USS Virginia (SP-274)

USS Virginia (SP-274) was a yacht in the United States Navy.

History
United States
Name:	USS Virginia
Builder:	Electric Launch Company, Bayonne, New Jersey
Laid down:	1910
Acquired:	by purchase, 5 May 1917
Commissioned:	10 August 1917
Decommissioned:	18 March 1920
Stricken:	18 March 1920
Fate:	Sunken hulk sold, 1 April 1920
General characteristics
Type:	Motor yacht
Tonnage:	91 long tons (92 t)
Length:	98 ft 4 in (29.97 m)
Beam:	16 ft (4.9 m)
Draft:	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Speed:	13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement:	14
Armament:	2 × 3-pounder guns

She was constructed in 1910 by Elco at Bayonne, New Jersey. The ship was purchased by the Navy on 5 May 1917 from Mr. Daniel W. Smith of Detroit and delivered to the Government on 2 July.

To avoid the confusion of having several ships of the same name, the Navy discarded her name and referred to her simply as SP-274, though references to her as Virginia (SP-274) in the Navy Register for 1918 indicate that she probably retained her name informally. Commissioned on 10 August 1917, SP-274 was assigned to the 9th Naval District section patrol; and, although the records are unclear, she probably operated out of Detroit, conducting patrols on Lake Michigan.

She served until 12 August 1919, at which time her name was struck from the Navy Register; and, by 18 March 1920, she had sunk at the Detroit Dock. Here again, the records are unclear with regard to whether she sank before or after being struck. In any event, her sunken hulk was sold to J. A. Nicholson of Morris Heights, New Jersey, on 1 April 1920.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.