USS Druid (SP-321)

USS Druid (SP-321) moored in harbor, probably in European waters in 1918.
History
United States
Name: USS Druid
Namesake: A member of a religious order in ancient Gaul, Britain, and Ireland (previous name retained)
Owner: W. W. Dwyer of New York City
Builder: Burlee Dry Dock Company of Staten Island, New York
Completed: 1902
Acquired: 2 June 1917
Commissioned: 17 September 1917
Decommissioned: 28 May 1919
Struck: 17 May 1919
Fate: Sold 10 September 1919
General characteristics
Type: Patrol vessel
Tonnage: 539 gross tons
Length: 217 ft (66 m)
Beam: 28 ft 6 in (8.69 m)
Draft: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Propulsion: Steam engine
Speed: 17 knots
Complement: 113
Armament: Two 3-inch (76.2-millimeter) guns

USS Druid (SP-321) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919. She was sent to the European coast and the Mediterranean to protect Allied shipping from German submarines and other dangers.

Druid as a private yacht sometime between 1902 and 1917.

A yacht built in New York

Druid was built in 1902 as a private steam yacht by the Burlee Dry Dock Company of Staten Island, New York. She was purchased by the Navy in Havana, Cuba, from her owner, W. W. Dwyer of New York City, on 2 June 1917.

World War I service

The Navy began outfitting Druid for World War I "distant service" and commissioned her as USS Druid on 17 September 1917 with Lieutenant H. A. McClure in command.

Druid spent the rest of the war performing patrol, escort, and towing duties in the western Mediterranean, the Strait of Gibraltar, and off the coast of Portugal. Druid returned to the United States following the armistice with Germany, which took place on 11 November 1918.

Post-war disposition

Druid was placed in reserve in New London, Connecticut, on 3 January 1919 and decommissioned on 28 May 1919. She was sold on 10 September 1919.

See also

References

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