MV Anton Dohrn
![]() Carnegie Institution vessel Anton Dohrn on 4 July 1911 shortly after delivery in June
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History | |
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Name | Anton Dorhn |
Namesake | German biologist Anton Dohrn (1840–1909) |
Owner |
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Operator |
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Builder | Miami, Florida |
Cost | $25,000 |
Completed | 1911 |
Acquired | June 1911 |
Commissioned | (USN) 5 October 1917 |
Decommissioned | (USN) 2 January 1919 |
Maiden voyage | 3 June 1911 |
Out of service | after 1947 |
Refit | 1940 |
Fate | New Bedford—Cuttyhunk Island mail boat after April 1947 |
General characteristics | |
Type |
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Tonnage | 45 GRT |
Length | |
Beam | |
Draft | |
Depth | 7 ft (2.1 m)[3] |
Speed | |
Range |
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Endurance | 87.5 hours (10 knots), 169 hours (8 knots)[1] |
Complement | Navy: 9[4] |
Armament |
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Anton Dohrn
Carnegie Institution vessel
Construction and specifications
Anton Dohrn was built for the Carnegie Institution's Department of Marine Biology Laboratory in 1911 by the Miami Yacht & Machine Company at
Construction used two local woods,
General specifications were length overall 70 feet (21.3 m), at water line 66 feet (20.1 m) with a beam of 16 feet (4.9 m) and draft of 5 feet (1.5 m) with two water tight bulkheads on each side of the midships engine compartment.[2][8] Two independent Eddystone Globe gasoline engines of fifty horsepower each drove two bronze propellers with a separate dredging engine for deep dredging of samples.[2][8] The engines and all other machinery were installed by the vessel's chief engineer, John Mills.[2] Average speed was 10 knots (12 mph; 19 km/h) for a running time of 87.5 hours and range of 875 nautical miles (1,007 mi; 1,620 km) with an economical speed of 8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h) for a running time of 169 hours and 1,350 nautical miles (1,550 mi; 2,500 km) range.[1] She was 45 GRT, 30 net tons.[1] The scientific tools included dredging equipment capable of operating to 1,200 fathoms (7,200 feet (2,200 m)), diving and camera equipment, current meters and sounding machines.[9]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Motorboat_Anton_Dohrn.jpg/300px-Motorboat_Anton_Dohrn.jpg)
Anton Dohrn was licensed at Key West on 31 May 1911 with the United States official number 208685 and signal letters LBVW with the laboratory's director, Alfred G. Mayer as master.[1] A silver table service was presented the vessel by Miami Yacht & Machine Company and Professor Richard Dohrn, son of the vessel's namesake and current director of the Naples laboratory, presented a bronze bas-relief of his father that was mounted on the cabin wall.[10]
Operations
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/The_%22Anton_Dohrn%22_at_Tortugas%2C_Florida%2C_July_4%2C_1911%2C_bow_view.png/300px-The_%22Anton_Dohrn%22_at_Tortugas%2C_Florida%2C_July_4%2C_1911%2C_bow_view.png)
On the afternoon of 3 June 1911 Anton Dohrn made a trial run from the builder's yard to the end of the ship channel near
In its logistics role Anton Dohrn had to make a weekly trip from Tortugas to Key West with director Mayer noting those trips severely restricted availability for scientific use and, with conditions at Tortugas changing, led to his recommending in 1915 a relocation of the station.[18] Mayer scouted Jamaica and in May 1915 piloted Anton Dohrn with six biologist aboard to Puerto Rico to investigate both scientifically and as a new site for the station.[19] The war in Europe and his conviction the United States entry was a strong possibility led Mayer, an "ardent patriot," to increasingly dislike his German roots (leading eventually to a change in name to Mayor) to propose his command of Anton Dohrn as a naval patrol vessel in that event.[20]
On 31 July 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired Anton Dohrn under a lease agreement from the Carnegie Institution for use as a
Return to ocean science
Anton Dohrn returned to her pre war routine of laboratory work at
In June 1940 Anton Dohrn was given to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for local scientific work.[23] The vessel was completely reconditioned and re-engined by Woods Hole at a cost $18,000.[24][25] The vessel spent some 98 days at sea in 1940 and was described as "able and economical" by Columbus Iselin, supervisor of the design and construction of RV Atlantis and, in 1940, director of the institution.[25][26] Biologist Gordon Riley on the other hand described the vessel "as funny a little ship as I have ever seen" and, though very strongly built, having "all the sea-keeping qualities of an old fashioned, round bottomed bathtub."[25]
The laboratory, taken over and devoted entirely to classified Navy work, put Anton Dohrn into service of those projects "concerning which nothing at the present time may be written."
