USS Buck (SP-1355)

The first USS Buck (SP-1355), later USS SP-1355, was a tender that served in the United States Navy from 1917 to 1918.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Buck.

USS Buck (SP-1355), later USS SP-1355, during World War I.
History
United States
Name:
  • USS Buck (September 1917-April 1918)
  • USS SP-1355 (April 1918-late 1918)
Namesake:
  • As Buck, her previous name retained
  • As SP-1355, her section patrol number
Completed: 1911
Acquired: 24 August 1917
Commissioned: 13 September 1917
Decommissioned: Late 1918
Fate: Returned to owner 24 September 1918 or 27 November 1918[1]
General characteristics
Type: Tender
Length: 33 ft 6 in (10.21 m)
Beam: 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Draft: 1 ft 6 in (0.46 m) (aft)
Speed: 15 miles per hour[2]
Complement: 2

Buck was built as a civilian motorboat in 1911. On 24 August 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her under a free lease from the Conservation Commission of Maryland for use during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Buck (SP-1355) on 13 September 1917.

Assigned to the 5th Naval District, Buck served as a tender at Norfolk, Virginia, for the remainder of World War I. She was renamed USS SP-1355 in April 1918.

SP-1355 was decommissioned late in 1918. The navy returned her to Conservation Commission of Maryland on either 24 September 1918 or 27 November 1918.[3]

Notes
  1. The Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command (at http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-b/sp1355.htm) and NavSource Online (at http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/171355.htm) both claim the date was 27 November 1918, but the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b10/buck-i.htm)states that conflicting records exist and that either date is possible.
  2. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b10/buck-i.htm) gives the boat's speed as 15 miles per hour. It is unusual to calibrate a watercraft's speed in miles per hour rather than knots. It is possible that her speed was 15 knots; if 15 miles per hour is accurate, the equivalent in knots is 13.
  3. The Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command and NavSource Online both claim the date was 27 November 1918, but the entry at Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships states that conflicting records exist and that either date is possible.

References
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