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Identification Numbered Vessel Photo Archive

Foam (ID 2496)

Trawler/Minesweeper:

  • Built in 1910 by the Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, MA for the Bay State Fishing Co. of Boston, MA
  • Completed 14 September 1910
  • Purchased by the Russian Government in 1917, but did not leave the United States due to the confusion following that year's revolution in Russia
  • Acquired by the Navy 29 May 1918
  • Placed in service 1 June 1918, she was employed as a minesweeper in the vicinity of New York harbor for the remainder of World War I and for a few months following the Armistice
  • Returned to the Imperial Russian Government's representatives 2 March 1919
  • Scrapped in 1927.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 450 t.
  • Length 114' 4"
  • Beam 22' 6"
  • Draft 9' 8"
  • Speed 11 kts.
  • Complement 33
  • Armament: One 6-pounder and two machine guns
  • Propulsion: One single ended boiler, one 500hp vertical triple expansion steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    F/V Foam
    Foam 127k In port, probably at the Tebo Yacht Basin, New York City. The photograph may have been taken on 11 March 1918, when Foam was inspected by the Third Naval District for possible Navy acquisition
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 99347    		 Robert Hurst
    Foam 79k Tied up together, probably prior to their World War I Navy service. These trawlers, previously owned by the Bay State Fishing Company, of Boston, were chartered by the Navy from representatives of the Russian Government in May 1918 and later commissioned as USS Foam (ID 2496), USS Ripple (ID 2439) and USS Spray (ID 2491)
    U.S. Navy photo NH 102236    		 Naval Historical Center
    USS Foam (ID 2496)
    Foam 79k Gun crew conducting maintenance on one of the ships 3-pounders Tommy Trampp
    View the Foam (ID 2496)
    DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command website
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