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Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive

Liberty III (SP 1229)

Auxiliary Schooner:

  • Built in 1896 by John Bishop, Gloucester, MA
  • Acquired by the Navy 20 September 1917 from the Boston Pilots Relief Society and commissioned USS Liberty III (SP-1229) the same day
  • Decommissioned 8 January 1919 and returned to her owner
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 118 t.
  • Length 103'
  • Beam 24'
  • Draft 8' 9"
  • Speed 8.5 kts.
  • Complement 12
  • Armament: Two 1-pounders
  • Propulsion: Sail and two 4-cylinder 60hp Murray and Tregurtha gasoline engines, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Liberty III 205k Probably photographed at about the time she was taken over for Naval Service. She was also referred to as Liberty and No. 3 Pilot Boat
    U.S. Navy photo NH 102007    		 Naval History and Heritage Command
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Liberty III, an auxiliary pilot boat, was built in 1896 by John Bishop, Gloucester, Mass.; acquired by the Navy under free lease 10 September 1917 from her owner, Boston Pilots Relief Society; enrolled in the Naval Coast Defense Reserve 15 September 1917; and commissioned 21 September 1917 at Boston, Ens. Murdoch McLean USNRF, in command.

    Assigned to the 1st Naval District, Boston, Mass., Liberty III served throughout World War I as a harbor entrance patrol boat, guiding the movements of ships that navigated the defensive sea area of the port of Boston. After the Armistice, she decommissioned 8 January 1919 at Boston and was returned to her owner the same day.
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