USCGC White Heath
{{Short description|White-class buoy tender of the United States Coast Guard}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image | Ship image = File:USCGC White Heath.jpg | Ship caption = USCGC White Heath in 1960 }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = United States | Ship flag = {{USN flag|1947}} | Ship name = YF-445 | Ship namesake = | Ship owner = | Ship ordered = | Ship awarded = | Ship builder = Erie Concrete and Steel Supply Company | Ship original cost = | Ship yard number = | Ship way number = | Ship laid down = 4 June 1943 | Ship launched = 21 July 1943 | Ship sponsor = | Ship christened = | Ship completed = | Ship acquired = | Ship commissioned = 9 August 1944 | Ship decommissioned = 1946 | Ship in service = | Ship out of service = | Ship renamed = | | Ship refit = | Ship struck = | Ship reinstated = | Ship homeport = | Ship identification = | Ship motto = | Ship nickname = | Ship honors = | Ship captured = | Ship fate = Transferred to US Coast Guard | Ship notes = | Ship badge = }} {{Infobox ship career | Ship country = United States | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|United States|coast guard}} | Ship name = White Heath | Ship namesake = White Heath | Ship acquired = | Ship commissioned = 9 August 1947 | Ship decommissioned = 31 March 1998 | Ship identification = *Hull number: WAGL-545
| Ship homeport = | Ship reclassified = WLM-545 | Ship status = | Ship fate = *Sold to Tunisia, 1998 }} {{Infobox ship career | Ship country = Tunisia | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Tunisia|navy}} | Ship name = *Turgueness | Ship namesake = | Ship acquired = 1998 | Ship commissioned = | Ship decommissioned = | Ship identification = Pennant number: A-805 | Ship homeport = Bizerte | Ship reclassified = | Ship status = | Ship fate = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship class = *YF-257-class lighter
| Ship displacement = *{{convert|476|t|LT|0|abbr=on}} | Ship length = {{convert|132|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|30|ft|0|in|m|abbr=on}} | Ship height = | Ship draft = {{convert|8|ft|m|abbr=on}} | Ship depth = | Ship hold depth = | Ship propulsion = *As built:
| Ship power = {{convert|600|bhp|abbr=on|lk=in}} | Ship speed = {{convert|10.5|kn|abbr=on|lk=in}} | Ship range = {{convert|3200|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|7.5|kn|abbr=on}} | Ship complement = 1 warrant officer, 20 crewmen | Ship sensors = | Ship EW = | Ship armament = }} |
USS YF-445 was a U.S. Navy covered lighter built in 1943 for service in World War II. Her most significant action during the war was to supply ships with food and water at the landing beaches of Operation Dragoon, the allied invasion of Southern France in 1944.
After the war, she was decommissioned by the Navy and transferred to the United States Coast Guard. There she became the White-class buoy tender USCGC White Heath (WAGL/WLM-545).
White Heath was decommissioned by the Coast Guard in 1998 and transferred to the Tunisian Navy, which renamed her Turgueness.
Construction and characteristics
During World War II, the U.S. Navy built at least 76 YF-257-class covered lighters. The purpose of this class was to transport cargo to and from deep-draft ocean-going ships to small ports which were too shallow to admit the larger vessels. They were built with ample cargo space in their hold, an open deck to carry larger items, a crane to move cargo on and off the vessel, and with shallow draft allowing them to go where the large ships could not.{{Cite book |last1=Meyer |first1=Richard |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/ma/ma1600/ma1626/data/ma1626data.pdf |title=HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD U.S. COAST GUARD CUTTER WHITE HEATH (WLM-545) |last2=Cox, jr. |first2=J. Lee D. |publisher=National Park Service}} These design features were all useful in YF-445's later life as a buoy tender.
