| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | USS Valiant |
| Namesake: | Previous name retained |
| Builder: | Charles S. Drowne |
| Completed: | 1896 |
| Acquired: | 1917 |
| Commissioned: | 29 May 1917 |
| Decommissioned: | 11 January 1919 |
| Fate: | Returned to owner 1919 |
| Notes: | Operated as private sailing cutter Valiant 1896-1917 and from 1919 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Patrol vessel |
| Tonnage: | 13 [1] or 19 [2] gross register tons |
| Length: | 60 ft (18 m) |
| Beam: | 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) |
| Draft: | 8 ft (2.4 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails plus auxiliary engine |
| Speed: | 8 knots |
| Complement: | 9 |
| Armament: |
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The first USS Valiant (SP-535) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
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 air force in the world, after the United States Air Force.
Valiant was built in 1896 as a private sailing cutter of the same name by Charles S. Drowne. She was rebuilt in 1907 and was fitted with an auxiliary engine to augment her sails in 1917.
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture.
A cutter is generally a small to medium-sized vessel, depending on its role and definition. Historically, it was a smallish single- or double-masted, decked sailcraft designed for speed rather than capacity. As such, it was gaff-rigged, with two or more headsails and often a bowsprit of some length, with a mast sometimes set farther back than on a sloop. While historically a workboat, as used by harbor pilots, the military, and privateers, sailing cutters today are most commonly fore-and-aft rigged private yachts.
In 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired Valiant under a free lease from her owner, Henry M. Warren, for use as a section patrol vessel during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Valiant (SP-535) on 29 May 1917 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Ensign R. F. Watson, USNRF, in command.
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee (user) to pay the lessor (owner) for use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial or business equipment is also leased.
A Section Patrol craft was a civilian vessel registered by the United States Navy for potential wartime service before, during, and shortly after World War I.
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.
Assigned to the 4th Naval District, Valiant operated on patrol duties in the Cape May, New Jersey, area for the rest of World War I.
Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. One of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations, it is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a year-round population of 3,607, reflecting a decline of 427 (-10.6%) from the 4,034 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 634 (-13.6%) from the 4,668 counted in the 1990 Census. In the summer, Cape May's population is expanded by as many as 40,000 to 50,000 visitors. The entire city of Cape May is designated the Cape May Historic District, a National Historic Landmark due to its concentration of Victorian buildings.
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is located on a peninsula, bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, particularly along the extent of the length of New York City on its western edge; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware River and Pennsylvania; and on the southwest by the Delaware Bay and Delaware. New Jersey is the fourth-smallest state by area but the 11th-most populous, with 9 million residents as of 2017, and the most densely populated of the 50 U.S. states; its biggest city is Newark. New Jersey lies completely within the combined statistical areas of New York City and Philadelphia. New Jersey was the second-wealthiest U.S. state by median household income as of 2017.
Valiant was decommissioned at the Corinthian Yacht Club near Philadelphia on 11 January 1919 and returned to her owner soon thereafter.
