United States Lightship 101, now known as ''Portsmouth'' as a museum ship, was first stationed at

Cape Charles, Virginia Cape Charles is a town / municipal corporation in Northampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,178 as of the 2020 census us, 2020 Census. History Cape Charles, located close to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, on Eastern Sh ...

. Today she is at the

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum and the associated Lightship Museum are located on the downtown Portsmouth, Virginia, United States waterfront. The museum covers the 250+ year relationship with the shipyard - America's oldest and largest n ...

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River from Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

. Portsmouth never had a lightship station; however, when the vessel was dry docked there as a museum, she took on the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

''Portsmouth''. A

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

, she is one of a small number of surviving lightships.

History

Lightship A lightvessel, or lightship, is a ship that acts as a lighthouse. It is used in waters that are too deep or otherwise unsuitable for lighthouse construction. Although some records exist of fire beacons being placed on ships in Roman times, the ...

''Portsmouth'' (LV-101) was built in 1915 by Pusey & Jones. She first served as ''Charles'' in the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

outside

from 1916 until 1924. After that assignment ''Portsmouth'' served just over a year as the relief ship for other lightships in her district. She was then moved to Overfalls,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, where she was stationed from 1926 to 1951 as ''Overfalls''. In 1939 when 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 th ...

was absorbed into the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

she was reclassified WAL-524, but still kept a station name on her hull. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the vessel was not armed, however many other lightships were. In 1951 LV-101/WAL 524 was reassigned to Stonehorse Shoal,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, where she served until decommissioned in 1963. The lightship then sat in harbor at

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, until her fate had been decided. On 3 September 1964 LV-101 was

donated A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as blo ...

to the City of

, to become a part of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum. ''Portsmouth'' was

dry dock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

ed at the London Pier in Portsmouth. Although she was never stationed there, she has taken on the city's name. In 1989, ''Portsmouth'' was designated a

and is open for visitation.

Name and station assignments

Lightship are numbered, the stations have names. Light Vessel 101 was assigned to the stations: * ''Charles'', Cape Charles, Virginia (1916–1924) * ''Relief'', Relief 5th District (1925–1926) * ''Overfalls'', Overfalls, Delaware (1926–1951) * ''Stonehorse'', Stonehorse Shoal, Massachusetts (1951–1963) * ''CrossRip'', Cross Rip Shoal, Massachusetts (1963–1964)

Other lightships of Chesapeake Bay

* Lightship ''Chesapeake'' (LV-116)

Citations

References

* **

External links