YF-445 was one of at least twelve YF-257-class lighters built by the Erie Concrete & Steel Supply Company at its Erie, Pennsylvania shipyard.{{Cite book |last=Bureau |first=United States Ships |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=icLozcrLyWEC&dq=%22Erie+concrete+&pg=PA514 |title=Ship's Data U.S. Naval Vessels |date=1945 |pages=514 |language=en}} The shipyard was established in June 1941, and had never built a ship when it won its first Navy contract in 1941.{{Cite news |date=1 August 1941 |title=Erie Firm to Build Ships |pages=4 |work=Times Leader |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/105963288/?terms=%22Erie%20concrete%20and%20Steel%22&match=1}}{{Cite book |url=https://media.defense.gov/2020/Jul/10/2002451856/-1/-1/0/NPS_133_HAER_REPORT.PDF |title=U.S. COAST GUARD 133-FOOT BUOY TENDERS |publisher=National Park Service |year=2004}} Since major shipyards were building combatant and merchant ships, the Navy recruited a new class of emergency shipbuilders, of which Erie Concrete & Steel Supply was one, for less critical auxiliary vessels. While in the fiscal year ended 30 June 1940 only 12 private shipyards were building Navy ships, a year later there were 109.{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jgMzGVWPcY4C&dq=%22erie+concrete+&pg=PA4 |title=Private Shipyards In 28 States Building Vessels For Navy |date=3 August 1941 |publisher=Navy Department |language=en}} YF-445 was the fourteenth vessel built by the company.{{Cite news |title=Fourteenth Ship Is Launched Here |pages=4 |work=Erie Daily Times |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A147234526FE5DB7B%40GB3NEWS-170729FB624228AE%402430928-1705EC72150F6AD3%403-1705EC72150F6AD3%40?h=35&fname=&mname=&lname=&rgfromDate=1941&rgtoDate=1943&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&kwinc=%22erie%20concrete%20and%20steel%22&kwexc=&page=2&sid=bxjorfdjhylpncjjnpojupmpkrscxjcg_ip-10-166-46-98_1702426477427}}
Erie Concrete and Steel Supply built YFs 444-448 under contract NXs156. YF-445 was laid down on 4 June 1943. She was launched on 21 July 1943 and was christened by Mrs. H. McKay Birmingham, the wife of a shipyard worker.
= As built in 1943 =
YF-445's hull was constructed of welded steel plates. The ship was {{Convert|132|ft|10|in|m}} long, with a beam of {{Convert|30|ft|m}}, and a fully loaded draft of {{Convert|8|ft|m}}. She displaced 476 tons loaded.
YF-445 had two opposed-piston Fairbanks-Morse Diesel engines built by Union Diesel Engine Company of Oakland, California{{Cite news |date=31 July 1941 |title=3 Big Vessels To Be Built At Cascade Dock |pages=17 |work=Erie Daily Times |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A147234526FE5DB7B%40GB3NEWS-1707AFBAAAEF8E1D%402430207-1707AD994105BBFB%4016-1707AD994105BBFB%40?h=1&fname=&mname=&lname=&kwinc=%22Erie%20concrete%20and%22&kwexc=&rgfromDate=1941&rgtoDate=1941&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&processingtime=&addedFrom=&addedTo=&sid=qjvbiojxwcobczxqqtnsjgaqpuihsyep_ip-10-166-46-156_1702491895973}} each of which generated 300 horsepower. These drove two four-bladed propellers which were {{Convert|48|in|m}} in diameter. This power plant gave her a maximum speed of 10.5 knots, and a cruising speed of 7.5 knots. Her tanks held {{Convert|12500|U.S.gal|L}} of Diesel fuel, giving her a range of 3,200 nautical miles at cruising speed.
Electrical power aboard was provided by two Cummins 60 Kw generators.
The ship had a single mast and a single boom which were used as a derrick. The main hoist was driven by electric winches which were mounted on her foredeck.
The Navy's specifications for YF-445 and her sisterships included removable mine-laying tracks, allowing the vessel to carry up to 64 Mark VI mines. While it appears that YF-445 was never used in this capacity, her class was sometimes referred to as "mine-layers."{{Cite news |date=1 June 1942 |title=Navy Mine Layer Is Launched |pages=11 |work=Erie Daily Times |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A147234526FE5DB7B%40GB3NEWS-1707EB125D2CBFAB%402430512-1707E97294527F10%4010-1707E97294527F10%40?h=1&fname=&mname=&lname=&kwinc=%22Erie%20concrete%20and%22%20%22mine%20layer%22&kwexc=&rgfromDate=1942&rgtoDate=1943&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&processingtime=&addedFrom=&addedTo=&sid=zczjwyimjsppdannvivqahstsapmyzfr_ip-10-166-46-135_1702497385942}}
= Modifications for Coast Guard service =
File:USCGC White Heath sea trial (cropped).jpg
Shortly after her acquisition by the Coast Guard in 1946 or 1947, YF-445 was sent to the Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, Maryland for conversion into a buoy tender. The changes were modest as the ship was well suited to her new role in many respects. Among the changes which were made, were the removal of her machine guns, the opening of ports to improve the habitability of her crew quarters, repainting, and the installation of a more powerful crane. In 1948, her upper deck was extended.
