 Alpha, seen here underway sometime before World War I, was USS Alpha (SP-586) from 1917 to 1919. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | USS Alpha (SP-586) |
| Namesake: | the Greek letter Alpha [1] |
| Builder: | |
| Launched: | 1911 |
| Acquired: | 19 May 1917 |
| Commissioned: | 19 May 1917 |
| Decommissioned: | on or before 17 May 1919 |
| Struck: | 17 May 1919 |
| Fate: | Sold, 28 August 1919; ultimate fate unknown |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 10 tons, net |
| Length: | 56 ft (17 m) |
| Beam: | 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) [1] |
| Draft: | 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m), aft [1] |
| Speed: | 11.3 mph (18.2 km/h) [1] |
| Complement: | 7 [1] |
| Armament: |
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USS Alpha (SP-586) was a motor yacht that served as a patrol boat in the United States Navy during World War I
A patrol boat is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence duties. There have been many designs for patrol boats. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, police force or customs and may be intended for marine or estuarine or river environments. They are commonly found engaged in various border protection roles, including anti-smuggling, anti-piracy, fisheries patrols, and immigration law enforcement. They are also often called upon to participate in rescue operations. Vessels of this type include the original yacht, a light, fast-sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into shallow waters.
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most capable navy in the world and it has been estimated that in terms of tonnage of its active battle fleet alone, it is larger than the next 13 navies combined, which includes 11 U.S. allies or partner nations. with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, and two new carriers under construction. With 319,421 personnel on active duty and 99,616 in the Ready Reserve, the Navy is the third largest of the service branches. It has 282 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of March 2018, making it the second largest and second most powerful air force in the world.
World War I, also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. Contemporaneously described as "the war to end all wars", it led to the mobilisation of more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making it one of the largest wars in history. It is also one of the deadliest conflicts in history, with an estimated nine million combatants and seven million civilian deaths as a direct result of the war, while resulting genocides and the 1918 influenza pandemic caused another 50 to 100 million deaths worldwide.
