The Harry M.. Archer MD

[firebuffkevin]

The Harry M. Archer MD at its berth in the East River, by the Williamsburg Bridge

Fire tender #6 + Williamsburg Bridge, East River Park, New York, NY (1967)

Fire tender #6 + Williamsburg Bridge, East River Park, New York, NY (1967) by The Douglas Campbell Show, on Flickr


ENGINE 66 MANHATTAN (MARINE)

ORG. Foot of Grand St. East River (Jun. 4, 1898)
NQTRS. Foot of Grand St. East River (Apr. 25, 1932)
NQTRS. Foot of Grand St. East River (Oct. 16, 1941)
DISB. (May 1, 1955)


MARINE 6 MANHATTAN

ORG. Foot of Grand St. East River  FQ E-66 (Jun. 1, 1959)

MARINE 6 BROOKLYN

NQTRS. Bldg. 292, Brooklyn Navy Yard At Marine Div. (Dec. 9, 1992)

MARINE 6 (2) BROOKLYN

ORG. Bldg. 292, Brooklyn Navy Yard At M-6 (Sep. 23, 1993)
DISB. (Apr. 14, 1994)

 

[Atlas]

Remember that there were two boats on the Bklyn side of the East River near Marine 6 - Marine 7 was on the South side of the Brooklyn Bridge & the unit was at the foot of Noble St, in the Greenpoint section. The former Marine 7, as an engine co, for several years was station at the foot of Beekman St in Lower Manhattan. 

 

[fdhistorian]

Fireboat Harry M Archer MD was replaced at Marine 6 by Fireboat Governor Alfred E Smith between 1985 and mid 1987.
Can anyone help narrow down the date?

 

[FFM1938]

By 1986 both the Archer and Wagner were stationed at Pier A with Marine 1 and Smoke II. Presumably at this point the two were primarily used as reserve units, below is a pic from that year taken from the WTC showing Pier A with both of them. They were both moved to the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1992 when FDNY left Pier A and officially retired when the Harvey took over reserve duties following the closure of Marine 2 in 1995.

Both followed their sistership H Sylvia A.H.G. Wilks to New Orleans, where as far as I know all three are still in regular service with Crescent Towing and Salvage as the Ervin Cooper (Wilks), Georgia (Wagner) and Miriam Cooper (Archer)

 

[raybrag]

Current Crescent Towing and Salvage roster for New Orleans shows Ervin Cooper, but says it was built in 1990. Also shows Miriam Walmsley Cooper, built 1995. It also shows Georgia as being based in Savannah, built 1995. The length, and beam for both "Coopers" and the Georgia matches the Archer, Wagner and the Smith, though, but the draft is shown as 11 feet rather than the 9 feet the FDNY boats had (more weight now?). Maybe Crescent's "built" dates refer to rehabs they did.

 

[DaveReinstein]

By 1986 both the Archer and Wagner were stationed at Pier A with Marine 1 and Smoke II. Presumably at this point the two were primarily used as reserve units, below is a pic from that year taken from the WTC showing Pier A with both of them. They were both moved to the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1992 when FDNY left Pier A and officially retired when the Harvey took over reserve duties following the closure of Marine 2 in 1995.

Both followed their sistership H Sylvia A.H.G. Wilks to New Orleans, where as far as I know all three are still in regular service with Crescent Towing and Salvage as the Ervin Cooper (Wilks), Georgia (Wagner) and Miriam Cooper (Archer)

View attachment 31230

Is this the “firehouse” that burned down? I remember reading something about it

 

[Lebby]

Is this the “firehouse” that burned down? I remember reading something about it

No Pier A is still there, was a worthwhile restaurant until it was closed during the pandemic.

 

[FFM1938]

Current Crescent Towing and Salvage roster for New Orleans shows Ervin Cooper, but says it was built in 1990. Also shows Miriam Walmsley Cooper, built 1995. It also shows Georgia as being based in Savannah, built 1995. The length, and beam for both "Coopers" and the Georgia matches the Archer, Wagner and the Smith, though, but the draft is shown as 11 feet rather than the 9 feet the FDNY boats had (more weight now?). Maybe Crescent's "built" dates refer to rehabs they did.

Definitely the rehab dates, if you compare the hull and house on these two pics you can still see the original lines of the fireboat. Crescent likely added ballast to the boats to outfit them for towing and ship assist work, resulting in the deeper draft, and the shifted stack also hints that they have probably been repowered.





The second image is flipped from the original here: http://tugboatinformation.com/tug.cfm?id=5718

 

[raybrag]

Definitely the rehab dates, if you compare the hull and house on these two pics you can still see the original lines of the fireboat. Crescent likely added ballast to the boats to outfit them for towing and ship assist work, resulting in the deeper draft, and the shifted stack also hints that they have probably been repowered.

View attachment 31255

View attachment 31254

The second image is flipped from the original here: http://tugboatinformation.com/tug.cfm?id=5718

Definitely sits lower in the water than she did as a fireboat.

 

[fdhistorian]

By 1986 both the Archer and Wagner were stationed at Pier A with Marine 1 and Smoke II. Presumably at this point the two were primarily used as reserve units, below is a pic from that year taken from the WTC showing Pier A with both of them. They were both moved to the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1992 when FDNY left Pier A and officially retired when the Harvey took over reserve duties following the closure of Marine 2 in 1995.

Both followed their sistership H Sylvia A.H.G. Wilks to New Orleans, where as far as I know all three are still in regular service with Crescent Towing and Salvage as the Ervin Cooper (Wilks), Georgia (Wagner) and Miriam Cooper (Archer)

View attachment 31230

Thanks for nailing that down - great picture!
Stretch question - Who covered Harvey during their 79-81 overhaul? (Wagner? Smith? Smith was a spare w/Harvey, but Wagner was a spare at that time too.

 

[FFM1938]

Thanks for nailing that down - great picture!
Stretch question - Who covered Harvey during their 79-81 overhaul? (Wagner? Smith? Smith was a spare w/Harvey, but Wagner was a spare at that time too.

No idea but since they were near duplicates of each other I imagine they were used interchangeably, or more likely given the budget situation at the end of the 70s, whichever one had more working parts.

 

[68jk09]

Pier A used to be a busy place having the Berth of Marine*1 as well as the Tender Smoke .....I also seem to remember a Spare Boat ?... & possibly the Marine Shops back then ?...... also housed there was the UFA Supply Store (before the Quartermaster was started) .....& the CANS Unit (Community
& News Service) & "The Farm " (Counseling Unit)....... the Pier was also used as an early FDNY Dive Drill area complete with everything floating in the water that could be found in NYC waters (as well as your local sewer).