 The
fishing vessel Dolphin, probably sometime between 1917 and 1919 while she was under consideration for use as a
U.S. Navy
patrol vessel.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Dolphin (proposed) |
| Namesake | Dolphin, various species of marine mammal closely related to whales and porpoises (previous name retained) |
| Completed | 1908 |
| Acquired | Never |
| Commissioned | Never [1] |
| Notes | Operated as civilian fishing vessel Virginia and Dolphin |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Patrol vessel (proposed) |
| Displacement | 176 tons |
| Length | 128 ft (39 m) |
| Beam | 19 ft 7 in (5.97 m) |
| Draft | 9 ft 4 in (2.84 m) |
| Propulsion | Steam engine |
| Complement | 26 (proposed) |
USS Dolphin (SP-262) was the proposed name and designation for a United States Navy patrol vessel that the Navy never actually acquired.
Dolphin was built as the commercial steam fishing vessel Virginia at Pocomoke City, Maryland. She was of the " menhaden fisherman" design. She was rebuilt in 1911, and at some point between 1908 and 1917 was renamed Dolphin.
The U.S. Navy considered acquiring Dolphin in 1917 for World War I service as a patrol vessel and assigned her the section patrol number SP-318. Although reported by some contemporary sources as having been placed in commission in February 1919 [2] as USS Dolphin (SP-318), she in fact appears never to have been acquired by the Navy [3] and to have remained in civilian hands.
Dolphin should not be confused with USS Dolphin (Gunboat No. 24), a gunboat and dispatch vessel in commission at the time, or with USS Dolphin (SP-874), a patrol vessel in commission during 1918.
Notes
- ^ Contemporary reports of Dolphin having been commissioned in February 1919 have been discounted; see the Navy History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images (at http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-civil/civsh-v/virgna08.htm).
- ^ Navy History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images (at http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-civil/civsh-v/virgna08.htm).
- ^ Navy History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images (at http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-civil/civsh-v/virgna08.htm).