USS ''Estelle'' (SP-747), later USS ''SP-747'', was a

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 ...

patrol vessel commissioned in 1917 and stricken in 1933. ''Estelle'' was built as a private

motorboat A motorboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine; faster examples may be called "speedboats". Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the inter ...

of the same name. The U.S. Navy acquired her in 1917 for use as a

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 ...

vessel in

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 ...

. She apparently was commissioned that year as USS ''Estelle'' (SP-747). Little information is available regarding ''Estelle''s naval career. Apparently she saw service as a section patrol boat somewhere along the coast of the United States for the rest of World War I. She was renamed USS ''SP-747'' sometime in 1918. On 23 June 1919, a dispatch directed the

Commandant Commandant ( or ; ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ...

, 3rd Naval District, to ship ''SP-747'' and the patrol boat to the Culver Naval School in Culver, Indiana. Like ''Ahdeek'', she presumably operated there on loan from the Navy for many years, because she was not stricken from the Navy Directory until sometime in 1933, the same year ''Ahdeek'' was stricken.''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'' at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/a4/ahdeek.htm.

Notes

References

* (for USS ''Ahdeek'')
SP-747 ''Estelle'' at Navy History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships -- Listed by Hull Number: "SP" #s and "ID" #s -- World War I Era Patrol Vessels and other Acquired Ships and Craft numbered from SP-700 through SP-799
Patrol vessels of the United States Navy World War I patrol vessels of the United States {{US-mil-ship-stub