The USCGC Salvia (WLB-400) was an Iris-class buoy tender built for the United States Coast Guard, serving from 1944 until 1991. Constructed by the Zenith Dredge Corporation in Duluth, Minnesota, she was launched on September 19, 1943, and commissioned on February 19, 1944. The vessel measured 180 feet (55 meters) in length with a beam of 37 feet (11 meters). Her draft was initially 12 feet (3.7 meters), later increased to 14 feet 7 inches (4.45 meters) in 1966. She displaced approximately 935 long tons at commissioning, with her displacement rising to 1,026 long tons (1,042 metric tons) after modifications in 1966. Salvia was powered by a single electric motor connected to two Westinghouse generators driven by CooperBessemer GND-8 diesel engines, giving her a maximum sustained speed of around 13 knots, though this decreased to approximately 11.9 knots by 1966. She had a complement of six officers and 74 crew members initially, later reduced to a smaller crew. Her armament in 1945 included a 3"/50 caliber gun, two 20 mm/80 guns, Mousetraps, depth charge tracks, and Y-guns, though these were removed by 1966. Primarily assigned to aid-to-navigation (ATON) and icebreaking duties, Salvia operated in the Great Lakes and along the U.S. Gulf Coast. During her service, she was stationed in Portsmouth, Virginia, initially, and later based in Mobile, Alabama. Notable service events include assisting in salvage operations, such as searching for survivors from the USCGC White Alder in 1968. She also served as a training vessel for the U.S. Navy at JEB Little Creek, supporting diver salvage training. Decommissioned on October 4, 1991, Salvia was eventually sold for scrap and memorial purposes. In 2020, she was renamed Brian Davis and scuttled as an artificial reef off Topsail Beach, North Carolina, as part of project AR-368. Her maritime service highlights her role in maintaining navigation aids, icebreaking operations, and supporting salvage training over nearly five decades of Coast Guard operations.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.