USS ''Inca'' (SP-1212) was a 62-foot-long

motorboat A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gea ...

leased by the

U.S. 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 of ...

during

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 outfitted as a

patrol craft A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they ...

, but was additionally assigned other duties, such as

rescue craft A rescue craft is a boat, ship or aircraft used in rescuing. The most common are Lifeboat (rescue) for inshore and closer to shore rescues. For operations further out from shore helicopters & ships are mainly used. Most Government agencies rely ...

seaplane tender A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

, and

dispatch boat Dispatch boats were small boats, and sometimes large ships, tasked to carry military dispatches from ship to ship or from ship to shore or, in some cases from shore to shore. Dispatch boats were employed when other means of transmitting a message w ...

. She served in the Boston, Massachusetts, and

Hampton Roads, Virginia Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic O ...

, waterways until war’s end when she was returned to her owner.

Constructed in Rhode Island

The third ship to be so named by the U.S. Navy, ''Inca'' was a motor boat, built in 1917 and acquired by the Navy from her owner, F. B. McQuesten of Boston, Massachusetts. USS ''Inca'', a 23-ton motor patrol boat, was one of a group of nine motor boats built by Herreshoff Manufacturing Company,

Bristol, Rhode Island Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, US as well as the historic county seat. The town is built on the traditional territories of the Pokanoket Wampanoag. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England. The population of B ...

, in 1917 in the expectation that their private owners would make them available for First World War service. She was acquired by the Navy in July 1917 and commissioned 28 July 1917 at Boston.

World War I service

A versatile craft, ''Inca'' was first assigned to the First Naval District and patrolled outer

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History Since ...

. She also performed coast

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

duties with

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s during this period, and acted as test ship for submarine signaling and detector devices. She was reassigned to

Fifth Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...

in October 1917 and arrived

, 3 November. ''Inca's'' job was to serve as rescue ship for aircraft from the Naval Air Station on flights over the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

and

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

. She also served as a

during 1918, and spent time on harbor patrol in Hampton Roads. ''Inca'' was assigned 26 July 1918 to the Industrial Department, Hampton Roads, as a

, and remained on this duty for the rest of her time in Navy service. ''Inca'' lost her name in 1918 and was thereafter called simply USS ''SP-1212''.

Post-war disposition

''Inca'' was returned to her owner on 17 April 1919 after the end of the wartime emergency.

References

*
USS Inca (SP-1212), 1917-1919. Later renamed SP-1212
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inca (SP-1212) World War I patrol vessels of the United States World War I auxiliary ships of the United States Patrol vessels of the United States Navy Dispatch boats of the United States Navy Seaplane tenders of the United States Navy Ships built in Bristol, Rhode Island 1917 ships