USS Cobra (SP-626)

USS ''Cobra'' (SP-626) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919 that operated during World War I. She originally was constructed as a private motorboat. After the conclusion of her U.S. Navy career, she served as the fishery patrol vessel USFS ''Petrel'' for the United States Bureau of Fisheries from 1919 to 1934, operating in the waters of the Territory of Alaska.

Construction

''Cobra'' was built as a private motorboat of the same name at Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1917 at a cost of US$14,000. She had one mast and could accommodate seven passengers and crew.

U.S. Navy service

On 19 September 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired ''Cobra'' for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. She was commissioned as USS ''Cobra'' (SP-626) on 19 September 1917. Assigned to the 1st Naval District in northern New England, ''Cobra'' performed patrol duty for the rest of World War I.

World War I ended on 11 November 1918, and sometime thereafter the Navy decommissioned ''Cobra''. Under an executive order dated 24 May 1919 addressing the disposition of vessels the Navy no longer required, ''Cobra'' was among several vessels designated for transfer to the United States Bureau of Fisheries (BOF). The Navy duly transferred her to the BOF on 9 September 1919.

U.S. Bureau of Fisheries service

Prior to ''Cobra''s official transfer, the Bureau of Fisheries took possession of her at Quincy, Massachusetts, in July 1919 and renamed her USFS ''Petrel''. The BOF vessel USFS ''Phalarope'' towed ''Petrel'' and another former U.S. Navy patrol boat, the BOF vessel USFS ''Merganser'', from Quincy to the Norfolk Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia. There ''Petrel'' and ''Merganser'' were loaded aboard the U.S. Navy collier on 3 October 1919. ''Neptune'' transported them to the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington, arriving there in early 1920. After they were unloaded, ''Petrel'' and ''Merganser'' were taken to Seattle, Washington, to undergo inspection.

After the inspections were complete, ''Petrel'' and ''Merganser'' were loaded aboard the Pacific American Fisheries steamer ''Redwood'', which transported them to Kings Cove, Territory of Alaska, where ''Redwood'' arrived on 18 June 1920. The BOF intended to use them to conduct fishery patrols in the waters of Alaska, but withheld them from service, and instead sent them back to Seattle for repairs and to modify them for fishery patrol work as funds became available for the repairs and modifications. ''Petrels modifications took place in early 1922; they involved general remodeling, re-decking, and the replacement of her original Dusenberg engine with a more economical Standard engine removed from the BOF vessel USFS ''Auklet'' when ''Auklet'' underwent an engine upgrade. Early in the summer of 1922, ''Auklet'' towed ''Petrel'' to Wrangell, Territory of Alaska, from which ''Petrel'' finally began her annual patrol duties, operating in the waters of Southeast Alaska.

''Petrel''s engine eventually broke down, and she was laid up during the 1926 fishing season. After the installation of a new , four-cylinder Cummins engine, she resumed her patrol duties on 20 September 1927. During 1930, she was involved in enforcing laws protecting fur seal populations near Sitka, Territory of Alaska.

''Petrel''s last BOF service took place during the 1934 fishing season. At the conclusion of the season, she was decommissioned at Seattle.

Notes

References

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Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships: USS ''Cobra'' (SP-626), 1917–1919
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cobra (Sp-626)
World War I patrol vessels of the United States
Fishery protection vessels
Ships of the United States Bureau of Fisheries
Ships built in Lynn, Massachusetts
1917 ships
Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the United States Bureau of Fisheries