USS Rondo (SP-90)

	USS Rondo during World War I.
History
United States
Name	USS Rondo (May 1917-April 1918); USS SP-90 (April 1918-September 1919);
Namesake	Rondo was a previous name retained;; SP-90 was her section patrol number;
Builder	Rhode River Shipbuilding Company, Rhode River, Maryland
Completed	1915
Acquired	16 May 1917
Commissioned	14 November 1917
Stricken	4 October 1919
Fate	Wrecked 9 September 1919
Notes	Operated as private motorboat Rondo 1915-1917
General characteristics
Type	Patrol vessel
Tonnage	20 tons
Length	50 ft (15 m)
Beam	15 ft (4.6 m)
Draft	3 ft 3 in (0.99 m)
Speed	9 knots
Complement	6
Armament	1 × 1-pounder gun; 1 × machine gun;

The first USS Rondo (SP-90), later USS SP-90, was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.

Rondo was a civilian motorboat built in 1915 by the Rhode River Shipbuilding Company on the Rhode River in Maryland. The U.S. Navy acquired her on 16 May 1917 for World War I service as a patrol boat, and commissioned as USS Rondo (SP-90) on 14 November 1917.

Rondo served on patrol duty in Florida waters, operating out of Key West, Marathon, Long Key, and Bahia Honda Viaduct at Bahia Honda Key, through the end of the war. In April 1918, she was renamed USS SP-90, presumably to avoid confusion with the cargo ship USS Rondo (ID-2488), which was commissioned the previous month.

While anchored in North Beach Basin at Key West on 9 September 1919, SP-90 was among eight patrol boats completely destroyed by a hurricane. All recovered wreckage from SP-90 and the other seven boats was burned or turned into stores.

SP-90 was stricken from the Navy List on 4 October 1919.

References

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 Historical Center: Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships: USS Rondo (SP-90), 1917-1919. Later renamed SP-90. Originally the civilian motor boat Rondo.
NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: Rondo (SP 90)