White Heath had neither a bow thruster nor any special hull plating for ice breaking, features of all later types of Coast Guard buoy tenders.{{Cite book |url=https://chetaero.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/cim_16500_21_seamanship.pdf |title=AIDS TO NAVIGATION MANUAL - SEAMANSHIP |publisher=U.S. Coast Guard |location=Washington, D.C. |publication-date=8 May 1997 |pages=A-5}}File:USCGC White Heath in 1987.jpg
Sometime in the 1960s White Heath's crane system was upgraded. She was equipped with an A-frame mast, and A-frame boom, and hydraulic winches that gave her 10-ton lifting capacity. The winches were moved from the buoy deck to inside the house, giving it {{Convert|1000|sqft|m2}} of working space.
After more than three decades of service, the lack of spare parts for the ship's engines and her obsolete 120-volt DC electrical system{{Cite book |title=Register Of Cutters Of The U.S. Coast Guard, COMDTINST M5441.5L |publisher=U.S. Coast Guard |year=1996 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=IV-2}} caused breakdowns and higher repair costs.{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yTgoAAAAMAAJ&dq=uscgc+%22white+heath%22&pg=PA45 |title=Coast Guard Authorization--F.Y. 1977: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Navigation of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Ninety-fourth Congress, Second Session, on H.R. 11670, February 5, 10, 1976 |date=1976 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |pages=45 |language=en}} White Heath's engines, generators and electrical system were replaced at the Coast Guard Yard. The ship was in the yard between 25 November 1976{{Cite news |date=25 November 1976 |title=Military Ships In Port |pages=23 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/377571150/?terms=%22white%20heath%22&match=1}} and 19 September 1977.{{Cite news |date=19 September 1977 |title=Military Ships In Port |pages=9 |work=Baltimore Sun |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/371070727/?terms=%22white%20heath%22&match=1}} White Heath's new main engines were 6-cylinder Caterpillar D-353-E, which produced 330 horsepower each.
From 1948{{Cite web |title=White Heath, 1947 |url=https://www.history.uscg.mil/Browse-by-Topic/Assets/Article/2275189/white-heath-1947/ |access-date=2022-02-04 |website=United States Coast Guard |language=en-US}} through at least 1977 the ship was commanded by a warrant officer and had 20 enlisted sailors. By 1993 her complement had grown to 1 warrant officer and 23 enlisted personnel.{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ozNlfCb7yyoC&dq=133+WLM&pg=PA79 |title=Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1994: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, First Session |date=1993 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |isbn=978-0-16-040792-5 |language=en}}
U.S. Navy service
On 3 July 1944, YF-445 arrived at the Naval Frontier Base at Staten Island, New York.{{Cite web |title=COM 3 - War Diary, 7/1-31/44 |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/78618589?objectPage=45 |website=National Archives |page=37}} On 11 July 1944 YF-445 and sistership YF-447 left New York under tow by USS Abnaki. They reached Oran, Algeria on 29 July 1944.{{Cite web |title=USS ABNAKI - War Diary, 7/1-31/44 |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/78572743?objectPage=6 |website=National Archives}} On arrival, a crew was recruited and trained, and three 20mm cannons were installed.{{Cite book |last1=Carter |first1=Worrall Reed |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=663idAcdQV0C&q=YF-445 |title=Ships, Salvage, and Sinews of War |last2=Duvall |first2=Elmer Elsworth |year=1954 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=437}} She was commissioned on 9 August 1944.
