Babette II (S. P. 484)
1917-1918
The Navy retained the name carried by this vessel at the time of her acquisition.
(S. P. 484: displacement 11; length 52'; beam 11'4"; draft 3'; speed 21 miles per hour; complement 6; armament 1 1-pounder, 1 machine gun)
Babette II -- a motorboat built in 1917 at Morris Heights, N.Y., by the Gas Engine & Power Company & Charles L. Seabury Company -- was acquired by the Navy on free lease from Mr. Henry Goldman of New York City during the summer of 1917 and commissioned at New York on 25 July 1917.
Assigned to the Fifth Naval District section patrol, Babette II served as a transportation and inspection boat, carrying inspectors to and from ships anchored in Hampton Roads and conducting radio and ordnance inspection work. On occasion, she was also used by the special aide to the Commandant, Fifth Naval District, and by the Commander, District Forces Afloat. Babette II continued that duty until about a month after the end of hostilities in World War I.
On 15 December 1918, she headed back to New York where she was decommissioned and returned to her owner on 17 January 1919.
Raymond A. Mann
8 March 2006
