USS Comber (SP-344)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Comber.

The first USS Comber (SP-344) was a United States Navy minesweeper in commission from 1917 to 1919.

USS Comber (right) moored to port of minesweeper USS Crest (SP-339) (left).
History
United States
Name	USS Comber
Namesake	Previous name retained
Builder	Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Completed	1916
Acquired	1917
Commissioned	19 April 1917
Fate	Returned to owners 2 April 1919
Notes	Operated as commercial fishing trawler Comber 1916-1917 and from 1919
General characteristics
Type	Minesweeper
Tonnage	303 Gross register tons
Length	143 ft (44 m)
Beam	22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)
Draft	13 ft 5 in (4.09 m)
Installed power	600 indicated horsepower (0.45 megawatt)
Propulsion	Steam engine, one shaft
Speed	11 knots
Complement	27
Armament	1 × 6-pounder gun 1 × 3-pounder gun

U.S. Navy career

Comber was built in 1916 as a commercial fishing trawler of the same name by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The U.S. Navy chartered Comber in 1917 for World War I service and commissioned her as USS Comber (SP-344) on 19 April 1917.

Fitted out as a minesweeper, Comber carried out minesweeping operations along the coast of New England in the 1st Naval District and 2nd Naval District, carried supplies, and patrolled in the Newport, Rhode Island, area. During the spring and summer of 1918, Comber made two voyages to Bermuda, convoying submarine chasers. After a brief tour of minesweeping in the 4th Naval District off Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware, Comber moved to Boston, Massachusetts to resume minesweeping operations off New England.

The Navy returned Comber to her owners on 2 April 1919.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Department of the Navy Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships: USS Comber (SP-344), 1917-1919
• Photo gallery of USS Comber (SP-344) at NavSource Naval History