YF-445 was assigned to the Alpha Attack Force under Rear Admiral Frank J. Lowry for Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France.{{Cite web |title=NAV COM WESTERN TASK FORCE - Preliminary Rep of the Amphibious Invasion of Southern France, 8/9/44 - 9/25/44 |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/134377939?objectPage=11 |website=National Archives |page=11}} In August 1944, she was part of the "Mothership" unit that was anchored 500 yards off Red Beach.{{Cite web |title=USS LST-74 - Rep of Ops, 8/12-21/44, Invasion of Southern France |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/78622122 |website=National Archives |page=1}} She had four 625-cubic foot refrigerators and a potable water distilling plant aboard to supply food and water to the ships supporting the invasion.{{Cite book |last=Tomblin |first=Barbara |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=icWc2u0cTh4C&dq=%22YF-445%22+%22operation+dragoon%22&pg=PA387 |title=With Utmost Spirit: Allied Naval Operations in the Mediterranean, 1942-1945 |date=2004-10-08 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=978-0-8131-7198-2 |pages=387 |language=en}} The ship earned the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal{{Cite book |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/n/navy-mc-awards-manual-rev1953/pt4-campaign-service-medals.html#sec2-17 |title=Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual, NAVPERS 15,790 (Rev.1953) |publisher=Department of the Navy |pages=138}} for this service.File:U.S. Navy Covered Lighter YF-445 in 1947.pngOn 16 April 1945, YF-445 was detached from 8th Fleet Amphibious Group{{Cite web |title=COMPHIBGR 10 - War Diary, ComPhibFor 8th Fleet, 4/1-14/45; and ComPhibGr 10, 4/15-30/45 |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/140062853?objectPage=3 |website=National Archives |page=3}} and reported for duty at Naval Operating Base Palermo, Sicily.{{Cite web |title=NOB PALERMO - War Diary, 4/1-30/45 |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/139988666?objectPage=2 |website=National Archives}} While her fighting days were over, the Navy found use for her as a freighter. On 31 August 1945 the ship departed Naples for Palermo with files and office equipment for Commander, U.S. Naval Forces, North African Waters (ComNavNAW).{{Cite web |title=COMNAVNAW - War Diary, 8/1-31/45 |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/77491654?objectPage=6 |website=National Archives |page=6}} On 8 October 1945 YF-445 reached Palermo from Naples with a cargo of provisions aboard. On 11 October she left for Naples and returned on 17 October with another load of office equipment. She left for Naples again on 18 October and returned on 22 October 1945 with provisions from USS Wakefield. {{Cite web |title=NOB, PALERMO - War Diary, 10/1-31/45 |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/140086319?objectPage=3 |website=National Archives}}
On 22 November 1945, YF-445, with her crew aboard, was taken in tow by USS Chain at Palermo for the long trip back to the United States.{{Cite web |title=USS CHAIN - War Diary, 11/1-30/45 |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/77602544?objectPage=2 |website=National Archives}} After a stop in Casablanca, the two vessels arrived in Bermuda on 22 December 1945. They left there five days later, on 27 December, for Norfolk, Virginia.{{Cite web |title=NOB, BERMUDA - War Diary, 12/1-31/45 |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/77607116?objectPage=28 |website=National Archives |page=23, 28}}{{Cite web |title=USS CHAIN - War History |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/77631380?objectPage=3 |website=National Archives |page=3}}
U.S. Coast Guard service
On 9 August 1947 White Heath was commissioned as a Coast Guard cutter. She was given the hull designation WAGL-545,{{Cite journal |date=September 1947 |title=YF Type Of Vessels Are Given New Designations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zLpIAQAAIAAJ&q=yf |journal=Coast Guard Bulletin |volume=3 |issue=27 |pages=403}} which classed her as an "auxiliary vessel, lighthouse tender." This designation was changed in 1966 to WLM-545 to reflect the service's new classification scheme which regarded White Heath as a "medium or coastal buoy tender." The ship was assigned to the 1st Coast Guard District and homeported in Boston, Massachusetts. She arrived at her station no later than October 1947.{{Cite news |date=24 October 1947 |title=Coast Guard Speeds 5 More Vessels to Evacuate Bar Harbor |pages=15 |work=Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/433514389/?terms=%22White%20heath%22%20%22Coast%20Guard%22&match=1}}
