USS ''Lady Betty'' (SP-661) 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 ...

patrol vessel 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 ...

in commission from 1917 to 1918. ''Lady Betty'' was built as the private

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 ...

''Chatana'' by the Matthews Boat Company at Port Clinton,

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, in 1913. She was later renamed ''Lady Betty''. On 28 May 1917, the U.S. Navy

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

ed ''Lady Betty'' from her owner, Frank S. Washburn, Jr., of

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...

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, for use as a

section patrol A Section Patrol Craft was a civilian vessel registered by the United States Navy for potential wartime service before, during, and shortly after World War I. Historical overview The SP/ID registration system In 1916, with World War I raging a ...

boat 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 ...

. The Navy took delivery of ''Lady Betty'' on 11 June 1917 at Newport,

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, and she was commissioned as USS ''Lady Betty'' (SP-661) on 25 June 1917. Assigned to the

2nd 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 southern

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, ''Lady Betty'' carried out patrol duties in Newport Harbor and along the coast of

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for the rest of World War I. ''Lady Betty'' was decommissioned on 25 November 1918 and returned to Washburn on 9 December 1918. It is unclear whether she bore the name ''Lady Betty'' or ''Chatana'' after her return to him.The ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'' at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l1/lady_betty.htm states ambiguously that USS ''Lady Betty'' "resumed her former name' upon return to her owner, without making it clear whether she returned to her original name of ''Chatana'' or to the private name she held before her commissioning, which was ''Lady Betty''
NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Lady Betty (SP 661)
interprets this as meaning that she returned to the name ''Chatana'' after being returned to her owner; while this is possible, it was unusual for a boat upon return to her owner to revert to a name earlier than the one she had upon commissioning and often bestowed by an earlier owner.

Notes

References

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* ttp://www.navsource.org/archives/12/170661.htm NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Lady Betty (SP 661) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lady Betty (SP-661) Patrol vessels of the United States Navy World War I patrol vessels of the United States Ships built in Port Clinton, Ohio 1913 ships