Coco as a civilian motorboat in Florida waters in 1917, prior to her United States Navy service.
History
United States
NameUSS Coco
NamesakePrevious name retained
BuilderAlbany Boat Corporation, Watervliet, New York
Completed1917
Acquired23 June 1917
Commissioned23 July 1917
Stricken23 June 1919
Fate
  • Sold, 5 August 1919
  • Wrecked prior to delivery to new owner, 9–10 September 1919
NotesOperated as private motorboat Coco, 1917
General characteristics
TypeSection patrol vessel
Length36 ft (11 m)
Beam9 ft (2.7 m)
Draft2.5 ft (0.76 m)
Propulsion1 Sterling 8 cylinder engine, 200 horsepower
Speed26 kn (30 mph; 48 km/h)
Armament1 machine gun

USS Coco (SP-110) was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a Section patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.[1]

Coco was built in 1917 by the Albany Boat Corporation at Watervliet, New York for William John Matheson of New York and Coconut Grove, Florida. The U.S. Navy purchased Coco from her owner for $5,500 on 23 June 1917 for use as a section patrol boat during World War I.[1][2] She was commissioned on 23 July 1917 as USS Coco (SP-110) armed with one machine gun. The motorboat's dimensions were 36 ft (11 m) length, 9 ft (2.7 m) beam with a draft of 2.5 ft (0.76 m) and 6 GRT with a maximum speed of 26 knots (30 mph; 48 km/h) and cruising speed of 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h) with one Sterling eight cylinder engine of 200 indicated horsepower.[2][note 1]

Assigned to the Section patrol in the 7th Naval District, Coco served in Florida waters for the rest of the war and for some months after the fighting ended. Coco was one three of Matheson's yachts in government service, the others being Marpessa and Calabash.[3] Coco was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 23 June 1919.[4]

The motorboat was sold on 5 August. Before she could be delivered to her new owner, M. C. Carmichael, she was among several patrol boats wrecked in the 1919 Florida Keys hurricane on 9–10 September while anchored in North Beach Basin at Key West, Florida.[4][5][6]

Footnotes

  1. ^ The boat's Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships entry states that Coco served in a non-commissioned status, but the contemporary Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels states that she was commissioned with date.

References

  1. ^ a b Naval History And Heritage Command. "Coco". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b Construction & Repair Bureau (Navy) (1 November 1918). Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 338–342. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  3. ^ "Yachts in Government Service". The Rudder. Vol. 33, no. 8. August 1917. p. 558. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  4. ^ a b Construction & Repair Bureau (Navy) (1 November 1918). Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels (Ships Stricken). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 299. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  5. ^ Radigan, Joseph M. "Coco (SP 110)". NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Government Selling Yachts". The Rudder. Vol. 36, no. 4. April 1920. p. 50. Retrieved 9 September 2018.

External links

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1919
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