USS Letter B (SP-732) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
 Letter B as a private motorboat, probably at the time of her acquisition by the United States Navy in May 1917.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Letter B |
| Namesake | Previous name retained |
| Builder | Electric Launch Company (ELCO), Bayonne, New Jersey |
| Completed | 1912 |
| Acquired | 7 May 1917 |
| Commissioned | 20 October 1917 |
| Fate | Returned to owner 29 April 1919 |
| Notes | Operated as private motorboat Letter B 1912-1917 and from 1919 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Patrol vessel |
| Length | 40 ft (12 m) |
| Beam | 6 ft (1.8 m) |
| Draft | 2 ft (0.61 m) |
| Propulsion | Gasoline engine, one shaft |
| Speed | 30 knots |
| Complement | 3 |
| Armament | None |
Letter B was built in 1912 as a private "runabout"-type motorboat of the same name by the Electric Launch Company (ELCO) at Bayonne, New Jersey. On 7 May 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her under a free lease from her owner, C. Chester Eaton of Brockton, Massachusetts, for use as a section patrol vessel during World War I. Enrolled in the Naval Coast Defense Reserve on 10 May 1917, she was commissioned as USS Letter B (SP-732) on 20 October 1917 at Norfolk, Virginia.
Assigned to the 5th Naval District, Letter B served as a harbor and shore patrol boat at Norfolk and Hampton Roads, Virginia, for the rest of World War I . She also served as a duty and emergency boat for seaplanes at Naval Air Station Norfolk.
The Navy returned Letter B to Eaton on 29 April 1919.
References
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This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.- Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: Letter B (Motor Boat, 1912). Served as USS Letter B (SP-732) in 1917-1919
- NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Letter B (SP 732)
