USS Guinevere (SP-512)

USS Guinevere (SP-512)

USS Guinevere (SP-512) underway, ca. 1917.
History
United States
Namesake:	Previous name retained
Builder:	George Lawley & Son, Neponset, Massachusetts
Completed:	1908
Acquired:	10 June 1917
Commissioned:	20 July 1917
Fate:	Wrecked 26 January 1918
Notes:	Operated as private yacht Guinevere 1908-1917
General characteristics
Type:	Patrol vessel
Tonnage:	499 gross register tons
Length:	197 ft 6 in (60.20 m)
Beam:	32 ft 6 in (9.91 m)
Draft:	17 ft (5.2 m)
Propulsion:	Steam engine and sails
Speed:	10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement:	75
Armament:	4 × 3 in (76 mm) guns

The first USS Guinevere (SP-512) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.

Guinevere was built in 1908 as a private steam and sail yacht of the same name by George Lawley & Son at Neponset, Massachusetts. On 10 June 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner, Edgar Palmer of New York City, for use as a section patrol vessel during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Guinevere (SP-512) on 20 July 1917 with Lieutenant Guy Davis in command.

Guinevere departed Coaling Station Newport at Newport, Rhode Island, on 1 August 1917 bound for St. John's, Dominion of Newfoundland; the Azores; and Brest, France. Arriving at Brest on 29 August 1917, she commenced patrols of the French coast and began escorting convoys to Quiberon, Ushant, Lorient, and St. Nazaire, France.

Guinevere ran aground and was wrecked off the French coast on 26 January 1918 with no loss of life. Her wreck was sold for scrapping to the French firm Societe Americaine de Sauvetage on 30 June 1919.

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 Guinevere (SP-512), 1917-1918
• Photo gallery of Guinevere at NavSource Naval History