Sunbeam III (S. P. 251)
1917-1919
The Navy retained the name carried by this small craft at the time of her acquisition.
(S. P. 251: length 52'0"; beam 11'4"; draft 3'0"; speed 16.0 knots (maximumu), 12.0 knots (cruising); complement 8; armament 1 1-pounder, 1 .30 caliber machine gun)
Sunbeam III, a single-screw, wooden-hulled motor boat built in 1917 at Morris Heights, N.Y., by the Gas Engine & Power Co. and Charles L. Seabury Co, was loaned to the Navy by Mr. R. B. Roosevelt of New York City under a free lease agreement.
Given the identification number S. P. 251, Sunbeam III was delivered to the United States Navy on 16 June 1917 and commissioned on 18 July 1917. She was assigned to net patrol duty there until returned to her owner and stricken from the Navy Register on 21 January 1919.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
7 March 2024
