USS Tamarack

USS Tamarack (SP-561) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.

Tamarack as a private motor yacht sometime between 1915 and 1917.
History
United States
Name	USS Tamarack
Namesake	Previous name retained (Tamarack)
Builder	Nevins Shipyard, City Island, The Bronx, New York
Completed	1915
Acquired	25 June 1917
Commissioned	18 September 1917
Stricken	21 February 1919
Fate	Returned to owner 21 February 1919
Notes	Operated as civilian motor yacht Tamarack 1915-1917 and as Tamarack, later Elmarlu, from 1919
General characteristics
Type	Patrol vessel
Tonnage	27[1] or 47[2] gross register tons
Length	80 ft (24 m)
Beam	13 ft 3 in (4.04 m)
Draft	4 ft 5 in (1.35 m) mean
Speed	14 miles per hour (12 kn)[1][3]
Armament	2 × 1-pounder guns

Tamarack was built as a private motor yacht of the same name by Nevins Shipyard at City Island in the Bronx, New York, in 1915 to a design by the firm of Swasey, Raymond, and Page. On 25 June 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her under a free lease from her owner, Leonard Breed of Flushing, New York, for use as a section patrol craft during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Tamarack (SP-561) on 18 September 1917.

Assigned to the 3rd Naval District, Tamarack served on patrol duties along the coasts of Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey for the rest of World War I and into early 1919.

Tamarack was returned to Beard on 21 February 1919 and stricken from the Navy List the same day. She returned to civilian service, and later was renamed Elmarlu.

Notes

1. "Tamarack". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command.
2. "Online Library of Selected Images". Navy Naval History and Heritage Command. Archived from the original on 2014-03-21.
3. "Tamarack". NavSource Online.

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: Tamarack (SP 561)