USS Louise No. 2 (SP-1230)
 Louise No. 2 as a civilian schooner-rigged pilot boat, probably around the time of her acquisition by the United States Navy in September 1917. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name: | USS Louise No. 2 |
| Namesake: | Previous name retained |
| Builder: | Ambrose Martin, East Boston, Massachusetts |
| Completed: | 1900 |
| Acquired: |
|
| Commissioned: | 20 September 1917 |
| Decommissioned: | 14 January 1919 |
| Fate: | Returned to owner 14 January 1919 |
| Notes: | Operated as civilian schooner-rigged pilot boat Louise No. 2 1900-1917 and from 1919 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Patrol vessel |
| Tonnage: | 73 gross tons |
| Length: | 104 ft (32 m) |
| Beam: | 23 ft (7.0 m) |
| Draft: | 13 ft 3 in (4.04 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails plus auxiliary engine |
| Sail plan: | Schooner-rigged |
| Speed: | 9 knots |
| Complement: | 16 |
| Armament: | 1 × .30-caliber (7.62-mm) machine gun |
USS Louise No. 2 (SP-1230), sometimes written Louise # 2 and also referred to during her naval career as Louise and as Pilot Boat #2, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
Louise No. 2 was built as a civilian schooner-rigged pilot boat of the same name in 1900 by Ambrose Martin at East Boston, Massachusetts. On 10 September 1917 the U.S. Navy acquired her under a free lease from her owner, the Boston Pilots Relief Society, for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. She was enrolled in the Naval Coast Defense Reserve on 15 September 1917, delivered to the Navy on 19 September 1917, and commissioned on 20 September 1917 as USS Louise No. 2 (SP-1230) with Ensign John M. Watson, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the 1st Naval District in northern New England and based at Boston, Massachusetts, Liberty III served for the rest of World War I as a pilot boat in Boston Harbor as she had in civilian use, guiding inbound and outbound ships through the defensive sea area of the Port of Boston.
The Navy decommissioned Louise No. 2 on 14 January 1919 and returned her to the Boston Pilots Relief Society the same day.
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: Civilian Ships: Louise # 2 (Pilot Boat Schooner, 1900). Served as USS Louise # 2 (SP-1230) in 1917-1919
- NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Louise No. 2 (SP 1230)