 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | USS Virginia |
| Builder: | Electric Launch Company, Bayonne, New Jersey |
| Laid down: | 1910 |
| Acquired: | by purchase, 5 May 1917 |
| Commissioned: | 10 August 1917 |
| Decommissioned: | 18 March 1920 |
| Struck: | 18 March 1920 |
| Fate: | Sunken hulk sold, 1 April 1920 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Motor yacht |
| Tonnage: | 91 long tons (92 t) |
| Length: | 98 ft 4 in (29.97 m) |
| Beam: | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
| Draft: | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Speed: | 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Complement: | 14 |
| Armament: | 2 × 3-pounder guns |
USS Virginia (SP-274) was a yacht in the United States Navy.
A yacht is a watercraft used for pleasure or sports. The term originates from the Dutch word jacht, and was originally referencing light fast sailing vessels that the Dutch Republic navy used to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries. The yacht was popularized by Charles II of England as a pleasure or recreation vessel following his restoration in 1660.
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.
She was constructed in 1910 by Elco at Bayonne, New Jersey. The ship was purchased by the Navy on 5 May 1917 from Mr. Daniel W. Smith of Detroit and delivered to the Government on 2 July.
The Electric Launch Company, later renamed Elco Motor Yachts, is a United States boat building and electric motor company that has operated from 1893 to 1949 and from 1987 to the present
Bayonnebay-OWN is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 63,024, reflecting an increase of 1,182 (+1.9%) from the 61,842 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 398 (+0.6%) from the 61,444 counted in the 1990 Census.
Detroit is the largest and most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan, the largest United States city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of Wayne County. The municipality of Detroit had a 2017 estimated population of 673,104, making it the 23rd-most populous city in the United States. The metropolitan area, known as Metro Detroit, is home to 4.3 million people, making it the second-largest in the Midwest after the Chicago metropolitan area. Regarded as a major cultural center, Detroit is known for its contributions to music and as a repository for art, architecture and design.
To avoid the confusion of having several ships of the same name, the Navy discarded her name and referred to her simply as SP-274, though references to her as Virginia (SP-274) in the Navy Register for 1918 indicate that she probably retained her name informally. Commissioned on 10 August 1917, SP-274 was assigned to the 9th Naval District section patrol; and, although the records are unclear, she probably operated out of Detroit, conducting patrols on Lake Michigan.
The Naval Vessel Register (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and disposal. It also includes ships that have been removed from the register, but not disposed of by sale, transfer to another government, or other means. Ships and service craft disposed of prior to 1987 are currently not included, but are gradually being added along with other updates.
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. The other four Great Lakes are shared by the U.S. and Canada. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third-largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that of Lake Huron through the wide Straits of Mackinac, giving it the same surface elevation as its easterly counterpart; the two are technically a single lake.
She served until 12 August 1919, at which time her name was struck from the Navy Register; and, by 18 March 1920, she had sunk at the Detroit Dock. Here again, the records are unclear with regard to whether she sank before or after being struck. In any event, her sunken hulk was sold to J. A. Nicholson of Morris Heights, New Jersey, on 1 April 1920.
