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Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive

Berkshire (ID 1578)


Passanger Ship: Built in 1881 by William Cramp and Sons, Ship and Engine Building Co., Philadelphia, PA; Acquired by the Navy 1 April 1918; Commissioned 24 April 1918; Decommissioned 22 March 1919 at New York and returned to her owner; Struck from the Naval Register 7 July 1919. Fate unknown.

Specifications: Displacement 2,300 t.; Length 250'; Beam 36' 6"; Draft 20'; Speed 12 kts.; Complement 86;
Armament unknown.


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Berkshire 115k In port, probably prior to her World War I U.S. Navy service.
U.S. Navy Photo NH 94207
Naval Historical Center

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships History:

Berkshire

Berkshire is a county in Massachusetts.

[The first] Berkshire (No. 1578), a passenger vessel, was built in 1881 by William Cramp and Sons, Ship and Engine Building Co., Philadelphia, Pa.; chartered by the Shipping Board and delivered to the Navy 1 April 1918; and commissioned 24 April 1918, Lieutenant C. C. Jones, USNR, in command.

Assigned to the 3rd Naval District, Berkshire operated in Long Island Sound instructing personnel of the Emergency Meet Corporation and the Navy in mine sweeping techniques and operations, until decommissioned and returned to her former owner 22 March 1919 at New York.


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