USS Arctic (SP-1158)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Arctic.

"SS Arctic (1913)" redirects here. For other ships with the same name, see List of ships named SS Arctic.

USS Arctic (SP-1158) was a wooden-hulled steam tug acquired by the US Navy during World War I. Arctic was briefly employed as a convoy escort during the war and later used to tow targets and transport ammunition. She was returned to commercial service in 1919.

USS Arctic (SP-1158)

The tugboat Arctic in drydock, prior to her commissioning into the U.S. Navy as USS Arctic (SP-1158)
History
United States
Namesake	The Arctic
Owner	Independent Asphalt Paving Co. M. J. Dady Engineering and Contracting Co.
Builder	Hall Bros (Eagle Harbor, Washington)
Completed	1913
Acquired	4 Dec 1917
Commissioned	15 Jan 1918
Decommissioned	8 Jul 1919
Fate	Scrapped 1941
General characteristics
Tonnage	197 GRT
Length	111 ft 6 in (33.99 m)
Beam	25 ft 3 in (7.70 m)
Draft	12 ft 3 in (3.73 m) (mean)
Installed power	400 ihp (300 kW) compound steam engine
Propulsion	Screw
Speed	10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	25
Armament	1 × 3 in (76 mm) mount; 2 × mgs

Service history

Arctic was built by Hall Bros. at Eagle Harbor, Washington, in 1913. She was inspected by the Navy on 17 October 1917 and found to be suitable for naval service. Accordingly, her owner, the Independent Asphalt Paving Co., of Seattle, Washington, delivered the tug to the Navy on 4 December 1917. Fitted out at the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, and designated SP-1158, Arctic was placed in commission there on 15 January 1918, LTJG Ernest G. Heinrici, USNRF, in command.

After escorting the submarine chaser USS SC-302 to San Diego, Arctic towed two coal barges through the Panama Canal and proceeded to Hampton Roads, Virginia, where she arrived early in May and began preparations for "distant service." Assigned to Division 11, Patrol Force, Arctic departed New London, Connecticut, on 18 May as one of the escorts for a convoy that included 27 submarine chasers. After shepherding her charges to Bermuda, the tug proceeded on to Ponta Delgada, in the Azores, on escort duty before returning to New London in mid-August 1918. For the remainder of the year, she operated between New London, the Azores, and Bermuda.

Assigned then to the Fleet Train,^{[clarification needed]} Arctic operated with the Atlantic Fleet from February to May 1919, towing targets during gunnery exercises out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and transporting ammunition within the waters of the 5th Naval District. After proceeding from that port to Havana, Arctic was decommissioned on 8 July 1919, simultaneously stricken from the Naval Vessel Register, and turned over to the M. J. Dady Engineering and Contracting Co., which had purchased the vessel from her prewar owner.

After navy service, she remained named as the towboat Arctic, and was scrapped in 1941. ^[1]

References

1. Photo gallery of Arctic at NavSource Naval History

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Photo gallery of Arctic at NavSource Naval History