USS Sussex (SP-685)
 USS Sussex (SP-685) with her crew posed on deck, c. 1917-1919.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=small}  United States | |
| Name | Sussex |
| Namesake | Counties in Delaware, New Jersey, and Virginia |
| Builder | R. T, Potter, Milton, Delaware |
| Laid down | date unknown |
| Completed | in 1913 |
| Acquired | by the U.S. Navy, 5 May 1917 |
| Commissioned | 31 July 1917 |
| Decommissioned | c. 11 March 1919 |
| Stricken | 11 March 1919 |
| Fate | sold 16 January 1920; fate unknown |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | commercial freighter |
| Displacement | 67 tons |
| Length | 74' 2" |
| Beam | 17' 6" |
| Draft | 6' 9" |
| Propulsion | steam-powered |
| Speed | 8 knots |
| Complement | 22 personnel |
| Armament | two 1-pounder guns |
USS Sussex (SP-685) was a commercial fishing freighter acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War I. She served as a minesweeper on the U.S. East Coast through the war and was sold after the World War I Armistice.
A steamer built in Delaware
The first ship to be so named by the Navy, Sussex (SP-685) -- a fishing steamer built in 1913 by R. T. Potter at Milton, Delaware -- was acquired by the Navy on 5 May 1917 from the Delaware Fish Oil Co., Lewes, Delaware; and was commissioned on 31 May 1917.
First World War service
Sussex operated as a minesweeper in the Third Naval District for the remainder of the conflict and for a few months following the November 1918 Armistice.
Post-war inactivation
She was struck from the Navy list on 11 March 1919 and sold on 16 January 1920.
See also
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.- NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive - Sussex (SP 685)
- USS Sussex (SP-685), 1917-1920
