W. L. Messick

 

(ScStr.: t. 237 (gross); l. 145'0"; b. 23'0";  dr. 9'0" (mean); cpl. 36; a. 1 6-pdr.)

 

W. L. Messick—a wooden-hulled, screw steamer built in  1911  at  Norfolk,  Va., by  Smith  and  McCoy—was purchased by the Navy on 7 April 1917 from Joseph H. Bellows of Reedville, Va. Commissioned simultaneously, W. L. Messick—classified as SP-322—was assigned to the 5th Naval District and served as a minesweeper in the Virginia capes area for the duration of World War I. She was subsequently decommissioned and sold on 27 August 1919 to her former owner