USS St. Sebastian

USS St. Sebastian (SP-470) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.

USS St. Sebastian (SP-470) sometime between 1917 and 1919. The patrol boat USS War Bug (SP-1795) is in the left background.
History
United States
Name	USS St. Sebastian
Namesake	Previous name retained
Builder	Captain R. D. Hardee, St. Sebastian, Florida
Acquired	25 June 1917
Commissioned	9 August 1917
Stricken	24 April 1919 or 4 October 1919
Fate	Wrecked 9 September 1919
Notes	Operated as private motorboat St. Sebastian until June 1917
General characteristics
Type	Patrol vessel
Length	50 ft (15 m)
Beam	12 ft 4 in (3.76 m)
Draft	3 ft 6 in (1.07 m)
Speed	10 knots
Complement	6
Armament	1 × 1-pounder gun 1 × machine gun

St. Sebastian was built as a private motorboat of the same name by Captain R. D. Hardee at St. Sebastian, Florida. On 25 June 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner, J. W. Taylor of Marathon, Florida, for use as a section patrol vessel during World War I. She was commissioned as USS St. Sebastian (SP-470) on 9 August 1917.

St. Sebastian operated on patrol duty in Florida waters for the rest of World War I and into early 1919. She was out of commission and awaiting sale when she became one of several section patrol boats destroyed at Key West, Florida, on 9 September 1919 by the Florida Keys Hurricane.

Sources vary as to when St. Sebastian was stricken from the Navy List. It may have occurred on 24 April 1919 in advance of her being put up for sale or on 4 October 1919 after her destruction.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships: USS Saint Sebastian (SP-470), 1917–1919. Originally the civilian motor boat St. Sebastian.
• NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: St. Sebastian (SP 470)