USS Minerva (SP-425)

Minerva as a private motorboat, sometime between 1914 and 1917.
History
United States
Name	USS Minerva
Namesake	Previous name retained
Builder	, Stamford, Connecticut
Completed	1914
Acquired	7 May 1917
Commissioned	20 July 1917
Decommissioned	14 January 1919
Fate	Returned to owner 14 January 1919
Notes	Operated as private motorboat Minerva 1914-1917 and from 1919
General characteristics
Type	Patrol vessel
Tonnage	55 gross register tons
Length	80 ft (24 m)
Beam	14 ft (4.3 m)
Draft	4 ft 6 in (1.37 m)
Speed	12 knots
Complement	13
Armament	1 × 3-pounder gun 2 × machine guns

USS Minerva (SP-425) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.

Minerva was built as a private motorboat of the same name in 1914 by the at Stamford, Connecticut. On 7 May 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her under a free lease from her owner, Mrs. Elizabeth C. Bowen of New York City, for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. The boat was commissioned on 20 July 1917 as USS Minerva (SP-425) with Ensign R. G. Megargel, USNRF, in command

Assigned to the 3rd Naval District, Minerva served as a patrol boat in the coastal waters of the New York City area for the rest of World War I. She also guarded the submarine nets and torpedo nets in the approaches to New York Harbor.

Minerva was decommissioned and returned to her owner on 14 January 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 History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: Minerva (American Motor Boat, 1914). Served as USS Minerva (SP-425) in 1917-1919
• NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: Minerva (SP 425)