USS ''Coco'' (SP-110) was an armed motorboat that served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as a Section patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919. ''Coco'' was built in 1917 by the Albany Boat Corporation at Watervliet, New York for William John Matheson of New York and Coconut Grove, Florida. The U.S. Navy purchased ''Coco'' from her owner for $5,500 on 23 June 1917 for use as a section patrol boat during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. She was commissioned on 23 July 1917 as USS ''Coco'' (SP-110) armed with one machine gun. The motorboat's dimensions were length, beam with a draft of and with a maximum speed of and cruising speed of with one Sterling eight cylinder engine of 200 indicated horsepower.The boat's ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'' entry states that Coco served in a non-commissioned status, but the contemporary ''Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels'' states that she was commissioned with date. Assigned to the

Section patrol A Section Patrol Craft was a civilian vessel registered by the United States Navy for potential wartime service before, during, and shortly after World War I. Historical overview The SP/ID registration system In 1916, with World War I raging a ...

in the 7th Naval District, ''Coco'' served in Florida waters for the rest of the war and for some months after the fighting ended. ''Coco'' was one three of Matheson's yachts in government service, the others being ''Marpessa'' and ''Calabash''. ''Coco'' was stricken from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 23 June 1919. The motorboat was sold on 5 August. Before she could be delivered to her new owner, M. C. Carmichael, she was among several patrol boats wrecked in the

1919 Florida Keys hurricane The 1919 Florida Keys hurricane (also known as the 1919 Key West hurricane) was a massive and damaging tropical cyclone that swept across areas of the northern Caribbean Sea and the United States Gulf Coast in September 1919. Remainin ...

on 9–10 September while anchored in

North Beach Basin North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' i ...

Key West Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it cons ...

, Florida.

Footnotes

References

External links

NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: Coco (SP 110)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coco (SP-110) Patrol vessels of the United States Navy World War I patrol vessels of the United States Ships built in New York (state) 1917 ships Shipwrecks of the Florida Keys Maritime incidents in 1919