Alacrity I (S.P. 206)
1917-1919
The first Alacrity retained the name she carried at the time of her acquisition.
I
(S.P. 206: tonnage 101; length 118'0"; beam 15'0"; draft 5'1" (mean); speed 14.0 knots; complement.16; armament 1 3-pounder, 1 1-pounder, 1 depth charge projector (Y-gun), 2 machine guns)
The first Alacrity, a steel-hulled, twin-screw motor boat constructed in 1910 at Wilmington, Del., by Pusey & Jones, was acquired by the Navy on 28 April 1917 under a free lease from Mr. John H. Blodgett. Given the identification number S.P. 206, Alacrity was placed in commission on 30 May 1917 at Boston, Mass., Ens. Courtland W. Babcock, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the First Naval District section patrol, Alacrity spent the Great War [World War I] conducting patrols from the Boston and Provincetown section bases. Following the Armistice in November 1918, the motor boat continued naval service until she was finally returned to her owner on 28 April 1919, the second anniversary of her acquisition. Her name was stricken from the Navy Register that same day.
Raymond A. Mann
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
16 September 2022
