USFC Fish Hawk

Fish Hawk ca. 1900
History
United States U.S. Fish Commission
NameUSFC Fish Hawk
NamesakeFish hawk, an alternative name for the osprey, a diurnal, piscivorous bird of prey
BuilderPusey and Jones Company, WilmingtonDelaware
CostUS$45,000 (appropriated)
Launched13 December 1879[2]
Completed23 February 1880[2]
CommissionedSpring 1880
HomeportWoods Hole, Massachusetts
Identification
  • 1880–1900: GVQC[1]
  • 1900–1926: GVQC
FateTransferred to U.S. Navy 4 May 1898
AcquiredTransferred from U.S. Navy 15 September 1898
FateTo U.S. Bureau of Fisheries 1903
United States
NameUSFS Fish Hawk
NamesakePrevious name retained
AcquiredFrom U.S. Fish Commission 1903
HomeportWoods Hole, Massachusetts
FateTransferred to U.S. Navy July 1898
AcquiredFrom U.S. Navy 1 July 1919
DecommissionedJanuary 1926
 United States Navy
NameUSS Fish Hawk
NamesakePrevious name retained
AcquiredFrom U.S. Fish Commission 4 May 1898
Commissioned4 May 1898
Decommissioned15 September 1898
FateTransferred to U.S. Fish Commission 15 September 1898
AcquiredFrom U.S. Bureau of Fisheries July 1918
FateTransferred to U.S. Bureau of Fisheries 1 July 1919
General characteristics
(as built)
TypeFloating fish hatchery and fisheries research ship
Tonnage
Displacement484 tons
Length
Beam27 ft (8.2 m)[3]
Depth of hold10 ft 9 in (3.3 m) (amidships)[3]
PropulsionSteam, coal-fired, two screws
Sail planFore-and-aft two-masted schooner rig
Crew84, plus up to 25 additional personnel on temporary assignment
General characteristics
(as U.S. Navy vessel)
TypeArmed steamer
Length156 ft 7 in (47.7 m)
Beam27 ft (8.2 m)[3]
PropulsionSteam, coal-fired, two screws
Sail planFore-and-aft two-masted schooner rig
Speed9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Crew45
Armament6 x 1-pounder guns
A pilot at the wheel of USFC Fish Hawk

USFC Fish Hawk was a fisheries science research ship operated by the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, commonly called the United States Fish Commission, from 1880 to 1903 and as USFS Fish Hawk by its successor, the United States Bureau of Fisheries, from 1903 1918 and from 1919 to 1926. She was the first large ship purpose-built by any country for the promotion of fisheries,[5] and spent her 46-year career operating along the United States East Coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, and off Puerto Rico.[5]

In addition to her fisheries service, Fish Hawk served in the United States Navy as USS Fish Hawk in 1898 during the Spanish–American War and from 1918 to 1919 during and in the immediate aftermath of World War I.