The third USS Fox (Torpedo Boat No. 13/TB-13), was launched 4 July 1898 by Wolff and Zwicker, Portland, Oregon.; sponsored by Miss V. Patterson; and commissioned 8 July 1899.

USS Fox (TB-13) in a West Coast harbor, circa the early 1910s.
History
United States
NameFox
NamesakeLieutenant Gustavus Vasa Fox later Assistant Secretary of the Navy
Ordered10 June 1896 (authorised)
BuilderWolff & Zwicker, Portland, OR
Laid down4 March 1897
Launched4 July 1898
Sponsored byMiss V. Patterson
Commissioned8 July 1899
Decommissioned1916
IdentificationTB-13
FateSold, 27 October 1916
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeDavis-class torpedo boat
Displacement154 long tons (156 t)[2]
Length148 ft (45 m)
Beam15 ft 4 in (4.67 m)
Draft5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) (mean)[2]
Installed power
Propulsion
Speed
  • 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph)
  • 23.13 kn (26.62 mph; 42.84 km/h) (Speed on Trial)[2]
Complement24 officers and enlisted
Armament

Based at Mare Island Navy Yard, the pioneer group of torpedo boats, which included Fox, cruised during 1900 only in the immediate area, conducting trials of engines and equipment, and in general, developing their type both in terms of construction and equipment, and tactics. Between 1901 and 1906, Fox was in the yard for installation of torpedo-firing circuits and other work designed to enhance her capabilities. After 2 years in reserve, she was recommissioned 23 March 1908, and based at San Diego for intensive training operations with the Pacific Fleet.

Out of commission between 7 January 1909 and 17 October 1910, when she was commissioned in reserve, Fox returned to full commission between 1 November 1910 and 5 July 1913, although for much of 1911 and 1912 she lay in reserve. While active, she continued her training and experimental operations out of San Diego. From 1913 to 1916, Fox was on loan to the Washington State Naval Militia, based at Aberdeen, Washington. She was sold 27 October 1916. In 1919 her owners planned on converting her into a trawler.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "USS Fox (TB-13)". Navsource.org. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Table 10 - Ships on Navy List June 30, 1919". Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office: 714. 1921.
  3. ^ "American Marine Engineer August, 1919". National Marine Engineers Beneficial Association of the United States. Retrieved 27 August 2020 – via Haithi Trust.
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