Gypsy (SP-55) was the planned designation for a motorboat the United States Navy acquired in 1917 for use as a patrol vessel but which was destroyed by a fire before she could be commissioned.
USS Boy Scout (SP-53), a wooden-hulled motorboat that served as a section patrol craft, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Boy Scouts of America and by extension for Scouting throughout the world. Her keel was laid down in 1916 at Lynn, Massachusetts, by Britt Brothers. She was acquired by the United States Navy from Albert Geiger, Jr., of Brookline, Massachusetts, and classified as a section patrol (SP) craft. Initially assigned to First Naval District New England, Boy Scout was given the hull classification symbol SP-53 and was shipped overseas for "aviation service" perhaps, in view of her speed, for use as a crash boat at a naval air station. However, records of her operations and ultimate fate have not survived. The edition of Ship's Data, U.S. Naval Vessels of 1 July 1920 described Boy Scout as "overseas" but did not state where, only adding the curious notation that she was "not definitely accounted for, and in the absence of further reports will not be listed hereafter."
The first USS Mauna Loa (SP-28) was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1918.
USS Halcyon II (SP-582) was a yacht acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War I. She was outfitted as an armed patrol craft and stationed in Boston harbor in Massachusetts. She spent much of the war patrolling the Massachusetts waterways for German submarines and, in 1919, was decommissioned after being damaged in a collision.
USS Inca (SP-1212) was a 62-foot-long motorboat leased by the U.S. Navy during World War I. She was outfitted as a patrol craft, but was additionally assigned other duties, such as rescue craft, seaplane tender, and dispatch boat. She served in the Boston, Massachusetts, and Hampton Roads, Virginia, waterways until war’s end when she was returned to her owner.
USS Margaret O (SP-614) was a civilian motorboat that temporarily served in the U.S. Navy during World War I. She was outfitted by the Navy as a patrol craft and patrolled on the U.S. East Coast. Post-war she was returned to her owner.
USS Shrewsbury (SP-70) was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.
The second USS Cossack (SP-695) was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.
USS Lu-O-La (SP-520) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
USS Lomado (SP-636) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
USS Hupa (SP-650) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
USS Katie (SP-660) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
USS Lexington II (SP-705), later USS SP-705, was an American patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
The first USS Rush (SP-712) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission during 1917.
The second USS Calumet (SP-723) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
USS Green Dragon (SP-742) was a United States Navy patrol vessel commissioned in 1917 that served during World War I.
USS Sea Otter (SP-781) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
The second USS Wissahickon (SP-852), which also served as USS SP-852, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
The third USS Pilgrim (SP-1204) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
USS Liberty III (SP-1229), sometimes written Liberty # 3, and also referred to during her naval career as Liberty and as Pilot Boat Liberty, No. 3, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919. The Liberty, was a pilot boat from 1896-1917. She was a replacement for the pilot boat D. J. Lawlor. After World War I, the Liberty returned to pilot service until 1934 when she was purchased as a yacht.
United States