USS ''Tingey'' (TB-34), was a of the

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 ...

. She was the first of three ships to be named after

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Thomas Tingey Thomas Tingey (11 September 1750 – 23 February 1829) was a commodore of the United States Navy. Originally serving in the British Royal Navy, Tingey later served in the Continental Navy. Tingey served with distinction during the Quasi-War and ...

. The first ''Tingey'' (Torpedo Boat No. 34) was laid down on 29 March 1899 at

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, by the

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, launched on 25 March 1901, sponsored by Miss Anna T. Craven, the great-great-granddaughter of Commodore Tingey, and commissioned at Norfolk, Virginia, on 7 January 1904.

Service history

1904–1916

''Tingey'' then joined the Reserve Torpedo Flotilla at its base at the

Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

and remained there for the first third of her Navy career. For the most part, she lay tied up at pierside; but, periodically she got underway to insure her material readiness should a need for her services ever arise. By 1908, she was reassigned to the 3rd Torpedo Flotilla, but she remained relatively inactive at Norfolk. In 1909, she was listed as a unit of the Atlantic Torpedo Fleet. However, all three organizations to which she was assigned appear simply to have been different names for the same duty – lying at pierside in reserve. Sometime late in 1909, ''Tingey'' moved south from Norfolk to Charleston, South Carolina, where she was promptly placed in reserve again on 22 December 1909. The torpedo boat remained at Charleston, in various conditions of reserve, but apparently always still in commission. Infrequently, she got underway to test her machinery. On 22 October 1911, ''Tingey'' left Charleston Harbor along with torpedo boats USS ''Craven'', USS ''Barney'', USS ''DeLong'', USS ''Wilkes'', and destroyer USS ''Macdonough'' for Hampton Roads, there to await orders before proceeding to New York to take part in a naval review. Fifteen miles off Charleston lighthouse, the tubes of boiler B blew out. The disabled ''Tingey'' was towed back to Charleston by the naval tug USS ''Sebago''. John Henry Tibbs, a water tender, died the following day from injuries sustained in the explosion. Joseph S. Myers, a fireman, was seriously burned and scalded. There was hope he would survive his injuries but he also died.

1917–1919

In 1917, ''Tingey'' moved north to the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the ci ...

where she was placed out of commission on 8 March 1917. A month later on 7 April 1917, she was recommissioned and moved further north to patrol the coastal waters of the

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during the period the United States participated in

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. In September 1918, the torpedo boat's name was canceled so that it could be given to ''Destroyer No. 272'', one of the new s. The older vessel then became ''Coast Torpedo Boat No. 17''. Two months later, Germany sued for the armistice which ended hostilities.

Decommissioning and sale

''Coast Torpedo Boat No. 17'' was placed out of commission at Philadelphia on 30 January 1919, and she was struck from the

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on 28 October 1919. On 10 March 1920, she was sold to the Independent Pier Co., of

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Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tingey (TB-34) Torpedo boats of the United States Navy Ships built in Baltimore 1901 ships