USS Little Aie

USS Little Aie (SP-60) was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.

History
United States
Name	USS Little Aie
Namesake	Previous name retained
Builder	Smith and Williams Company, Salisbury, Maryland
Completed	1915
Acquired	5 April 1917
Commissioned	25 April 1917
Decommissioned	25 January 1919
Fate	Returned to owner 25 January 1919
Notes	Operated as private yacht Little Aie 1915-1917 and from 1919
General characteristics
Type	Patrol vessel
Tonnage	17 tons
Length	57 ft 3 in (17.45 m)
Beam	10 ft 10 in (3.30 m)
Draft	3 ft 3 in (0.99 m)
Speed	13 knots
Complement	9
Armament	1 × 1-pounder gun 1 × .30-caliber (7.62-millimeter) machine gun

Little Aie was built in 1915 by the Smith and Williams Company at Salisbury, Maryland, as a private motor yacht of the same name. The U.S. Navy acquired her on a free lease from her owner, John P. Wetherill, Jr., of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 5 April 1917 for World War I service. She was enrolled in the Naval Coast Defense Reserve on 17 April 1917 and commissioned as USS Little Aie (SP-60) on 25 April 1917 at Philadelphia.

Assigned to the 4th Naval District at Philadelphia, Little Aie patrolled the Delaware River and Delaware Bay from Camden, New Jersey, to Lewes, Delaware, and Cold Spring, New Jersey. She served as dispatch boat in Philadelphia harbor and guarded submarine nets there.

Departing Philadelphia on 28 July 1918, Little Aie voyaged along the United States East Coast to Key West, Florida, where she arrived on 30 August 1918 for section patrol duty with the 7th Naval District. Serving as a patrol boat, dispatch boat, and target towing craft, she operated in the Florida Keys and along the United States Gulf Coast to Tampa, Florida, and Boca Grande, Florida.

Departing Key West on 1 December 1918, Little Aie arrived at Philadelphia on 30 December 1918. She decommissioned there on 25 January 1919 and was returned to her owner the 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 Little Aie (SP 60)