USS Navajo III (SP-298)
Encyclopedia
USS Navajo III (SP-298), later USS SP-298, was an armed motorboat
Motorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
that served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.
Navajo III was built as a civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
motorboat of the same name in 1916 by the Gas Engine and Power Company and Charles L. Seabury and Company at Morris Heights
Morris Heights, Bronx
Morris Heights is a low income residential neighborhood located in the west Bronx. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 5. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: West Burnside Avenue to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the...
in the Bronx, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The U.S. Navy acquired her for World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
service as a patrol vessel from her owner, Arthur Clapp, on 25 June 1917 and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
her the same day as USS Navajo III (SP-298) at the New York Navy Yard at Brooklyn, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, with Chief Boatswain
Boatswain
A boatswain , bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun is an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The boatswain supervises the other unlicensed members of the ship's deck department, and typically is not a watchstander, except on vessels with small crews...
’s Mate Samuel J. Willis in command.
Assigned to the 3rd Naval District, headquartered
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
at New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, during World War I, Navajo III steamed to Fort Lafayette
Fort Lafayette
Fort Lafayette was an island coastal fortification in the Narrows of New York Harbor, built offshore from Fort Hamilton at the southern tip of what is now Bay Ridge in the New York City borough of Brooklyn...
in New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
on 27 June 1917 and then to New Haven
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, to patrol the submarine net zone of Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
. On 5 August 1917, the patrol boat USS Abalone (SP-208)
USS Abalone (SP-208)
USS Abalone was a wooden-hulled motorboat in the United States Navy during World War I. She was named after the abalone mollusk.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...
towed her up the Quinnipiac River
Quinnipiac River
The Quinnipiac River is a river in the New England region of the United States, located entirely in the state of Connecticut.It rises in west central Connecticut from Dead Wood Swamp west of the city of New Britain...
, and thereafter Navajo III operated around Comfield, Connecticut, with the patrol boats USS Dodger II (SP-46)
USS Dodger II (SP-46)
USS Dodger II was an armed motorboat that served as a United States Navy patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.Dodger II was built in 1913 as a private motorboat of the same name by the Gas Engine and Power Company at Morris Heights, New York. The U.S. Navy acquired her for World War I service from her...
, USS Siwash (SP-12)
USS Siwash (SP-12)
USS Siwash was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.Siwash was built in 1916 by the Gas Engine and Power Company at Morris Heights, New York, as a private motorboat of the same name. The U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner, C. A. Schieren...
, and USS Marie (SP-100)
USS Marie (SP-100)
The first USS Marie was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.Marie was built as a civilian motorboat in 1912 by Seabury's at Morris Heights, New York. The U.S. Navy acquired her on 28 April 1917 from her owner, O. M. Pynchon, for use as a...
. After moving to Smithtown Bay for target practice in November 1917, she proceeded to Marine Basin in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, remaining there until April 1918, when she was renamed USS SP-298.
In 1918, SP-298 was attached to Squadron
Squadron (naval)
A squadron, or naval squadron, is a unit of 3-4 major warships, transport ships, submarines, or sometimes small craft that may be part of a larger task force or a fleet...
6, headquartered at Bridgeport
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
, Connecticut, and patrolled the entrance to Bridgeport Harbor
Bridgeport Harbor
Bridgeport Harbor is an inlet on the north side of Long Island Sound in the state of Connecticut in the United States. The harbor area is an inlet carved by the retreat of the glaciers during the last ice age approximately 13,000 years ago...
, shifting to patrol between Pinfield Reef and Stratford Shoal in June 1918. She continued patrol duty off Connecticut through the end of World War I.
SP-298 was decommissioned
Ship decommissioning
To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....
in 1919. She was stricken from the Navy List
Navy List
A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....
on 27 September 1919 and sold on 1 November 1919.