History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name |
|
Namesake |
|
Builder | Henry L. Blatz, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Completed | 1909 |
Acquired | 1917 |
Commissioned | 19 May 1917 |
Decommissioned | 24 December 1918 |
Fate | Returned to owner |
Notes | Operated as private motorboat Marguerite II and Vigilant 1909-1917 and Vigilant from 1918 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Section patrol vessel |
Tonnage | 41 gross register tons |
Length | 72 ft 0 in (21.95 m) |
Beam | 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m) |
Draft | 3 ft 8 in (1.12 m) |
Complement | 14 |
Armament |
|
The third USS Vigilant (SP-406), later USS SP-406, was a United States Navy Section patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
Vigilant was built as the private motorboat Marguerite II in 1909 by Henry L. Blatz at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Marguerite II was prominent in racing and often served as stake boat with the Delaware River Yacht Racing Association while owned by A. B. Cartledge. Upon sale to Edward B. Smith of Philadelphia the vessel was renamed Vigilant. [1] The U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner in 1917 for use as a section patrol vessel during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Vigilant (SP-406) on 19 May 1917 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
On 28 May 1917, Vigilant proceeded from Philadelphia to Essington, Pennsylvania, for installation of her armament. She loaded ammunition at Fort Mifflin on 5 June 1917, then reported to the 4th Naval District for duty on 7 June 1917. For the remainder of World War I, Vigilant patrolled the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic coast of the United States from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. She also carried messages, men, and mail to ships and stations within the 4th Naval District. Occasionally, she ventured out to sea to search for survivors of torpedoed merchant ships, as she did on 9 June 1918 after a German submarine had sunk SS Del Rio.
In 1918, Vigilant was renamed USS SP-406, apparently to avoid confusion with the tug USS Vigilant, which was in commission at the same time.
After World War I ended on 11 November 1918 and defensive patrols were suspended on 24 November, SP-406 proceeded to Philadelphia early in December 1918 for inactivation. She was decommissioned there on 24 December 1918 and was returned to her owner.
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.
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.
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 second USS Tacony (SP-5) was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy as a Section patrol vessel from 24 May 1917 to 29 November 1918. The yacht had been built in 1911 by the Mathis Yacht Building Company at Camden, New Jersey for John Fred Betz, III, of Essington, Pennsylvania and member of the Philadelphia Yacht Club as Sybilla II. The vessel was Mathis yard number seven with 208469 the official number issued.
USS Little Aie (SP-60) was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.
USS Nirvana II (SP-204) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
The second USS Chipper (SP-1049), was a United States Navy patrol vessel and ferryboat in commission from 1917 to 1919.
USS Caliph (SP-272) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission in 1917 and again in 1918. Caliph is derived from the word al-khalifah, Arabic word for the leader.
USS Vidofner (SP-402) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from June to December 1917.
USS Aurore II (SP-460) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
USS Kuwana II (SP-594) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
USS Breakwater (SP-681) was a United States Navy patrol vessel, minesweeper, and tug in commission from 1917 to 1920.
USS Mary B. Garner (SP-682) was a United States Navy minesweeper in commission from 1917 to 1919.
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.
USS Tech III (SP-1055) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from August to October 1917.
USS Vitesse (SP-1192) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
USS Mirna (SP-1214) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
USS Herreshoff No. 306 (SP-1841), also written Herreshoff #306, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1918 to 1922.