Verna & Esther (S.P. 1187)
1917-1918
The Navy retained the name carried by this small craft at the time of her acquisition.
(S.P. 1187: tonnage 12 (gross register); length 48'0"; beam 10'2"; depth of hold 4'8"; draft 3'6" (mean); speed 7 knots; complement 4; armament 1 1-pounder)
Verna & Esther, a single-screw, wooden-hulled motor boat built in 1912 at Kennebunk, Maine, was acquired by the Navy from Ens. F. K. Williams of Princetown, Mass., on 6 August 1917; and commissioned on 10 September.
Given the identification number S.P. 1187, Verna & Esther served in the First Naval District as a target range boat during the Great War [World War I]. Soon after the Armistice, she was returned to her owner on 30 November 1918.
Updated, Robert J. C ressman
21 June 2022
