USS Speedway

History
United States
Name	USS Speedway
Namesake	Previous name retained
Builder	Gas Engine & Power Company and Charles L. Seabury Company, Morris Heights, the Bronx, New York
Acquired	May 2, 1917
Commissioned	May 3, 1917
Fate	Returned to owner February 14, 1919
Notes	Operated as private motorboat Speedway until 1917 and from 1919
General characteristics
Type	Patrol vessel
Tonnage	15 gross register tons
Length	52 ft (16 m)
Beam	11 ft 3 in (3.43 m)
Draft	3 ft (0.91 m) aft
Speed	16 miles per hour[1]
Armament	1 × 1-pounder gun; 1 × .30-caliber (7.62-mm) machine gun;

USS Speedway (SP-407) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.

Speedway was built as a private motorboat of the same name by the Gas Engine & Power Company and the Charles L. Seabury Company at Morris Heights in the Bronx, New York. On May 2, 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her under a free lease from her owner, W. Blair of New York City, for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Speedway (SP-407) on May 3.

Speedway served on patrol duties along the Mid-Atlantic coast of the United States through the end of World War I. The Navy returned her to her owner on February 14, 1919.

Notes

The Dictionary of American Naval Fightings Ships at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s16/speedway.htm and NavSource Online at http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/170407.htm both give Speedway's speed in miles per hour, an unusual way to measure the speed of a watercraft. It may be that the boat's speed actually was 16 knots. If 16 miles per hours is correct, the equivalent in knots is 13.9.

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: Speedway (SP 407)

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[1] The Dictionary of American Naval Fightings Ships at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s16/speedway.htm and NavSource Online at http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/170407.htm both give Speedway's speed in miles per hour, an unusual way to measure the speed of a watercraft. It may be that the boat's speed actually was 16 knots. If 16 miles per hours is correct, the equivalent in knots is 13.9.