USS Alcalda (SP-630)

Photographed prior to World War I. The original photograph bears the mark of the New York yacht brokers Gielow & Orr.Underway during World War I.
History
Name:	USS Alcalda (SP-630)
Namesake:	a variant spelling of alcalde
Builder:	I. M. Bayles and Sons, Port Jefferson, Long Island, NY
Launched:	1910
Acquired:	12 May 1917
Commissioned:	11 May 1917
Struck:	11 January 1919
Fate:	returned to her owner
General characteristics
Displacement:	77 t
Length:	105 ft (32 m)
Beam:	15 ft 5 in (4.70 m)
Draft:	6 ft (1.8 m)
Speed:	13.9 knots (25.7 km/h)
Complement:	16
Armament:	one 3-pounder one 1-pounder two machine guns one Y-gun

USS Alcalda (SP-630)—a yacht built in 1910 in New York at Port Jefferson on Long Island by I. M. Bayles & Sons—was acquired by the Navy on free lease from Mr. Farley Hopkins on 12 May 1917 though she was officially commissioned on the day before the transaction was completed. The vessel patrolled the waters of the 2nd Naval District to prevent incursions by German U-boats and to locate any mines laid by either U-boats or surface raiders. Alcalda was returned to her owner on 11 January 1919, and her name was stricken from the Navy list on that same day.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Alcalda (SP 630)