USS ''Scandinavia'' (SP-3363) was a patrol vessel in commission in 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 ...

from 1918 to 1919, seeing service 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 ...

. After her U.S. Navy service, she was in commission in the

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey ( USC&GS; known as the Survey of the Coast from 1807 to 1836, and as the United States Coast Survey from 1836 until 1878) was the first scientific agency of the Federal government of the United State ...

as the survey launch USC&GS ''Scandinavia'' from 1919.

Construction

''Scandinavia'' was built as a civilian

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 by the G. T. Taylor Marine Railway at

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, in 1916.Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Scandinavia
/ref>
/ref>

United States Navy service

The U.S. Navy acquired ''Scandinavia'' from Bie and Schiott of

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, on either 3 or 5 October 1918 (sources disagree) for

service in the

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 ...

. The Navy commissioned her on 5 October 1918 as USS ''Scandinavia'' (SP-3363). The Navy assigned ''Scandinavia'' to duty with the Naval Overseas Transportation Service district supervisor at Baltimore for service as a dispatch boat and

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

. She carried out these duties during the final five and a half weeks of and for a few months in its immediate aftermath. On 21 May 1919, she was decommissioned, stricken from the Navy list, and transferred to the

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey service

The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey commissioned the vessel as USC&GS ''Scandinavia'' and placed her in service as a survey launch.NOAA Photo Library: Coast and Geodetic Survey Launch SCANDINAVIA conducting wiredrag operations in Alaskan waters.
/ref>NOAA Photo Library: The launch SCANDINAVIA. Described as a fine launch but with quarters for only 3 men.
/ref> Photographs of ''Scandinavia'' during her Coast and Geodetic Survey career show her performing wire-drag operations in support of

hydrographic survey Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore wind farms, offshore oil exploration and drilling and related activities. Surveys may als ...

work in the

Territory of Alaska The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an Organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The ...

in 1920 and operating in

Southeast Alaska Southeast Alaska, often abbreviated to southeast or southeastern, and sometimes called the Alaska(n) panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Canadian provi ...

in 1927.

References

External links

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Scandinavia
*[https://photolib.noaa.gov/Collections/Sailing-For-Science/Boats/Boats-with-Names/emodule/575/eitem/12397 NOAA Photo Library: Coast and Geodetic Survey Launch SCANDINAVIA conducting wiredrag operations in Alaskan waters.]
NOAA Photo Library: The launch SCANDINAVIA. Described as a fine launch but with quarters for only 3 men.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scandinavia (SP-3363) Patrol vessels of the United States Navy World War I patrol vessels of the United States Ships of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Ships transferred from the United States Navy to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Survey ships of the United States Ships built in Norfolk, Virginia 1916 ships