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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

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  • Boats-Ships--Frigate
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  • Ship History
Wars & Conflicts
  • World War I 1917-1918
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Wild Cat III (S. P. 879)

1917-1919

The Navy retained the name carried by this craft at the time of her acquisition.

III

(S. P. 879: tonnage 36 (gross register); length 64'0"; beam 15'6"; draft 6' (mean); speed 9.0 knots; complement 10; armament none)

The third Wild Cat, a single-screw, wooden-hulled freight boat built at Milton, Del., by R. T. Potter and completed in 1915, was acquired by the Navy from R. T. Potter on 5 July 1917 and, given the identification number S. P. 879,  was commissioned on 17 July 1917.

Wild Cat was assigned to the New London section of the Second Naval District for local freight-carrying duties. On occasion, she served as a dispatch boat and towed ash lighters and coal scows. She also transported garbage, guns, and ordnance materials.

In February 1919, when some submarine chasers were going out of commission at New London, Wild Cat assisted in their demobilization by mooring astern of a nest of them and taking on board their depth bombs and "Y"-gun charges and transporting these items to magazines on shore.

When the need for her services within the Second Naval District diminished, Wild Cat was turned over to the Coast and Geodetic Survey at the Marine Basin, Brooklyn, N.Y., on 14 April 1919.

Updated, Robert J. Cressman

14 February 2024

Published: Wed Feb 14 21:26:52 EST 2024