USS Active (1888)

Type

Tugboat

Period

19th Century

Nation

United States

Overview: USS Active was a steel-hulled harbor tug built in 1888 by Union Iron Works in San Francisco, notable as the first steel tug constructed on the U.S. West Coast. She served the U.S. Navy on and off across six decades under three names (Active, Lively, and YT-323), making her an interesting case study in a working vessel's long, unglamorous naval career. Specifications: The tug displaced 296 long tons, measured 107 ft (33 m) overall with a 100 ft length between perpendiculars, a 22 ft 6 in beam, and a 10 ft draft. She was powered by a compound steam engine giving about 12 knots, carried a complement of 21, and when armed for naval service mounted two 37mm revolving cannon and a Gatling gun. Service History: Acquired by the Navy in 1898 from John D. Spreckels Brothers Co. for the Spanish-American War, she was commissioned at Mare Island and spent most of her early career as a harbor tug at Bremerton and Mare Island Navy Yards. She played a notable firefighting role after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and in 1926 she sank at her moorings at Mare Island; raised but deemed unfit, she was decommissioned and later sold to Puget Sound Tug and Barge Co. Reacquired by the Navy in 1942 as YT-323 for towing duties at Kodiak, Alaska, she was returned to her commercial owner in 1945 and finally scrapped in 1963. Notable Facts: As the first steel tug built on the West Coast, only her captain's stateroom and pilothouse were finished in non-steel materials (teak with cherry and ash paneling), a nice interior detail for modelers. Her multiple renamings (Active to Lively and back to Active) and dual Navy service periods (Spanish-American War era and WWII) give her an unusually layered service history for a small auxiliary vessel.