Abalone (S.P. 208)
1917-1918
The Navy retained the name that this vessel carried at the time of her acquisition.
(S.P. 208: tonnage 33 (gross); length 60'0"; beam 12'6"; draft 3'6" (aft); speed 10 knots; complement 8; armament 1 1-pounder, 1 .30-caliber machine gun)
Abalone -- a wooden-hulled single-screw motor boat constructed in 1913 at Morris Heights, N.Y., by the New York Launch & Engine Building Co. -- was acquired by the Navy on 27 April 1917 under a free lease from Arnold Schlaet of New York City and commissioned on 10 May 1917.
The sparse direct records of Abalone's day-to-day operations consist merely of a deck log, which does not even cover the craft's entire career. From other sources, though, we know that Abalone, given the identification number S.P. 208, was attached to the Third Naval District local patrol forces and was based at New Haven, Conn.
From that port, she performed patrol missions with Squadrons 5 and 20. Following the signing of the Armistice [11 November 1918], she was detached from that duty on 10 December 1918 and was returned to her previous owner a fortnight later, on Christmas Eve 1918. She was stricken from the Navy Register that same day.
Robert J. Cressman
Updated 12 July 2022
