USS ''Mary Alice'' (SP-397) 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 sunk in 1918. ''Mary Alice'' was built as the fast, private

steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

''Bernice'' in 1897 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. She was renamed ''Oneta'' in 1907 and ''Mary Alice'' in 1910. On 10 August 1917, the U.S. Navy purchased ''Mary Alice'' from William J. Conners of Buffalo,

, 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 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 ...

. She was commissioned as USS ''Mary Alice'' (SP-397) the same day. As a unit of the Naval Coast Defense Reserve, ''Mary Alice'' was assigned to the

3rd Naval District United States Naval Districts is a system created by the United States Navy to organize military facilities, numbered sequentially by geographic region, for the operational and administrative control of naval bases and shore commands in the Unit ...

. She patrolled

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

and the approaches to

New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...

. In early October 1918, ''Mary Alice'', with

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

William A. Gill, President of the U.S. Navys Board of Inspection and Survey, embarked, served as an escort for the new

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

USS ''O-13'' (Submarine No. 74) in Long Island Sound during ''O-13''s pre-commissioning acceptance trials. On 5 October 1918 while conducting a submerged circular run off

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

, ''O-13'' suddenly rammed ''Mary Alice'' amidships and holed her. ''Mary Alice'' sank within a few minutes 1,800 yards (1,646 meters) south of Penfield Reef Light with no loss of life, and ''O‑13'' quickly rescued her entire crew from the water.

References

*
Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: ''Mary Alice'' (Steam Yacht, 1897). Served as USS ''Mary Alice'' (SP-397) in 1917–1918
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mary Alice (SP-397) Patrol vessels of the United States Navy World War I patrol vessels of the United States Ships built in Brooklyn 1897 ships Individual yachts Ships sunk in collisions Ships sunk with no fatalities Shipwrecks of the Connecticut coast Maritime incidents in 1918