St. Mary's (motorboat)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS St. Mary's or St. Marys |
| Namesake | Previous name retained |
| Builder | Ruark, Hooper's Island, Maryland |
| Completed | 1912 |
| Acquired | 17 August 1917 |
| In service | 17 October 1917 |
| Out of service | 26 November 1918 |
| Fate | Returned to owner 26 November 1918 |
| Notes | Operated as civilian motorboat St, Mary's or St. Marys 1912-1917 and from 1918 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Patrol vessel |
| Length | 49 ft (15 m) |
| Beam | 12 ft (3.7 m) |
| Draft | 3 ft (0.91 m) mean |
| Speed | 8 miles per hour[1] |
The third USS St. Mary's (SP-1288), also spelled St. Marys, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in service from 1917 to 1918.
St. Mary's was built as a civilian motorboat of the same name in 1912 by Ruark at Hooper's Island, Maryland. On 17 August 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner, the Maryland Conservation Commission, for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. She was placed in service as USS St. Mary's or St. Marys (SP-1457) on 17 October 1917.
Assigned to the Baltimore Section of the 5th Naval District, St. Mary's served on patrol duties on the Chesapeake Bay and on the Potomac River between Point Lookout, Maryland, and the mouth of Maryland's St. Mary's River for the rest of World War I and for two weeks after it ended, concluding her final patrol on 25 November 1918.
The Navy placed St. Mary's out of service on 26 November 1918 and returned her to the Conservation Commission the same day.
Notes
- ^ The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s17/st_marys-iii.htm and NavSource Online at http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/171457.htm give St. Mary's' speed as 8 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 8 knots. If 8 statute miles per hour is accurate, the equivalent in knots is 7.
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.- SP-1457 St. Marys at Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships: -- Listed by Hull Number: "SP" #s and "ID" #s -- World War I Era Patrol Vessel and other Acquired Ships and Craft numbered from SP-1400 through SP-1499
- NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive St Marys (SP 1457)
