The USCGC Acacia (WAGL-200) was a Speedwell-class buoy tender originally constructed for the U.S. Army as a mine planter shortly after World War I. Laid down around October 1, 1918, by the Fabricated Shipbuilding Corporation and Coddington Engineering Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she was launched on September 15, 1919, and delivered by May 1920. Initially named USAMP General John P. Story, she was built for the Army's Mine Planter Service and was intended to serve in the Coast Defenses of Pensacola, Florida, though she never saw service there. She was transferred several times within the Army's coastal defense network before being decommissioned in November 1921. Between 1921 and 1927, Acacia was transferred to the U.S. Lighthouse Service, where she was redesignated as a Speedwell-class buoy tender. Modifications included the addition of a turtleback forecastle, high-mounted anchors, a steel main deck forward, new windows in the pilothouse, and a refrigerating plant. These ships were designed to serve dual purposes—mine planting in wartime and lighthouse tending during peacetime—but this proved impractical, and they were dedicated solely to tending aids to navigation. Acacia was commissioned into Coast Guard service from 1923 to 1927, operating primarily in Puerto Rico and adjacent islands, including the Virgin Islands, Guantánamo Bay, and Cuba. As a buoy tender, Acacia maintained approximately 255 aids to navigation, including buoys, beacons, and radio beacons across the Panama Canal area and the Caribbean. She also performed construction and repair work on navigational aids and conducted rescue operations, notably rescuing the crew of the Brazilian training ship Almirante Saldanha in 1938—an event that garnered international attention. The vessel supported various Coast Guard operations, including towing a sabotaged Italian tanker in 1939. Tragically, Acacia was sunk on March 15, 1942, by the German U-161 while en route from Curaçao to Antigua during World War II. The U-boat fired 230 rounds at the unarmed tender, causing her to catch fire and be abandoned by her crew before sinking approximately 80 miles southwest of Saint Kitts and Nevis. She was the only U.S. buoy tender lost to enemy action during the war, marking a significant and somber event in maritime history.

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