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Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive

Comber (SP 344)



Civilian call sign (1919):
Love - George - Jig - Vice
Trawler:

  • Built in 1916 by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, WI
  • Acquired by the Navy 17 April 1917
  • Commissioned 19 April 1917
  • Returned to her owners, the Bay State Fishing Company of Boston, MA on 2 April 1919
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 303 t.
  • Length 143'
  • Beam 22' 6"
  • Draft 13' 6"
  • Speed 11 kts.
  • Complement 27
  • Armament: One 6-pounder and one 3-pounder
  • Propulsion: One single ended boiler, one450hp vertical triple expansion steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Comber 67k In port on 16 May 1917, while being prepared for duty. Second boat from the left is Gypsy (SP-55), next to her, to the right, is Doris B. IV (SP-625), second from the right is Venture (SP-616), at right is Comber
    U.S. Navy photo NH 94468    		 Naval Historical Center
    Comber 103k Naval Air Station, Cape May, New Jersey. View taken in 1919, showing a water tank, hangar and the boat dock. Comber is alongside the latter, partially hidden by sheds
    U.S. Navy photo NH 42450
    Comber 68k In port, circa 1917-1919 with Crest (SP-339) tied up to her starboard side
    U.S. Navy photo NH 100868
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships History: Comber (No. 344), a trawler, was built by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Co., Manitowoc, Wis., in 1916; chartered by the Navy; and commissioned 19 April 1917, Lieutenant M. F. Powers, USNRF, in command.

    Fitted out as a minesweeper, Comber carried out minesweeping operations in the 1st and 2d Naval Districts, carried supplies, and patrolled in the Newport area. During the spring and summer of 1918, Comber made two voyages to Bermuda, convoying submarine chasers. After a brief tour of minesweeping in the 4th Naval District, Comber returned to Boston for more of the same operations. She was returned to her owners on 2 April 1919.

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