Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online:
Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive

Shrewsbury (SP 70)



Black Watch II call sign (1927):
Love - Baker - Jig - Vice
Motorboat:

  • Built in 1910 as Mona by George Lawley and Son, South Boston, MA
  • Renamed Topsy and Shrewsbury
  • Acquired by the Navy 13 April 1917
  • Commissioned USS Shrewsbury (SP 70), 23 April 1917
  • Struck from the Navy list 16 September 1919
  • Sold 29 October 1919 and renamed Marelman
  • Registered in 1927 to J. J. Mantell of New York, NY as the yacht Black Watch II
  • Registered in 1931 to A. C. Wells of Menominee, WI as the yacht Black Watch II
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 77 t.
  • Length 98'
    1927 - 94.4'
  • Beam 15'
  • Draft 5' 3"
    1927 - 7.7'
  • Speed 14.5 kts.
  • Complement 15
    1927 - Four
  • Armament: One 1-pounder and two machine guns
  • Propulsion: Two 125hp Standard gasoline engines, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Motorboat Topsy
    Shrewsbury 100k Underway prior to World War I
    U.S. Navy photo NH 102209    		 Naval Historical Center
    USS Shrewsbury (SP 70)
    Shrewsbury 109k Photographed in 1917-1919
    U.S. Navy photo NH 42422    		 Naval Historical Center
    Shrewsbury 157k In port, circa 1917-1919.
    U.S. Navy photo NH 42423
    Black Watch II
    Shrewsbury 50k c. 1958
    Off New London, CT
    New London Ledge Lighthouse at left    		 Mystic Seaport Museum
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships History: Shrewsbury (SP 70), a motor boat built as Mona (later renamed Topsy), in 1910 by George Lawley and Son, South Boston, Mass.; was acquired by the Navy on 13 April 1917 from her owner, N. H. McCarter of Newark, N.J., as Shrewsbury and commissioned on 23 April 1917. Shrewsbury patrolled in the 4th Naval District during World War I. Struck from the Navy list on 16 September 1919, Shrewsbury was sold on 29 October 1919 to Charles S. McCulloh of New York City.
    Back To The Main Photo Index Back To the Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Ship Type Index Back to the Section Patrol Craft (SP) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster
    This page created by Joseph M. Radigan and maintained by David Wright
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History