USS Politesse

USS Politesse (SP-662) was a motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.

Politesse as a civilian motorboat at the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1917, just prior to her United States Navy service as the patrol boat USS Politesse (SP-662).
History
United States
Name	USS Politesse
Namesake	Previous name retained
Builder	J. R. Robertson, Waltham, Massachusetts
Completed	1911
Acquired	17 April 1917[1]
Commissioned	15 April 1917[2]
Fate	Returned to owner 29 May 1919[3][4] or 5 July 1919[5]
Notes	Operated as private motorboat Politesse 1911-1917 and from 1919
General characteristics
Type	Patrol vessel
Length	29 ft (8.8 m)[6] or 30 ft (9.1 m)[7]
Beam	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Draft	2 ft 3 in (0.69 m)

Politesse was built as a civilian motorboat in 1911 by J. R. Robertson at Waltham, Massachusetts, for Frederic C. Hood. In 1917, the U.S. Navy chartered her for use as a patrol boat during World War I. She was commissioned on 15 April 1917 as USS Politesse (SP-662). Apparently, her charter officially went into effect two days later, on 17 April 1917.^[8]

Politesse performed patrol duty at Boston, Massachusetts, for the remainder of World War I.

After World War I, the Navy returned Politesse to her owner. Sources differ on the date of the return, giving it as both 29 May 1919 ^[9] and 5 July 1919.^[10]