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USS TINGEY (Torpedo Boat # 34, TB-34)
later renamed Coast Torpedo Boat # 17

CLASS - Blakely As Built.
Displacement 166 Tons (n.).
Dimensions 176' (oa) x 17' 6" x 4' 8".
Armament 3 x 1 pdr., 3 x 18" tt.
Speed 24.94 Knots, Crew 28.

Operational and Building Data
Builder Columbian Iron Works, Baltimore, Md.
Laid down 29 March 1899.
Launched 26 March 1901.
Commissioned 7 January 1904.
Alternated between commissioned and reserve service until 30 January 1919.
Decommissioned 30 January 1919.
Redesignated Coastal Torpedo Vessel No. 17, 1 August 1918.
Stricken 28 October 1919.
Fate 10 March 1920, sold to the Independent Pier Co., of Philadelphia, Pa.

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Tingey 13kThomas Tingey was born in London, England, 11 September 1750, the son of a clergyman of the Church of England. In his youth he served as an officer in the British Navy, as shown by an order to him dated 31 July 1771, from Commander-in-Chief of the British Squadron off Newfoundland to take command of a blockhouse on Chateaux Bay, Coast of Labrador. He left the British service, however, and commanded merchant vessels trading with the West Indies. Prior to the Revolutionary War he is said to have come to the United States, marrying an American girl in 1777. No record of service in the Continental Navy (the branch directly under control of the Continental Congress) has been found, but the Navy of the Revolution was made up of many elements, and the records are far from complete, and it is quite possible that he may have served the cause of the Colonies in some capacity. Following the War he engaged in the American merchant service. The United States Navy was established in 1794, and Thomas Tingey was commissioned a captain in it September 3, 1798. During the War with France (1798-1801) he commanded the ship Ganges of 24 guns, which with the brig Pinckney and the revenue cutter South Carolina, formed a squadron to guard the Windward Passage. During the summer and autumn of 1799, after the departure of Commodores Barry and Truxtun, Commodore Tingey was ranking naval officer in the West Indies, commanding all vessels on what was called the Guadeloupe Station. Numerous prizes were captured, four by the Ganges while under his command. On 22 January 1800, Commodore Tingey was appointed to lay out and command the new Navy Yard at Washington, D.C. He was discharged from the Navy under the Peace Establishment Act of 3 March, 1801, but was retained as superintendent of the Washington Navy Yard. On November 23, 1804, he was recommissioned a Captain in the Navy and made Commandant of the Washington Navy Yard and naval agent, which posts he held until his death. When the British invaded the capital in the summer of 1814, the Secretary of the Navy ordered Commodore Tingey to fire the Navy Yard. He wrote to his daughter under date of 17 September 1814, "I was the last officer who quitted the city after the enemy had possession of it, having fully performed all orders received, in which was included that myself retiring, and not to fall into their possession. I was also the first who returned and the only one who ventured in on the day on which they were peaceably masters of it". Commodore Tingey died on 23 February 1829, in Washington, and was buried with "unusual military honors" in the Congressional Cemetery, Washington, D.C. The title of Commodore was a courtesy title, given to a Captain (the highest rank in the Navy until 1862).NHC
Tingey 247kUSS Tingey (TB-34) in frame, at the Colombian Iron Works, Baltimore, Maryland, 1899. Source: United States National Archives, Photo No. 19-N-15-17-3.Mike Green
Tingey 201kUSS Tingey (TB-34) on the stocks, fully plated, at the Colombian Iron Works, Baltimore, Maryland, 1899-1900. Source: United States National Archives, Photo No. 19-N-15-17-5.Mike Green
Tingey 153kUSS Tingey (TB-34) fitting out at Baltimore, Maryland, about 1900. Source: United States Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo No. NH 63754.Mike Green
Tingey 148kUSS Tingey (TB-34) fitting out. The S. S. Breifond is moored on the other side of the dock. Source: United States National Archives, Photo No. 19-N-14211.Mike Green
Tingey 158kUSS Tingey (TB-34) after launch, circa March 1901. Source: United States National Archives, Photo No. 19-N-15-17-9.Mike Green
Tingey 69kPhoto #: NH 66926. Off Kaign Avenue, Camden, NJ, 1908.Terry Miller, Executive Director, Tin Can Sailors Inc.
Tingey 136kUSS Tingey (TB-34) steaming in heavy weather, in the Gulf of Mexico, March 1909. Collection of CDR. S.D. Hart, USN (MC), courtesy of Mrs. Philip Francis, 1983. Source: United States Naval History and Heritage Command, Photo No. NH 94249.Mike Green
Tingey 85kPhoto #: NH 100025. U.S. Navy Torpedo Craft at Cairo, Illinois, during their Mississippi River cruise, 26 September 1909. Photographed by A.E. Kerr. They are (from left to right): USS Wilkes (Torpedo Boat # 35); USS Thornton (Torpedo Boat # 33); USS Tingey (Torpedo Boat # 34); and USS Macdonough (Destroyer # 9). Note that all are flying 46-star jacks. Courtesy of R.D. Jeska, 1984. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.NHC

USS Tingey TB-34 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 John Francis Marshall Jr.    Jan 7 1904
LT James Otto Richardson    1907 - 1908 (Later ADM)

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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