Mosquito Fleet

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The term Mosquito Fleet has had six main meanings in U.S. naval history:

1. It is the term used to describe the United States Navy's fleet of small gunboats, leading up to and during the War of 1812.
2. It was the name of a United States Navy squadron detachment, commanded by Commodore Matthew C. Perry, that fought against the Mexican fortresses at Tuxpan and Villahermosa during the Mexican-American War.
3. In the Civil War, it was the name of a group of converted gunboats originally of the North Carolina Navy, later transferred to the Confederate States Navy, that operated in and near the North Carolina Sounds from the start of the war until the Battle of Roanoke Island.
4. It is the term used to describe a fleet of small steam vessels which plied the waters of Puget Sound during the late 19th and early 20th centuries (see Washington State Ferries and Puget Sound Navigation Company). It was also used to describe the various steamboats and other small craft that served on the rivers and bays of the Oregon coast. (See Steamboats of the Oregon Coast). There was also a similar fleet on the east coast of the United States; see Sabino.
5. It is the term used to describe a fleet of converted yachts used by the US Navy during WWI off the Atlantic Coast of France to patrol for U-boats and provide support for convoys into Brest France. This fleet was also called the 'Suicide Fleet'.
6. A term used for the fast, wooden Patrol Torpedo (PT) Boats used by the Navy in WWII. The most famous being PT-109, skippered by Lieutenant Junior Grade John F. Kennedy, USN (future U.S. President).

The Seattle branch of the Moped Army is called the Mosquito Fleet in reference to the third of these.