Liberty III (S.P. 1229)
1917-1919
The Navy retained the name carried by this vessel at the time of her acquisition.
(S.P. 1229: tonnage 96 (net gross register); length 103'0" (overall), 93'6" (between perpendiculars); beam 24'0"; draft 12'5"; speed 8.5 knots (cruising); complement 12; armament 2 1-pounders)
Liberty III, a wooden-hulled twin-screw auxiliary schooner, was built in 1896 by John Bishop, Gloucester, Mass.; acquired by the Navy under free lease on 10 September 1917 from her owner, the Boston Pilots Relief Society; enrolled in the Naval Coast Defense Reserve for section patrol duty on 15 September 1917; and was commissioned on 21 September 1917 at Boston, Ens. Murdoch McLean USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the First Naval District, headquartered at Boston, Mass., Liberty III served throughout the Great War [World War I] as a harbor entrance patrol boat, guiding the movements of vessels that navigated the waters of the defensive sea area of the port of Boston.
After the Armistice, Liberty III was decommissioned on 8 January 1919 at Boston and was returned to her owner the same day.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
14 July 2022
