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Minesweeping
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Ardent I (S.P. 680)

1917–1921

The first Ardent retained the name she carried at the time of her acquisition by the Navy.

I

(S.P. 680: displacement 293; 1ength 106'2"; beam 22'0"; draft 5'6"; speed 7.8 knots (maximum), 6 knots (cruising); complement 20; armament 2 1-pounders)

The single-screw wooden hull fishing trawler Ardent was built in 1902 at Greenport, Long Island, N.Y., by the Greenport Basin & Construction Co., and purchased by the Navy on 11 June 1917, from R. J. Anderton of Newport, R.I. Delivered to the Navy on 11 June 1917, and assigned the identification number (S.P.) 680, Ardent was commissioned on 29 June 1917, Lt. F. P. Betts in command.

Fitted out as a section minesweeper and assigned to the Mining Force, Second Naval District, Ardent carried out minesweeping duties and tended nets in the Newport, R. I., and Block Island sections throughout the remainder of the Great War.


Bow-on view of Ardent, her identification number S.P. 680 prominently painted on her bows, off the U.S. Submarine Base, New London, Conn., 1918. Note fenders deployed on her port side, and the crow’s nest at the top of the foremast in this view c...
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Caption: Bow-on view of Ardent, her identification number S.P. 680 prominently painted on her bows, off the U.S. Submarine Base, New London, Conn., 1918. Note fenders deployed on her port side, and the crow’s nest at the top of the foremast in this view captured by the photographer LaTour. (Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph NH 45275)

In 1919, Ardent was stationed at the submarine base in New London, where she was assigned torpedo work, carrying out those tasks until early 1921, when she was decommissioned. Ardent was sold on 16 May 1921, to Mr. Wigo Rasmussen, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Updated, Robert J. Cressman
26 August 2020

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Published: Wed Aug 26 14:06:27 EDT 2020