 Tech III as a private motorboat sometime in 1916 or 1917. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Tech III |
| Namesake | Previous name retained |
| Builder | Adolph Apel, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Completed | 1916 |
| Acquired | 6 August 1917 |
| Commissioned | 7 August 1917 |
| Decommissioned | 19 October 1917 |
| Stricken | Probably ca. mid-1918 |
| Fate | Probably returned to owner ca. mid-1918 |
| Notes | Operated as private motorboat Tech III 1916-1917 and from ca. mid-1918 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Patrol vessel |
| Length | 50 ft (15 m) |
| Beam | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
| Draft | 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) aft |
| Speed | 25 to 30 miles per hour [1] |
| Complement | 5 |
| Armament | 1 × machine gun |
USS Tech III (SP-1055) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from August to October 1917.
Tech III was built as a private motorboat of the same name in 1916 by Adolph Apel at Atlantic City, New Jersey. On 6 August 1917, the U.S. Navy leased her from her owner, the engineer and politician T. Coleman du Pont (1863–1930) of Wilmington, Delaware, for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. She was commissioned on 7 August 1917 as USS Tech III (SP-1055).
Assigned to the 4th Naval District, Tech III served on patrol duties there. Although Navy inspectors had described her as a "Very fast and desirable boat for general use" [2] prior to her acquisition, she apparently proved unsatisfactory, and her service ended after less than 2+1⁄2 months.
Tech III was decommissioned on 19 October 1917 and ordered returned to du Pont "when repaired". [3] Her name did not disappear from the 4th Naval District list of district vessels until the 1 September 1918 issue of the Navy Directory , so she seems to have remained in the possession of the Navy until the summer of 1918. Presumably, she was returned to her owner sometime in mid-1918 and her name was stricken from the Navy List at that time.