USS Margaret (SP-527)

USS Margaret (SP-527) leaving Bermuda for the Azores in November 1917.
History
United States
NameUSS Margaret
NamesakePrevious name retained
BuilderDelaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works, Chester, Pennsylvania
Cost$104,000 USD (Navy acquisition price)
Completed1899
AcquiredAugust 1917
Commissioned16 October 1917
DecommissionedNovember 1918
Nickname(s)Maggie
FateSold 30 September 1921
General characteristics
TypePatrol vessel
Tonnage245 gross register tons
Length
Beam21 ft (6.4 m)
Draft11 ft (3.4 m)
PropulsionTwo Almy boilers, one 728-indicated horsepower (543-kilowatt) vertical triple-expansion steam engine, one shaft
Speed
  • 12 knots (rated)
  • 6 knots (operationally)
Armament

USS Margaret (SP-527) was a yacht acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War I and in commission as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1918. She was assigned to escort and patrol duty in the North Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, she had numerous mechanical problems and her commanding officer -- Lieutenant Commander Frank Jack Fletcher (1885–1973), a future admiral and aircraft carrier task force commander of World War II – did not consider her an effective fighting ship. Fletcher would finally ask the Navy to condemn her as unfit for naval service—something the Navy promptly did.