Lightship Portsmouth
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Builder: | Pusey & Jones |
| Built: | 1915/1916 |
| Decommissioned: | 1963 |
| Fate: | Museum ship |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 360 displ |
| Length: | 101'10" |
| Beam: | 25'0" |
| Draft: | 11'4" |
| Propulsion: | 200 HP Meitz & Weiss 4 cylinder kerosene engine |
| Speed: | 8 knots |
| Armament: | none |
The Lightship Portsmouth, commissioned as Lightship 101, was first stationed at Cape Charles, Virginia. Today the vessel is at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum in Portsmouth, Virginia. Portsmouth never had a lightship station, however when LV-101 was dry docked there for a museum, it took on the pseudo-name.
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[edit] History
Lightship Portsmouth (LV-101) was built in 1915 by Pusey & Jones. It first served at Cape Charles, VA in 1916. It was then moved to Overfalls, DE, where it was station from 1926 to 1951. In 1939 when the U.S. Lighthouse Service was absorbed into the U.S. Coast Guard it became WAL 524. During World War II it was not armed, however many lightships were. In 1951 LV-101/WAL 524 was reassigned to Stonehorse Shoal, MA, where it served untill decommissioned in 1963. September 3, 1964 it was donated to the City of Portsmouth and became a part of naval shipyard museum. The vessel and was dry docked at the London Peir in Portsmouth. Today LV-101 is named Portsmouth, although it was never stationed there. In 1989, the Lightship was designated a National Historic Landmark and can still be visited today. It is $3 to go into the hull of the vessel and the naval shipyard museum a block down the road.
[edit] Name and Station Assignments
- Charles, Cape Charles, VA (1916–24)
- Relief, Relief 5th District (1925–26)
- Overfalls, Overfalls, DE (1926–51)
- Stonehorse Shoal, Stonehorse Shoal, MA (1951–63)
[edit] Offical Website
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum
[edit] Other Lightships Of The Chesapeake Bay
[edit] Resources
VESSEL DESIGNATION: LV 101 / WAL 524