Her primary mission was maintaining buoys and other aids to navigation along the coasts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.{{Cite news |date=17 June 1955 |title=Tender Departs |pages=11 |work=Evening Express |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/851957862/?terms=%22coast%20Guard%22%20%22White%20Heath%22&match=1}} Secondary roles included various public safety missions, law enforcement, and light icebreaking. In her aids-to-navigation work she would haul buoys onto her deck, to clean and paint them, and service their lights. Mooring chains were inspected and replaced, if necessary. Finally, the concrete sinkers that held the buoys in place were inspected for cracks and other damage.{{Cite news |last=Boit |first=John H. |date=18 May 1996 |title=Where The Buoys Are |pages=9 |work=Patriot Ledger |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A13D0955A0C88E671%40GB3NEWS-16C68324D10709D4%402450222-16C61E4FC4DD8ED7%4013-16C61E4FC4DD8ED7%40?h=1&fname=&mname=&lname=&kwinc=%22White%20Heath%22&kwexc=&rgfromDate=1991&rgtoDate=1998&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&state%5B0%5D=maine&state%5B1%5D=massachusetts&processingtime=&addedFrom=&addedTo=&sid=fgurevmyyszrvsuhthgidvzbkpkywzgu_ip-10-166-46-185_1702514944049}} Winter ice would damage, sink, and move buoys off-station. White Heath worked through winter and spring to undo this damage.{{Cite news |last=Gordon |first=Herbert D. |date=23 January 1963 |title=Probers Try to Fix Blame for Oil Slick |pages=3 |work=Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/433847285/?terms=%22White%20heath%22%20%22Coast%20Guard%22&match=1}}
While the bulk of her time was devoted to maintaining her buoys and the ship,{{Cite book |last1=Walker |first1=R.T. |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADA183653.pdf |title=U.S. COAST GUARD BUOY TENDERS: HISTORICAL AND PROJECTED USAGE |last2=Pritchett |first2=C.W. |last3=Lincoln |first3=W.B. |publisher=U.S. Coast Guard |year=1987 |pages=C-33}} she did participate in a variety of other missions as described below.
= Public safety =
The tanker Ventura collided with the trawler Lynn in Boston Harbor on 28 November 1951. Lynn sank immediately with 17 crew aboard. White Heath was dispatched to search for survivors.{{Cite news |date=29 November 1951 |title=Some of Craft in Mercy Flotilla |pages=10 |work=Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/433528240/?terms=%22White%20heath%22%20%22Coast%20Guard%22&match=3}}
The 600-foot long Greek freighter Stamatios Gembiricos was anchored in Boston Harbor on 21 January 1963 when the wind increased to 35 miles per hour. Her anchor began to drag and the drifting vessel threatened Deer Island Light and other ships in the anchorage. Her captain radioed for assistance and White Heath was one of the five ships dispatched to tow the ship away from danger.{{Cite news |last=Downey |first=Tom |date=22 January 1963 |title=Ship Torn Adrift Saved |pages=6 |work=Record American |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A1386C09D6C6D2F8A%40GB3NEWS-142859CD425C4D6C%402438052-1424495F68EF43DB%405-1424495F68EF43DB%40?h=16&fname=&mname=&lname=&kwinc=%22White%20Heath%22&kwexc=&rgfromDate=1961&rgtoDate=1965&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&state%5B0%5D=maine&state%5B1%5D=massachusetts&processingtime=&addedFrom=&addedTo=&page=1&sid=beugkxdkufqetvzrsabzppdgxvssfixf_ip-10-166-46-146_1702513483659}}
In August 1967, the volunteer fire department of Cranberry Isles, Maine bought a new fire truck. Regrettably, there was no ferry large enough to deliver it. White Heath hoisted it onto her buoy deck on the mainland, and hoisted it off again on its new island home.{{Cite news |date=14 August 1967 |title=Getting There Is Half The Fun |pages=16 |work=Bangor Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/664243519/?terms=%22White%20heath%22%20%22Coast%20Guard%22&match=2}}
= Salvage =
White Heath's combination of shallow draft and a 10-ton crane made her the Coast Guard's choice for a number of salvage efforts over the course of her career.File:USCGC White Heath recovering a crashed airliner from Boston Harbor.jpgOn 18 May 1957 a Coast Guard Gruman Albatross crashed during an Armed Forces Day demonstration in Salem Harbor. White Heath recovered the wreck from the bottom of the bay.{{Cite news |date=19 May 1957 |title=2 Salem Fliers Die |pages=1 |work=Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/433359899/}}
