USS Sussex (SP-685)
![]() USS Sussex (SP-685) with her crew posed on deck, c. 1917-1919.
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History | |
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Name | Sussex |
Namesake | Counties in Delaware, New Jersey, and Virginia |
Builder | R. T, Potter, Milton, Delaware |
Laid down | date unknown |
Completed | in 1913 |
Acquired | by the U.S. Navy, 5 May 1917 |
Commissioned | 31 July 1917 |
Decommissioned | c. 11 March 1919 |
Stricken | 11 March 1919 |
Fate | sold 16 January 1920; fate unknown |
General characteristics | |
Type | commercial freighter |
Displacement | 67 tons |
Length | 74' 2" |
Beam | 17' 6" |
Draft | 6' 9" |
Propulsion | steam-powered |
Speed | 8 knots |
Complement | 22 personnel |
Armament | two 1-pounder guns |
USS Sussex (SP-685) was a commercial fishing freighter acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War I. She served as a minesweeper on the U.S. East Coast through the war and was sold after the World War I Armistice.
A steamer built in Delaware[]
The first ship to be so named by the Navy, Sussex (SP-685) -- a fishing steamer built in 1913 by R. T. Potter at Milton, Delaware—was acquired by the Navy on 5 May 1917 from the Delaware Fish Oil Co., Lewes, Delaware; and was commissioned on 31 May 1917.
First World War service[]
Sussex operated as a minesweeper in the Third Naval District for the remainder of the conflict and for a few months following the November 1918 Armistice.
Post-war inactivation[]
She was struck from the Navy list on 11 March 1919 and sold on 16 January 1920.
See also[]
References[]
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive - Sussex (SP 685)
- USS Sussex (SP-685), 1917-1920
Categories:
- Ships built in Milton, Delaware
- United States Navy Delaware-related ships
- United States Navy New Jersey-related ships
- United States Navy Virginia-related ships
- 1913 ships
- Minesweepers of the United States Navy
- World War I minesweepers of the United States