USC&GS Gilbert was a launch

Launch (boat)

A launch in contemporary usage refers to a large motorboat. The name originally referred to the largest boat carried by a warship. The etymology of the word is given as Portuguese lancha "barge", from Malay lancha, lancharan, "boat," from lanchar "velocity without effort," "action of gliding...

 that served as a survey ship in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1930 to 1962.

Gilbert was built by Latham D. Smith at Sturgeon Bay

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin

Sturgeon Bay is a city in and the county seat of Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 9,437 at the 2000 census. It is located at the natural end of Sturgeon Bay, although the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal was built across the remainder of the Door Peninsula.-Geography:Sturgeon Bay is...

, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, in 1929. She entered Coast and Geodetic Survey service in 1930 and spent her career on the United States East Coast.

On 23 August 1933, Gilbert was with the Coast and Geodetic Survey survey ships USC&GS Oceanographer (OSS-26)

USC&GS Oceanographer (OSS-26)

The first USC&GS Oceanographer was a survey ship that served in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1930 to 1942.-Construction and early career, 1899-1930:...

 and USC&GS Lydonia (CS 302)

USC&GS Lydonia (CS 302)

USC&GS Lydonia was a survey ship that served in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in from 1919 to 1947.Lydonia was built in 1912 by Pusey and Jones at Wilmington, Delaware, as a private yacht for William A. Lydon...

 at Norfolk

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, when the 1933 Chesapeake–Potomac hurricane struck. The three ships handled considerable radio traffic for the Norfolk area, including U.S. Navy traffic, during the storm.

Gilbert was retired from Coast and Geodetic Survey service in 1962.