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USCGC Cowslip

sea going buoy tender

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionDec 13, 2025
Entity authorityQ7866048 ↗
Source-derived summary

USCGC Cowslip (WLB-277) is a 180-foot (55 m) sea going buoy tender (WLB). A Cactus-class vessel, she was built by Marine Ironworks and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth, Minnesota. Cowslip's preliminary design was completed by the United States Lighthouse Service and the final design was produced by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth. On 16 September 1941 the keel was laid. She was launched on 11 April 1942 and commissioned on 17 October 1942. The original cost for the hull and machinery was $918,873.

Cowslip is one of 39 original 180-foot (55 m) seagoing buoy tenders built between 1942–1944. All but one of the original tenders, the USCGC Ironwood (WLB-297), were built in Duluth.

After commissioning, Cowslip was assigned to Boston, Massachusetts, where she served until 1944. From 1944 until 1973, it was assigned to Portland, Maine.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “USCGC Cowslip” as sea going buoy tender. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around USCGC, Cowslip and going.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1941, 1942, 1944, 1973—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with USCGC, Cowslip and going providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “USCGC Cowslip”, the useful work is to connect “sea going buoy tender” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 13, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7866048. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1941, 1942, 1944 and 1973.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “USCGC Cowslip”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow USCGC Cowslip primary sources, USCGC Cowslip archive and USCGC research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “USCGC Cowslip”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “USCGC Cowslip” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.