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USS O'BRIEN (Torpedo Boat # 30, TB-30)

CLASS - Blakely As Built.
Displacement 220 Tons.
Dimensions 157' (oa) x 17' x 6' 6".
Armament 3 x 1 pdr., 2 x 18" tt.
Speed 25 Knots, Crew 28.

Operational and Building Data
Builder Lewis Nixon Shipyard, Elizabethtown, N.J.
Laid down 29 December 1898.
Launched 24 September 1900.
Commissioned 15 July 1905.
Decommissioned and Stricken 3 March 1909.
Fate used as a target.

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Captain Jeremiah O’Brien (1744–1818) was in command of Unity when she captured HMS Margaretta in the first naval battle of the American Revolutionary War. He was born at Kittery, Maine. O'Brien and his five brothers, Gideon, John, William, Dennis and Joseph, were crewmembers of the sloop Unity when she captured Margaretta on 12 June 1775, at the entrance to the harbor at Machias (a town then in Massachusetts, later in Maine). Under the command of Jeremiah O’Brien, thirty-one townsmen armed with guns, swords, axes, and pitch forks captured the British armed schooner in an hour-long battle after Margaretta had threatened to bombard the town for interference with the shipment of lumber to British troops in Boston, Massachusetts. This battle is often considered the first time British colors were struck to those of the United States, even though Unity was not formally a member of the Continental Navy. The United States Merchant Marine claims Unity as its member and this incident as their beginning. A privateer, O'Brien continued as the captain of Unity, renamed Machias Liberty, for two years. In later years, he had an appointment as the federal customs collector for the port of Machias. a position he held until his death.Bill Gonyo
O'Brien 80kPhoto 19-N-11457. Undated, running trials before installation of armament.Terry Miller, Executive Director, Tin Can Sailors Inc.
O'Brien 120kNewspaper clipping from the New York Tribune of the USS Nicholson (TB-29) and USS O'Brien (TB-30) under construction at Lewis Nixon Shipyard, Elizabethtown, N.J. circa 1898-1899.Mike Mohl
O'Brien 133kUSS O'Brien (TB-30) at the New York Navy Yard, 9 October 1904, for repairs. Source: United States National Archives, Photo No. 19-N-15-6-16.Mike Green
O'Brien 189kUSS Rodgers (TB-4), USS Porter (TB-6), USS DuPont (TB-7), USS Blakely (TB-27), USS Nicholson (TB-29) and USS O'Brien (TB-30) in Norfolk circa 1905.Bill Gonyo

USS O'Brien TB-30 History
View This Vessels DANFS History Entry
(Located On The Hazegray Web Site, This Is The Main Archive For The DANFS Online Project.)

Commanding Officers
Thanks to Wolfgang Hechler & Ron Reeves

LT Edward Churchill Woods    Jul 15 1905 - ?
LT Frederick Valette Mc Nair Jan 10 1909 -  Mar 3 1909

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Tin Can Sailors Website
Destroyer History Foundation
Destroyers Online Website
Official U.S.Navy Destroyer Website


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