USS Tech III
 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.
Notes[edit]
- ^ The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships[1], Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: Tech III (American Motor Boat, 1916). Served as USS Tech III (SP-1055) in 1917, and *NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Tech III (SP 1055) all give Tech III's speed as 25 to 30 miles per hour, implying statute miles per hour, an unusual unit of measure for the speed of a watercraft. It is possible that her speed actually was 25 to 30 knots. If 25 to 30 statute miles per hour is accurate, the equivalent in knots is 21.7 to 26.1.
- ^ Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: Tech III (American Motor Boat, 1916). Served as USS Tech III (SP-1055) in 1917.
- ^ Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: Tech III (American Motor Boat, 1916). Served as USS Tech III (SP-1055) in 1917.
References[edit]
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: Tech III (American Motor Boat, 1916). Served as USS Tech III (SP-1055) in 1917
- NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Tech III (SP 1055)