USS Zenith

USS Zenith (SP-61) in 1917 or 1918
History
United States
Name	USS Zenith
Namesake	Previous name retained
Builder	Mathis Yacht Building Company, Camden, New Jersey
Completed	1917
Acquired	21 April 1917
Commissioned	23 April 1917
Decommissioned	21 November 1918
Stricken	21 November 1918
Fate	Returned to owner 21 November 1918
General characteristics
Type	Patrol vessel
Displacement	19 tons
Length	73 ft 3 in (22.33 m)
Beam	11 ft 8.5 in (3.569 m)
Draft	3 ft 10 in (1.17 m) aft
Speed	27 knots
Complement	12
Armament	1 × rapid-firing 3-pounder gun 2 × machine guns

USS Zenith (SP-61) was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1918.

Zenith was a motorboat or yacht designed with the possibility of naval service in mind when she was constructed in 1917 at Camden, New Jersey, by the Mathis Yacht Building Company. She was acquired by the U.S. Navy on 21 April 1917 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from Charles Longstreet of Philadelphia for service as a patrol vessel in World War I. She was designated SP-61 and commissioned as USS Zenith at Philadelphia on 23 April 1917.

Assigned to section-patrol duty, Zenith conducted surveillance patrols to protect the harbors and estuaries of the 4th Naval District coastline—Pennsylvania, Delaware, and southern New Jersey—from enemy incursion, primarily against submarine and minelaying operations. She served until hostilities ended on 11 November 1918.

Zenith was decommissioned on 21 November 1918, just 10 days after the armistice. That same day, her name was struck from the Navy list and Zenith was returned to her owner.

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 Zenith (SP 61)