The first USS Rowan (Torpedo Boat No. 8/TB-8) was a torpedo boat in the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War. She was named for Vice Admiral Stephen Rowan.

USS Rowan
USS Rowan (TB-8) in port, circa the late 1890s or early 1900s.
History
United States
NameRowan
NamesakeVice Admiral Stephen Rowan
Ordered2 March 1895 (authorised)
BuilderMoran Brothers Co. Seattle, WA
Laid down22 June 1896
Launched8 April 1898
Sponsored byMrs. Edward Moale, Jr.
Commissioned1 April 1899
Decommissioned1 May 1899
Recommissioned23 April 1908
Decommissioned28 October 1912
Stricken29 October 1912
IdentificationTB-8
FateSold for scrap 3 June 1918
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeRowan-class torpedo boat
Displacement210 long tons (213 t)[2]
Length170 ft (52 m)
Beam17 ft (5.2 m)
Draft5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) (mean)[2]
Installed power
  • 3 × Mosher boilers
  • 3,200 ihp (2,386 kW)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph)
  • 27.07 kn (31.15 mph; 50.13 km/h) (Speed on Trial)[2]
Complement24 officers and enlisted
Armament

Rowan was laid down on 22 June 1896 by Moran Brothers Company, Seattle, Washington; launched 8 April 1898; sponsored by Mrs. Edward Moale, Jr.; and commissioned on 1 April 1899, Lieutenant Reginald F. Nicholson in command. After trials in Puget Sound, Rowan was decommissioned on 1 May 1899.

Rowan was recommissioned on 23 April 1908 and on 21 June she departed Bremerton, Washington, for Mare Island Navy Yard in Vallejo, California. For the next year she cruised off the United States West Coast, from the Canada–US border to Magdalena Bay, Mexico, as a unit of the 3rd Torpedo Flotilla. Then assigned to the Reserve Torpedo Group at Mare Island, she resumed operations with the torpedo flotilla in December 1909 and continued that duty until 1912.

Rowan was decommissioned at Mare Island on 28 October 1912. Her name was struck from the Navy list the following day and her hulk was sold for scrap on 3 June 1918.

References

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  1. ^ "USS Rowan (TB-8)". 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.
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