Eastern Air Lines Flight 375, a four-engine Lockheed Electra, crashed on take-off at Boston Logan Airport on 4 October 1960. White Heath recovered major portions of the wreckage.{{Cite news |date=5 October 1960 |title=Plane Debris Probed For Additional Dead |pages=1 |work=Evening Express |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/852132423/?terms=%22coast%20Guard%22%20%22White%20Heath%22&match=1}}
The ship raised a sunken 30-foot Coast Guard crash boat in Salem Harbor in September 1968 after it was involved in several accidents.{{Cite news |date=26 September 1968 |title=Sinking Of Crashboat Brings Investigation |pages=2 |work=Daily Item |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/947633703/?terms=%22White%20heath%22%20%22Coast%20Guard%22&match=1}}
White Heath recovered the wreck of a Provincetown-Boston Airlines Cessna 402 that crashed en route to Boston Logan Airport in July 1984.{{Cite news |date=2 July 1984 |title=Feds probe fatal commuter plane crash |pages=22 |work=North Adams Transcript |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/545031801/?terms=%22coast%20Guard%22%20%22White%20Heath%22&match=1}}
= Public outreach =
The Coast Guard offered tours aboard White Heath on several occasions. These included:
- Armed Forces Day in Boston in May 1960,{{Cite news |date=20 May 1960 |title=Armed Forces Day Show |pages=19 |work=Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/433010668/?terms=%22coast%20Guard%22%20%22White%20Heath%22&match=1}} and 1966.{{Cite news |date=21 May 1966 |title=Its All Systems Go For Military Displays |pages=9 |work=Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/433682299/?terms=%22coast%20Guard%22%20%22White%20Heath%22&match=1}}
- Boston Harborfest '82{{Cite news |last=Morganroth |first=Lynda |date=1 July 1982 |title=A Razzle-Dazzle Weekend For The Harbor |pages=72 |work=Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/437229483/?terms=%22coast%20Guard%22%20%22White%20Heath%22&match=4}} and '84{{Cite news |date=28 June 1984 |title=Boston's Schedule Of Fourth of July Events |pages=98 |work=Boston Globe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/437412882/?terms=%22coast%20Guard%22%20%22White%20Heath%22&match=1}} over the 4th of July weekend
= Honors and awards =
During her coast guard service, White Heath earned two Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendations, one in 1986 and one in 1990.{{Cite book |url=https://media.defense.gov/2017/Mar/29/2001723556/-1/-1/0/CIM_1650_25E.PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904105203/https://media.defense.gov/2017/Mar/29/2001723556/-1/-1/0/CIM_1650_25E.PDF |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 September 2017 |title=Coast Guard Military Medals and Awards Manual |publisher=United States Coast Guard |year=2016 |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=208}}
= Decommissioning and transfer =
White Heath was decommissioned on 31 March 1998.{{Cite news |date=26 October 1998 |title=1998 Review: Ships that came, ships that went |pages=14 |work=Navy Times |url=https://www.genealogybank.com/doc/newspapers/image/v2%3A1590F5C3763F48A3%40GB3NEWS-1781FBEE71EC702A%402451113-178172E47889B750%4013-178172E47889B750%40?h=3&fname=&mname=&lname=&rgfromDate=1997&rgtoDate=1998&formDate=&formDateFlex=exact&dateType=range&kwinc=%22White%20heath%22&kwexc=&sid=xxlqonvschmlqfjskixfeemvkkxwyynn_ip-10-166-46-71_1702516123183}} Under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, surplus military equipment could be transferred to other countries through the Excess Defense Articles program to support U.S. foreign policy objectives. White Heath was transferred to the Tunisian Navy through this program on 10 June 1998.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FQkXAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Excess+defense+articles%22+%22coast+guard%22+argentina&pg=PA63 |title=International Narcotics Control Strategy Report |date=March 1999 |publisher=United States Department of State |pages=63}}{{Cite journal |last=Silverstone |first=Paul H. |date=1999 |title=Naval Intelligence |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44889805 |journal=Warship International |volume=36 |issue=3 |pages=292–293 |jstor=44889805 |issn=0043-0374}}
Tunisian Navy service
White Heath was renamed Turgueness and given the pennant number A-805. She and the former USCGC White Lupine are now the two-ship Tabarka-class of the Tunisian Navy.
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:White Heath (WLM-545)}}
Category:White-class coastal buoy tenders
Category:Ships built in Erie, Pennsylvania
Category:World War II auxiliary ships of the United States
Category:Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the United States Coast Guard
Category:Ships transferred from the United States Coast Guard to other navies