USS Margo (SP-870)

USS Margo (SP-870) was a raised deck cruiser built for private use taken into the United States Navy as a Section patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918 and returned to the owner after the war.

USS Margo (SP-870) off Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1917 or 1918.
History
United States
Name: USS Margo
Namesake: Previous name retained
Owner: George H. McNeely
Builder: Mathis Yacht Building Company, Camden, New Jersey
Yard number: 33
Completed: 1913
Acquired: 14 June 1917
Commissioned: 14 June 1917
Identification: ON 211427, signal LCDF
Fate: Returned to owner 4 December 1918, sold, renamed Pandora III, scrapped 1955
Notes: Operated as private cruiser Margo 1913–1917 and from 1918
General characteristics
Type: Section patrol vessel
Tonnage: 34 Gross register tons
Length: 65 ft (20 m)
Beam: 14 ft (4.3 m)
Draft: 3 ft 6 in (1.1 m)
Speed: 8.6 knots (9.9 mph; 15.9 km/h)
Complement: 11
Armament:
USS Margo (SP-870) sometime in 1917 or 1918.

Private cruiser

Margo was designed by John Trumpy and built as a raised deck cruiser with one funnel and tow masts in 1913 by the Mathis Yacht Building Company at Camden, New Jersey for George H. McNeely of Philadelphia.[1] The motorboat was Mathis' hull number 33 and assigned the official number 211427 and signal letters LCDF on registration.[2][3]

The cruiser's raised deck covered the crew quarters, designed for four, and extended as a trunk cabin over the engine room. The saloon was reached by stairway from the main deck. That space was 16 feet (4.9 m) in length with a long sofa with lockers flanked by buffets along the port side and Pullman berths on the starboard side. A mantle over a hot water radiator was at the forward end of the saloon with a door on the port side leading to a toilet and the one to starboard to a galley. The two berth owner's stateroom, furnished with easy chairs and rockers, was aft of the saloon. Owner's areas were finished in ivory white with mahogany trim.[1]

Margo was powered by one Standard six cylinder engine rated at 195 horsepower with a 200-gallon fuel capacity for an endurance of 500 miles at 8.6 knots (9.9 mph; 15.9 km/h). One electrical generating set driven by belt from the main engine provided a quarter kilowatt of power.[1][4]

World War I

On 14 June 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her under a free lease from her owner, George H. McNeely of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for use as a Section patrol boat during World War I. She was commissioned the same day as USS Margo (SP-870) with Ensign Rick F. Nowell, USNRF, in command.[4][5]

Margo was ssigned to the 4th Naval District and based at Philadelphia carrying out patrol duties in the Delaware River area for the rest of World War I and was returned to McNelly on 4 December 1918.[5]

Post war

The cruiser was sold, renamed Pandora III and was owned by several people in the New York area until scrapped in 1955.[2][6][7]

References
  1. "Margo a 64 Footer". Motor Boating. Vol. 12 no. 4. October 1913. p. 21. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  2. Colton, Tim (June 6, 2018). "Mathis Yacht Building, Camden and Gloucester City NJ". ShipbuildingHistory. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  3. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Navigation (1918). Fiftieth Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States; Part VI. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 273. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  4. Construction & Repair Bureau (Navy) (November 1, 1918). Ships' Data U.S. Naval Vessels. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 362–367. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  5. Naval History And Heritage Command (December 26, 2016). "Margo (S. P. 870) 1917–1918". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  6. Fifty Fourth Annual List of Merchant Vessels of the United States; Part VI. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1922. p. 111. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  7. Merchant Vessels of the United States 1953–1954; Index of Managing Owners. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1954. p. 943. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
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