Governor R. M. McLane (steamboat)

History
United States
Name	USS Governor R. M. McLane
Namesake	Robert Milligan McLane (1815-1898), Governor of Maryland (1884-1885); previous name retained
Builder	Neafie and Levy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Completed	1884
Acquired	early August 1917
Commissioned	6 August 1917
Fate	Returned to owner 30 November 1918
Status	As of 2003, resting on harbor bottom, partially submerged, at Baltimore, Maryland
Notes	Operated as civilian steamboat 1884-1917 and from 1918
General characteristics
Type	Patrol vessel
Displacement	144 tons
Length	120 ft (37 m)
Beam	22 ft (6.7 m)
Draft	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Propulsion	Steam engine
Speed	13 knots
Armament	1 × 1-pounder gun

USS Governor R. M. McLane (SP-1328), was a steamboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1918

Governor R. M. McLane was built for civilian use in 1884 by Neafie and Levy at Philadelphia. The U.S. Navy acquired her from the Maryland State Conservation Commission for World War I service in early August 1917 and commissioned her on 6 August 1917 as USS Governor R. M. McLane (SP-1328) with Ensign S. Earle, USNRF, in command.

Assigned to the 5th Naval District, Governor R. M. McLane served as a patrol craft in the Chesapeake Bay for the remainder of World War I. Her cruising grounds included Baltimore Harbor, the Patuxent River, and the Severn River, and Tangier Sound. During November 1918 she was used briefly as a towing boat by Indian Head Naval Proving Ground at Indian Head, Maryland.

Governor R. M. McLane was returned to the Conservation Commission on 30 November 1918.

As of February 2003, Governor R. M. McLane, her deckhouse gone but deck still visible, rested partially submerged on the harbor bottom next to the piers of the Downtown Sailing Center on the grounds of the Baltimore Museum of Industry at Baltimore, Maryland.

References