.jpg) USS Elfin (SP-965) operating ca. 1918.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Elfin |
| Namesake | Previous name retained |
| Builder | Britt Brothers, Lynn, Massachusetts |
| Completed | 1911 |
| Acquired | July 1917 |
| Commissioned | 26 July 1917 |
| Fate | Returned to owner 22 November 1918 |
| Notes | Operated as private motorboat Elfin 1911-1917 and from 1918 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Patrol vessel |
| Length | 50 ft 8 in (15.44 m) |
_in_port.jpg)
The second USS Elfin (SP-965) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
Background
Elfin was built in 1911 as a private motorboat of the same name by Britt Brothers [Wikidata] at Lynn, Massachusetts. In July 1917, the U.S. Navy leased her from her owner, Alfred W. Gibbs of Wayne, Pennsylvania, for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Elfin (SP-965) on 26 July 1917.
Assigned to the 4th Naval District, Elfin served on patrol duties through the end of World War I.
Elfin was returned to Gibbs on 22 November 1918.
Notes
- The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships' assertion that Elfin served in a non-commissioned status – repeated at NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Elfin (SP 965) – appears to have been in error, and Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships: USS Elfin (SP-965), 1917-1918 corrects the record with a specific commissioning date.
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.- Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships: USS Elfin (SP-965), 1917-1918
- NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Elfin (SP 965)