USS Abalone

USS Abalone (SP-208) was a wooden-hulled motorboat that was commissioned in the United States Navy as a section patrol craft during World War I. She was named after the abalone mollusk.

USS Abalone (SP-208)
History
United States
Name	USS Abalone
Launched	1913
Acquired	by lease, 27 April 1917
Commissioned	10 May 1917
Decommissioned	By 24 December 1918
Fate	Returned to owner
General characteristics
Type	Patrol boat
Displacement	33 long tons (34 t)
Length	60 ft (18 m)
Beam	12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Draft	3 ft 6 in (1.07 m)
Speed	10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	8
Armament	1 × 1-pounder (450 g) gun 1 × .30 cal. (7.62 mm) machine gun

Built at Morris Heights in 1913, Abalone was acquired by the Navy on 27 April 1917 under a free lease from Arnold Schlaet of New York City and commissioned on 10 May 1917.

The sparse direct records of Abalone's day-to-day operations consist merely of a deck log, which does not even cover the craft's entire career. Other sources indicate that Abalone was attached to the 3rd Naval District local patrol forces and was based at New Haven, Connecticut. From that port, she performed patrol missions with Squadrons 5 and 20. Following the signing of the armistice, she was detached from this duty on 10 December 1918 and was returned to her previous owner a fortnight later, on 24 December 1918.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

• Photo gallery of USS Abalone at NavSource Naval History