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Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive

Courtney (SP 375)

Menhaden Fishing Vessel/Minesweeper:

  • Built in 1912 as Warren J. Courtney by Jackson and Sharpe Boatbuilders, Wilmington, DE
  • Acquired by the Navy 28 May 1917
  • Commissioned USS Courtney (SP 375), 10 August 1917 at the Norfolk Navy Yard
  • Foundered and sank 27 April 1919 off the coast of France and was struck from the Navy list the same day.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 276 t.
  • Length 155'
  • Beam 23' 4"
  • Draft 8' 6"
  • Speed 10.4 kts.
  • Complement 36
  • Armament: Two 3"/50 mounts and two machine guns
  • Propulsion: One single ended boiler, one 600hp vertical compound steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Courtney 89k Original photo: U.S. Navy photo NH 87961
    Replacement photo: Prior to World War I
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 89761-A    		 Original photo: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
    Replacement photo: Robert Hurst
    Hinton 129k USS Hinton (SP 485) at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia on 18 August 1917. The camouflaged ship partially visible in the right background is Courtney
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 52018    		 Robert Hurst
    Courtney 346k Off the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia on 18 August 1917. She is painted in pattern camouflage, which appears to be nearly identical to that painted on USS Wilbert A.
    Edwards (SP-315)
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 75516
    Courtney 303k Off Lorient, France, circa 1918. She has the numeral "7" painted on her bow
    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2011
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 107333
    Cahill 90k Lorient, France. View taken on 4 July 1918, showing U.S. Navy minesweepers in the right center, alongside the dock at Base 19. The French Navy machinist school is at left. The inboard ship is a hulk, presumably an old French warship employed as a harbor support vessel. Minesweepers tied up outboard of it include (from left to right):
    USS Cahill (SP 493), USS Douglas (SP 313), USS Hinton (SP 485), Courtney, and USS McNeal (SP-333). These former fishing vessels were originally known by their civilian names, respectively: Winfield S. Cahill, Otis W. Douglas, John B. Hinton, Warren J. Courtney and Kenneth L. McNeal. Though ordered shortened to surnames by a July 1917 Navy General Order, the longer names were often used afterwards
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 45084
    Commanding Officers
    01ENS Harry Noble Sadler, USNRF10 August 1917
    Courtesy Joe Radigan
    View the Courtney (SP 375)
    DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command website
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    This page created by Joseph M. Radigan and maintained by David Wright
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