USS ''Briarcliff'' (IX-3), an

unclassified miscellaneous vessel The IX (unclassified–miscellaneous) hull classification symbol is used for ships of the United States Navy that do not fit into one of the standard categories. Similar lists of 'miscellaneous' ships can found at : and :. Ship status i ...

, was the only ship of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

of that name. A wooden-hulled freighter, she was constructed in 1919 at

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, by the Russell Shipbuilding Company for the

United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was a corporation established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting ...

(USSB). Originally the ''Briarcliff'' was designed to increase the merchant fleet during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

; however, before she could be completed, the war ended. The ''Briarcliff'' would have rotted in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

were it not for Lt. Commander Charles Reginald Jacobsen who was looking for a home for his reservists in

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. On 1 January 1922 she was acquired by the Navy from the USSB in an incomplete condition. Since she had neither engines nor boilers, she served as a floating armory and training vessel for the 33rd Fleet Militia at the

Tompkinsville Tompkinsville may refer to: *Tompkinsville, Kentucky *Tompkinsville, Maryland *Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York ** Tompkinsville (Staten Island Railway station) {{geodis ...

section of

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, Pier 8. That duty lasted until 25 November 1938 when she sank at her moorings as a result of a rotting hull. Later raised and inspected, she was declared unserviceable. ''Briarcliff'' was towed to deep water and sunk on 29 December 1938. Her name was struck 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 ...

that same day. Her memory lives on as the name of a chapter of the NAVAL ENLISTED RESERVE ASSOCIATION, an organization of veterans of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. The chapter is located in Staten Island, NY. (H)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Briarcliff (IX-3)

Briarcliff Briarcliff most commonly refers to: * Briarcliff Manor, New York, a village in Westchester County ** Briarcliff College, a college in the village that closed in 1977 ** Briarcliff Entertainment, an independent film production and distribution compa ...

Transports of the United States Navy