Elizabeth, a 53'1" motor boat, was built in 1916 at West Norfolk, Virginia, apparently as a ship chandler's workboat. She was ordered delivered to the Navy in August 1917 and entered Fifth Naval District service, in non-commissioned status, sometime thereafter. On 12 December 1917, while in Norfolk harbor, she was sunk in collision with the steamship Northland. The accident took two lives, but Elizabeth was raised, repaired and returned to service. Ordered sold in the post-World War I drawdown of Naval forces, in late May 1919 she was placed "in commission in ordinary". However, Elizabeth was withdrawn from sale in October 1919 and, in November, transferred to the War Department for use by the U.S. Army.
This page features the only view we have of the motor boat Elizabeth, which served in the U.S. Navy in 1917-1919 as Elizabeth (SP-972).
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 20 July 2003