USS Tasco (SP-502), was a United States Navy minesweeper and patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
 Tasco as a commercial tug, probably sometime between 1907 and 1917.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Tasco |
| Namesake | Previous name retained |
| Completed | 1907 |
| Acquired | 4 August 1917 |
| Commissioned | 29 September 1917 |
| Stricken | 22 May 1919 |
| Fate | Returned to owner 22 May 1919 |
| Notes | Operated as commercial tug Tasco 1907-1917 and from 1919 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Minesweeper and patrol vessel |
| Tonnage | 319 gross register tons |
| Length | 109 ft (33 m) |
| Beam | 32 ft 4 in (9.86 m) |
| Draft | 12 ft (3.7 m) aft |
| Propulsion | Steam engine |
| Speed | 10 knots |
| Complement | 16 |
| Armament | 2 × 1-pounder guns |
Tasco was built as a commercial tug of the same name in 1907 at New London, Connecticut. The U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner, J. Shewan of Brooklyn, New York, on 4 August 1917 for use as a minesweeper and section patrol vessel during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Tasco (SP-502) on 29 September 1917.
Assigned to the 3rd Naval District, Tasco operated along the coastline in the New York City area for the remainder of World War I and into the spring of 1919.
Tasco was stricken from the Navy List on 22 May 1919 and returned to Shewan the same day.
References
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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: Civilian Ships: S.S. Tasco (American Salvage Tug, 1907). Served as USS Tasco (SP-502) in 1917-1919
- NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: Tasco (SP 502)
