USS Idaho (SP-545)

Last updated
USS Idaho SP-545.jpg
USS Idaho (SP-545) photographed in the Delaware River area, circa 1917-18.
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Idaho
Namesake Idaho, the 43d State of the Union, admitted in 1890
OwnerW. W. Vensel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
BuilderStearns & McKay, Marblehead, Massachusetts
Laid downdate unknown
Launcheddate unknown
Completed1907
AcquiredJune 1917
Commissioned12 July 1917 at Cape May, New Jersey
Decommissionedcirca 1919
Homeport
FateReturned to her owner 30 November 1918
General characteristics
Type Motorboat
Tonnage23 tons
Length60 ft (18 m)
Beam12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Draft4 ft (1.2 m)
Propulsion internal combustion engine
Speed11 knots
Complementnot known
Armamentone AA machine gun

USS Idaho (SP-545) was an existing 60-foot-long motorboat purchased by the U.S. Navy during World War I. She was outfitted as an armed patrol craft and assigned to the Fourth Naval District based at League Island Navy Yard, near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her patrol duties stretched from Philadelphia on the Delaware River to Cape May, New Jersey, on the Delaware Bay. Post-war she was returned to her owner.

Contents

Commissioned at Cape May, N.J.

The third ship to be so named by the U.S. Navy, Idaho (SP-545), a motor boat, was built in 1907 by Stearns & McKay, Marblehead, Massachusetts; acquired from her owner, W. W. Vensel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in June 1917; and commissioned at Cape May, New Jersey, 12 July 1917.

World War I service

USS Idaho in the Delaware River. USS Idaho sp-545 harbor view.jpg
USS Idaho in the Delaware River.

Idaho was attached to the 4th Naval District which was headquartered at League Island Navy Yard on the Delaware River near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

She was assigned to patrol and general duties, serving on harbor entrance patrol, and submarine net patrol in the Cape May and Philadelphia areas.

Post-war disposition

She was out of commission during the winter of 1917-18, and finally returned to her owner 30 November 1918.

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References