USS Berwind (SP-1671) was a United States Navy patrol vessel briefly in service during 1917.

History
United States
NameUSS Berwind
NamesakePrevious name retained
BuilderAtlantic Boat and Motor Works
Completed1912
Acquired8 October 1917
FateReturned to owner 5 November 1917
NotesOperated as civilian motorboat Berwind 1912-1917 and from November 1917
General characteristics
TypePatrol vessel
Length35 ft (11 m)
Beam7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
Draft1 ft 8 in (0.51 m) mean
Speed10 miles per hour[1]
Complement2

Berwind was built as a civilian motorboat of the same name in 1912 by the Atlantic Boat and Motor Works. On 8 October 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner, the Berwind Fuel Company of Duluth, Minnesota, for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. She was given the section patrol number SP-1671.

Assigned to the 9th Naval District for use in patrolling the Great Lakes, Berwind was enrolled on the list of the district's vessels on 20 October 1917. However, she quickly proved unsuitable for naval use, and the Navy returned her to the Berwind Fuel Company on 5 November 1917.

Notes

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  1. ^ The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/b5/berwind-i.htm and NavSource Online at http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/171671.htm give Berwind's speed as 10 miles per hour, implying statute miles per hour, an unusual unit of measure for the speed of a watercraft. It is possible that her speed actually was 10 knots. If 10 statute miles per hour is accurate, the equivalent in knots is 8.7.

References

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