 USS Tarantula | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Tarantula |
| Builder | George Lawley and Son |
| Launched | 1912 |
| Acquired | 25 April 1917 |
| Fate | Sunk after collision, 28 October 1918 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Patrol boat |
| Displacement | 159.97 long tons (162.54 t) |
| Length | 128 ft 9 in (39.24 m) |
| Beam | 19 ft 3 in (5.87 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
| Speed | 14 kn (16 mph; 26 km/h) |
| Armament |
|
USS Tarantula (SP-124) was a patrol boat in the United States Navy. She was named after the tarantula.
Tarantula was built as a motor yacht in 1912 at Neponset, Massachusetts, by George Lawley and Son Corp. She was acquired by the U.S. Navy on 25 April 1917 from W. K. Vanderbilt of New York City. Assigned to section patrol in the 3rd Naval District during World War I, Tarantula operated along the coastal waters of Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey until October 1918.
On 28 October 1918, Tarantula sank about 8 mi (13 km) southwest of the Fire Island light vessel after colliding with the Royal Holland Lloyd Line steamship SS Frisia. Her name was subsequently struck from the Naval Vessel Register.
Tarantula′s owner subsequently was paid $75,000 to cover her value.
USS Absegami (SP-371) was a motorboat acquired on a free lease by the United States Navy during World War I. She was outfitted as an armed patrol craft and assigned to patrol the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Cape May, New Jersey on the Delaware Bay. When the Navy found her excess to their needs, she was returned to her former owner.
An armed yacht was a yacht that was armed with weapons and was typically in the service of a navy. The word "yacht" was originally applied to small, fast and agile naval vessels suited to piracy and to employment by navies and coast guards against smugglers and pirates. Vessels of this type were adapted to racing by wealthy owners. The origin of civilian yachts as naval vessels, with their speed and maneuverability, made them useful for adaptation to their original function as patrol vessels. In the United States Navy armed yachts were typically private yachts expropriated for government use in times of war. Armed yachts served as patrol vessels during the Spanish–American War and the World Wars. In the latter conflicts, armed yachts were used as patrol vessels, convoy escorts, and in anti-submarine duties. In the United States, yachts were purchased from their owners with the owners given an option to repurchase their yacht at the close of hostilities.
USS Zenith (SP-61) was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a Section patrol vessel from 1917 to 1918.
USS Arawan II (SP-1) was a motor yacht that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1918.
The first USS Mustang (SP-36) was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.
USS Riette (SP-107) was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.
USS Hoqua (SP-142) was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.
USS Hopestill (SP-191) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
The first USS Josephine (SP-913), later USS SP-913, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
The second USS Josephine (SP-1243) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
USS Manito II (SP-262) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to ca. 1919.
USS Kemah (SP-415) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1918 to 1919.
USS Kestrel II (SP-529) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
USS Edorea (SP-549) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
USS Joy (SP-643) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
USS Owaissa (SP-659) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
USS Sapphire (SP-710) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
USS Jimetta (SP-878) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
USS Maysie (SP-930) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from February to December 1918.
USS Audwin (SP-451) was a patrol vessel that served in the United States Navy from 1917 to 1919. She then was a survey vessel in the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey from 1919 to 1927.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in October 1918 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
|
| Other incidents |
|
