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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

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  • Ship History
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  • World War I 1917-1918
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Wilrose II (S.P. 195)

1918-1920

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

(S.P. 195: tonnage 44 (gross); length 75'6" (overall); beam 17'0"; draft 4'3" (aft); speed 10 knots (cruising); complement 5; armament 1 3-pounder, 3 machine guns)

The wooden-hulled, twin-screw cruiser-type motor boat Tarpon -- built in 1908 at Stamford, Conn., by S. P. Nock -- later served as Cynthiana II and had been renamed to WIlrose II by the time she was acquired by the Navy for $6,500 from R. H. Meyer of Jackonville, Florida  Delivered to the Navy on 3 May 1918 at Jackonville Wilrose II was classified as S.P. 195 and was placed in commission on 8 May 1918. Ens. Ashley Halsey, USNRF, was in command as of December 1918.

Wilrose II, variously referred to in Navy records as Wild Rose, Wildrose, or simply Wilrose, served with the section patrol contingent of the Sixth Naval District which then included the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida as far south as the St. John's River. The motorboat was responsible for patrolling along that coastline and its harbors to protect them against enemy attack, primarily against the U-boat menace. She pursued that duty through November 1918 when the Armistice ending hostilities made such patrols unnecessary.

The end of the war, however, did not terminate her service, for Wilrose II continued to be active in the Sixth Naval District at least until the waning months of 1919. In January 1920, she was slated for sale; and she was sold on 10 March to the Charles Dry Dock & Machine Co., of Charleston, S.C. ; she was stricken from the Navy Register concurrently with the sale.

Updated, Robert J. Cressman

2 December 2021

Published: Thu Dec 02 12:40:25 EST 2021