The fifth USS ''Relief'' was a lightship 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 ...

from 1918 to 1919. ''Relief'' was built in 1904 as a light vessel for the

United States Lighthouse Service The United States Lighthouse Service, also known as the Bureau of Lighthouses, was the agency of the United States Government and the general lighthouse authority for the United States from the time of its creation in 1910 as the successor of t ...

, a part of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Department of the Treasury. She was employed as one of ten reserve vessels designated "relief", assuming the name of the station lightship she replaced when on station. This vessel was acquired by the U.S. Navy on 29 August 1918 for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

service and assigned to the

6th Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Comman ...

for service as a lightship. She was returned to the U.S. Lighthouse Service on 30 August 1919, remaining on its registers through the 1920s. The ship was featured by

Huell Howser Huell Burnley Howser (October 18, 1945 – January 7, 2013) was an American television personality, actor, producer, writer, singer, and voice artist, best known for hosting, producing, and writing ''California's Gold'' and his human interest sh ...

in ''

California's Gold ''California's Gold'' is a public television human interest program that explores the natural, cultural, and historical features of California. The series ran for 24 seasons beginning in 1991, and was produced and hosted by Huell Howser in colla ...

'' Episode 210.

References

Ships of the United States Lighthouse Service Ships built in the United States 1904 ships Lightships of the United States Navy World War I auxiliary ships of the United States {{US-mil-ship-stub