USS Zenith (SP-61)

USS Zenith (SP-61) was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a Section patrol vessel from 1917 to 1918.

USS Zenith (SP-61) in 1917 or 1918
History
United States
Name: USS Zenith
Namesake: Previous name retained
Builder: Mathis Yacht Building Company, Camden, New Jersey
Yard number: 65[1]
Completed: 1917
Acquired: 21 April 1917
Commissioned: 23 April 1917
Decommissioned: 21 November 1918
Stricken: 21 November 1918
Homeport: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania[2]
Identification: ON #214868, Callsign:LGTN[2]
Fate: Returned to owner 21 November 1918
General characteristics
Type: Section patrol vessel
Tonnage: 32 GRT[2]
Displacement: 19 tons
Length: 73 ft 3 in (22.33 m)
Beam: 11 ft 8.5 in (3.569 m)
Draft: 3 ft 10 in (1.17 m) aft
Propulsion: 2 X eight cylinder Duesenberg diesels
Speed: 27 knots
Complement: 12
Armament:

Zenith was a motorboat or yacht designed by Bowes and Mower, Philadelphis, and built by the Mathis Yacht Building Company in 1917 at Camden, New Jersey for Charles Longstreth of Philadelphia, Commodore of the Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia. The design was approved by naval authorities with the possibility of naval reserve service in mind. Zenith was turned over to naval authorities just before completion.[3][4] Zenith was the second Longstreth vessel in naval service. The first of the designated S.P. type, USS Arawan II (SP-1), entered naval service 27 March 1917.[5] Longstreth had been commissioned a Lieutenant Commander by the Navy and expected to command Zenith as he had Arawan II.[3][4][5]

The boat was powered by two 400 horsepower, eight cylinder Duesenberg diesel engines with estimated speed of 30 miles per hour at maximum 1,200 revolutions per minute. Armament was expected to be one 3-pounder gun forward and two machine guns aft with a complement of nine men.[3][4]

She was acquired by the U.S. Navy on 21 April 1917 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for service as a patrol vessel in World War I. She was designated SP-61 and commissioned as USS Zenith at Philadelphia on 23 April 1917. Assigned to section-patrol duty, Zenith conducted surveillance patrols to protect the harbors and estuaries of the 4th Naval District coastline—Pennsylvania, Delaware, and southern New Jersey—from enemy incursion, primarily against submarine and minelaying operations. She served until hostilities ended on 11 November 1918.

Zenith was decommissioned on 21 November 1918, just 10 days after the armistice. That same day, her name was struck from the Navy list and Zenith was returned to her owner.

References
  1. Colton, Tim (6 June 2018). "Mathis Yacht Building, Camden and Gloucester City NJ". ShipbuildingHistory. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  2. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation (1918). Fifteenth Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 86. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  3. "Zenith—30 Mile Patrol Boat". Motor Boat. Vol. XIV. 10 May 1917. p. 17. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  4. "Yachts in Their War Paint". Motor Boat. Vol. XIV. 10 June 1917. p. 25. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  5. Naval History And Heritage Command (20 January 2016). "Arawan II". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
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