USS Speedway (SP-407) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.

History
United States
NameUSS Speedway
NamesakePrevious name retained
BuilderGas Engine & Power Company and Charles L. Seabury Company, Morris Heights, the Bronx, New York
AcquiredMay 2, 1917
CommissionedMay 3, 1917
FateReturned to owner February 14, 1919
NotesOperated as private motorboat Speedway until 1917 and from 1919
General characteristics
TypePatrol vessel
Tonnage15 gross register tons
Length52 ft (16 m)
Beam11 ft 3 in (3.43 m)
Draft3 ft (0.91 m) aft
Speed16 miles per hour[1]
Armament

Speedway was built as a private motorboat of the same name by the Gas Engine & Power Company and the Charles L. Seabury Company at Morris Heights in the Bronx, New York. On May 2, 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her under a free lease from her owner, W. Blair of New York City, for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Speedway (SP-407) on May 3.

Speedway served on patrol duties along the Mid-Atlantic coast of the United States through the end of World War I. The Navy returned her to her owner on February 14, 1919.

Notes

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  1. ^ The Dictionary of American Naval Fightings Ships at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s16/speedway.htm and NavSource Online at http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/170407.htm both give Speedway's speed in miles per hour, an unusual way to measure the speed of a watercraft. It may be that the boat's speed actually was 16 knots. If 16 miles per hours is correct, the equivalent in knots is 13.9.

References

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