View source for USS Sappho (SP-1427)

{{Short description|United States Navy vessel}}
{{other ships|USS Sappho}}
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|Ship image=SS Sappho (1886).jpg
|Ship caption=SS ''Sappho'' prior to her [[United States Navy]] service.
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag={{USN flag|1918}}
|Ship name=USS ''Sappho''
|Ship namesake=[[Sappho]], a 5th-century BC [[Greece|Greek]] [[poet]] (previous name retained)
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|Ship builder=[[New England Shipbuilding Company]], [[Bath, Maine|Bath]], [[Maine]]
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|Ship completed=1886
|Ship acquired=6 August 1918
|Ship commissioned=20 August 1918
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|Ship decommissioned=18 February 1919
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|Ship fate=Returned to owner 18 February 1919
|Ship notes=In commercial service as [[Ferryboat|ferry]] [[Steamboat|steamer]] SS ''Sappho'' 1886-1918 and from 1919
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|Ship type=[[Ferryboat|Ferry]] [[Transport (ship)|transport]]
|Ship tonnage=275 [[Gross register ton]]s
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|Ship length={{convert|149|ft|9.5|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|28|ft|9.5|in|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship speed=15 [[Knot (unit)|knots]] (maximum)
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The first '''USS ''Sappho'' (ID-1427)''' was a [[United States Navy]] [[Ferryboat|ferry]] [[Transport (ship)|transport]] in commission from 1918 to 1919.
''Sappho'' was built in 1886 as a [[wood]]en-[[Hull (watercraft)|hulled]] commercial ferry [[Steamboat|steamer]] SS ''Sappho'' at [[Bath, Maine|Bath]], [[Maine]], by [[New England Shipbuilding Company]]. The U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner, William C. Sproul of [[Chester, Pennsylvania|Chester]], [[Pennsylvania]], for [[World War I]] service on 6 August 1918 and [[Ship commissioning|commissioned]] her on 20 August 1918 as USS ''Sappho''.
''Sappho'' was assigned to the [[4th Naval District]] for local transport duty, providing [[transportation]] between the [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]] in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], and nearby ports in [[New York (state)|New York]] and [[New Jersey]].
Five days after ''Sappho'' was commissioned, SS ''Delaware'' accidentally rammed her on 25 August 1918. Repairs were complete by 20 October 1918, allowing ''Sappho'' to resume transport service.
''Sappho'' was [[Ship decommissioning|decommissioned]] at Philadelphia on 18 February 1919, and returned to her owner the same day. Her Navy crew was returned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard by the [[Tugboat|tug]] [[USS Triton (YT-10)|USS ''Triton'' (YT-10)]].
==References==
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s5/sappho-i.htm}}
*[http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-s/sp1427.htm Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships: USS ''Sappho'' (SP-1427), 1918-1919. Originally the civilian ferry steamer ''Sappho''.]
*[http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/171427.htm NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: Sappho (ID 1427)]
{{August 1918 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sappho (SP-1427)}}
[[Category:Ships built in Bath, Maine]]
[[Category:1886 ships]]
[[Category:Ferries of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:World War I auxiliary ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1918]]