USS Owaissa (SP-659)

Owaissa as a private motorboat, hauled out of the water sometime between 1912 and 1917. The notation "Katie" is a clerical error by someone who mistook the photograph for one of the motorboat Katie, which later also served in the United States Navy as the patrol vessel USS Katie (SP-660).
History
United States
Name	USS Owaissa
Namesake	Previous name retained
Builder	New York Yacht, Launch & Engine Company, Morris Heights, the Bronx, New York
Completed	1912
Acquired	11 July 1917
Commissioned	6 November 1917
Fate	Returned to owner 3 January 1919
Notes	Operated as private motorboat Marie and Owaissa 1912-1917 and Owaissa from 1919
General characteristics
Type	Patrol vessel
Tonnage	64 gross register tons
Length	77 ft 9 in (23.70 m)
Beam	17 ft (5.2 m)
Draft	4 ft (1.2 m)
Speed	8 knots
Complement	13
Armament	1 × 3-pounder gun 1 × machine gun

USS Owaissa (SP-659) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.

Owaissa was built as the private motorboat Marie by the New York Yacht, Launch & Engine Company at Morris Heights in the Bronx, New York, in 1912. She later was renamed Owaissa.

On 11 July 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired Owaissa under a free lease from her owner, E. B. Dickerson, for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Owaissa (SP-659) on 6 November 1917.

Assigned to the 1st Naval District in northern New England, Owaissa carried out patrol duties for the rest of World War I. She initially patrolled around Woods Hole, Massachusetts, speaking to various vessels to determine their identities. She spent the summer of 1918 on outward patrol, working with the patrol boats USS Patrol No. 6 (SP-54), USS Rhebal (SP-1195), and USS Felicia (SP-642), the submarine chaser , and a patrol boat with the section patrol number SP-50 of which no records have been found. In August 1918 Owaissa began to patrol Vineyard Sound.

In December 1918, Owaissa proceeded to Newport, Rhode Island, then moved on to the New York Yacht Club dock. After decommissioning at the Material Section Dock, she was returned to Dickerson on 3 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: Owaissa (American Motor Boat, 1912). Served as USS Owaissa (SP-659) in 1917-1919
• NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Owaissa (SP 659)