Between 1940 and the vessel's sale in April 1947 at least forty research cruises were made between the Gulf of Maine and the New Jersey coast.[23] Anton Dohrn was sold for use as a mail boat between New Bedford and Cuttyhunk Island.[23]
See also
- Carnegie (yacht), another specialized Carnegie Institution vessel
Footnotes
- ^ The name has been used for a number of vessels involved in ocean science. The Venice Marine Biological Station of the University of Southern California had a launch of the name active in California coastal work. The German Fisheries Research Vessel Anton Dohrn (62.3 metres (204.4 ft)) was active in the last half of the 20th century with many scientific citations. Anton Dohrn Seamount was named for FRV Anton Dohrn.
References
- ^ a b c d e Mayer 1911, p. 121.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Mayer 1911, p. 120.
- ^ a b c d e Lloyd's Register of American Yachts 1917.
- ^ Mayer 1911, p. 10.
- ^ Christman: Swietenia mahogani.
- ^ a b c Carnegie Institution of Washington 1911, p. 22.
- ^ a b The Miami News: 29 May 1926.
- ^ Mayer 1911, p. 127.
- ^ The Weekly Miami Metropolis: 9 June 1911.
- ^ a b Mayer 1911, p. 122.
- ^ Carnegie Institution of Washington 1911, pp. 20, 22.
- ^ The Nautilus, December 1911.
- ^ The Nautilus, August 1912.
- ^ Young 1922, pp. 82–83.
- ^ Mayer 1911, pp. 22, 122.
- ^ Stephens & Calder 2006, p. 111.
- ^ Stephens & Calder 2006, p. 115.
- ^ Stephens & Calder 2006, pp. 120–121.
- ^ South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, p. 8.
- ^ a b c Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: Anton Dohrn.
- ^ a b Iselin 1942, p. 15.
- ^ a b c Cullen 2005, p. 55.
- ^ McCartney WHOI.
- ^ Stetson: Woods Hole in World War II, pp. 31–32.
- ^ Stetson: Woods Hole in World War II, p. 32.
- ^ a b Stetson: Woods Hole in World War II, p. 34.
Bibliography
- Carnegie Institution of Washington (1911). The Carnegie Institution of Washington, Founded by Andrew Carnegie. Washington: The Carnegie Institution. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- Christman, Steve (21 April 2004). "Swietenia mahogani". Floridata Plant Encyclopedia. Floridata.com LLC. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- Cullen, Vicky (2005). Down to the Sea for Science: 75 Years of Ocean Research, Education, and Exploration at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Woods Hole, Mass.: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. LCCN 2008530726. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
- Inweld Corporation. "Inweld Naval Bronze" (PDF). Inweld Corporation. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- Iselin, Columbus. O.D. II (1942). "Reports on Physical Oceanography". Annual Report of the Director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College (1941–1942). Cambridge: Museum of Comparative Zoology. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- Lloyd's Register of Shipping (1917). Lloyd's Register of American Yachts. New York: Lloyd's Register of Shipping. p. 46. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- Mayer, Alfred G. (1911). "Department of Marine Biology". Carnegie Institution of Washington Year Book No. 10. 10. Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington: 120–127. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- McCartney, Michael. "Columbus O'Donnell Iselin". Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
- "Carnegie Ship Begins Cruise to Lower Keys". The Miami News. 29 May 1926. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- Naval History and Heritage Command (18 June 2015). "Anton Dohrn". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- NavSource. "Anton Dohrn (SP 1086)". Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive. NavSource Online. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- Clapp, George H.; Johnson, C. W. (1912). "The Land Shells of Garden Key, Dry Tortugas, Fla". The Nautilus. 25 (December 1911): 92. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- "Notes". The Nautilus. 25 (August 1912): 48. 1912. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. "4.4 Heritage of Past Research" (PDF). Briefing Books. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
- Stephens, Lester D.; Calder, Dale R. (2006). Seafaring Scientist: Alfred Goldsborough Mayor, Pioneer in Marine Biology. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press. LCCN 2006010192. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
- Stetson, Judith G. "Woods Hole in World War II" (PDF). Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
- "Anton Dohrn Off on Hunting Trip for Ocean Curios". The Weekly Miami Metropolis. 9 June 1911. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. "Anton Dohrn, 1940–1947". History of WHOI Ships. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- Young, Robert Thompson (1922). Biology in America. Boston: Richard G. Badger. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
External links
- Carnegie Institution of Washington, Department of Marine Biology (1917) (photo of Anton Dohrn & description of laboratory's work)
- Traumschiff der Gelehrten (a "dreamboat" of the scholars) (Germany's ''Anton Dohrn with inset tribute and photo of the 1911 U.S. vessel)