967.

Construction and commissioning

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The ship was laid down as PC-1405 on 1 May 1943 by the Greenport Basin and Construction Company in Greenport, New York. Reclassified as a "patrol craft sweeper" (PCS) in April 1943 and redesignated PCS-1405, she was launched on 21 August 1943 and commissioned as USS PCS-1405 on 1 February 1944.[1]

United States Navy service

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PCS-1450 made a shakedown cruise in the Caribbean Sea, then operated between southern Florida, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as a patrol and escort ship until June 1945. She then was transferred to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where she served until February 1946 before returning to the United States.[1]

After undergoing conversion into a survey ship, PCS-1405 was decommissioned in August 1946 and transferred to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey the same month. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register in February 1947.[1]

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey service

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The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey commissioned the vessel on 3 October 1946[2] as the coastal survey ship USC&GS Bowie (CSS 27).[1] Bowie served on hydrographic survey duties along the United States West Coast and in Alaska until 1 February 1967, when she was decommissioned.[2] She was sold in 1967.[1]

Fate

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Bowie's later fate is unclear. She was photographed as recently as 2003 as MV Bowie in Slatery Bay near Powell River, British Columbia, Canada.[1] As of at least 2005, an effort was underway to preserve her as an historic ship, billing her as the last surviving PCS-type ship.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f NavSource Online: Patrol Craft Sweeper Photo Archive: USC&GS Bowie (CSS 27) ex-USS PCS-1405
  2. ^ a b NOAA History: Coast and Geodetic Survey Ships: Bowie
  3. ^ "The MV Bowei - PCS 1405". Archived from the original on 2019-01-06.
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USC&GS Bowie (CSS 27) off San Francisco, California, with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.