USS ''DeLong'' (Torpedo Boat No. 28/TB-28/Coast Torpedo Boat No. 14) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

''Blakely'' class

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

and

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

. ''DeLong'' (TB-28) was launched 23 November 1900 by

George Lawley & Son George Lawley & Son was a shipbuilding firm operating in Massachusetts from 1866 to 1945. It began in Scituate, then moved to Boston. After founder George Lawley (1823–1915) retired in 1890, his son, grandson and great-grandson upheld the busin ...

South Boston, Massachusetts South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformati ...

; sponsored by Mrs. S. DeL. Mills, daughter of

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

George W. De Long George Washington De Long (22 August 1844 – ) was a United States Navy officer and explorer who led the ill-fated ''Jeannette'' expedition of 1879–1881, in search of the Open Polar Sea. Career ''Jeannette'' expedition In 1879, ...

; and commissioned 27 October 1902. Between 4 November 1902 and 2 July 1906, the ''DeLong'' was assigned to the Reserve Torpedo Flotilla at Norfolk, Virginia, then was returned to full commission for torpedo practice and training along the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coast and in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. Again out of commission between 7 August 1909 and 30 April 1910, this time at

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, the DeLong was in reserve at Charleston from 20 May 1910, going to sea occasionally to maintain her readiness for action. She lay in ordinary between 14 March 1914 and 7 April 1917, when upon the entry of the United States into

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, she was recommissioned and fitted out as a

. The ''DeLong'' was based on Norfolk for minesweeping duty until 2 May 1918, when she sailed for

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

, and patrol duty with the Submarine Chaser Flotilla. She also escorted seaplanes to sea for the Naval Aero Squadron based at Halifax, and from 1 August 1918 was known as ''Coast Torpedo Boat No. 14''. She returned from Halifax to Boston 18 January 1919, and arrived at

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

4 February. There she was decommissioned 8 March 1919 and sold for scrapping 19 July 1920.

References

Bibliography

* * * *''Technical data from''

External links

USN Ships--USS DeLong (Torpedo Boat # 28)
United States Navy - Navy Historical Center 1900 USS DeLong Boston LawleyShipyard h64059

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeLong (TB-28 Torpedo boats of the United States Navy Ships built in Boston 1900 ships