USS ''Wilbert A. Edwards'' (SP-315), sometimes called USS ''W. A. Edwards'', was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.

Construction, acquisition, and commissioning

''Wilbert A. Edwards'' was built as a wooden- hulled commercial

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

fishing vessel of the same name in 1911 by M. M. Davis at

Solomons Island, Maryland Solomons, also known as Solomons Island, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Calvert County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,368 at the 2010 census, up from 1,536 in 2000. Solomons is a popular weekend ...

, for the W. A. Edwards Corporation. The U.S. Navy purchased her from the W. A. Edwards Corporation in 1917 for World War I service as a patrol vessel. She was commissioned as USS ''Wilbert A. Edwards'' (SP-315) on 10 August 1917Per the ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'' (at http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/w/wilbert-a-edwards.html), Navy

General Order A general order, in military and paramilitary organizations, is a published directive, originated by a commander and binding upon all personnel under his or her command. Its purpose is to enforce a policy or procedure unique to the unit's situatio ...

No. 314 of 28 July 1917 specified that "scout patrol" vessels having compound names -- such as ''Wilbert A. Edwards'' -- would be known by the

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

only, which would have required USS ''Wilbert A. Edwards'' to become simply USS ''Edwards'', but ''Wilbert A. Edwards'' appears to have retained her full name for the duration of her Navy service. Her logs, in fact, carry the name USS ''W. A. Edwards'', while the ''Ships Data, U.S. Naval Vessels 1918'' carries the full name USS ''Wilbert A. Edwards'' on the list of naval vessels. at the Norfolk Navy Yard in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

, with Lieutenant D. C. Kindell,

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, .

Career

Attempted use on "distant service"

Lieutenant Robert Phillips, NNV, relieved Lieutenant Kindell as

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

on 17 September 1917 while ''Wilbert A. Edwards'' was at Gravesend Bay,

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. Assigned to "distant service"—meaning service outside the United States—she departed Gravesend Bay on 19 September 1917, transited the

Cape Cod Canal The Cape Cod Canal is an artificial waterway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts connecting Cape Cod Bay in the north to Buzzards Bay in the south, and is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The approximately canal traverses the neck o ...

on the morning of 20 September 1917, and arrived at the Boston Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts, later that day. After voyage repairs, she left for Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on 25 September 1917 on what was probably supposed to be the first leg of a voyage to Ponta Delgada in the Azores to take up patrol duties from that port. However, on 26 September 1917 she suffered an engine casualty and notified the nearby United States Coast Guard Cutter USCGC ''Algonquin'' of her plight. ''Algonquin'' took the disabled ''Wilbert A. Edwards'' in tow that afternoon and took her to Halifax, where they arrived on 27 September 1917. There, ''Wilbert A. Edwards'' coaled before getting underway in tow of ''Algonquin'' on 1 October 1917. The ships ran into a heavy storm on the afternoon of the first day out of port. Weather conditions had worsened rapidly, and ''Wilbert A. Edwards'' rolled and labored heavily, shipping much water. By 0500 hours on 2 October 1917, the chief engineer on board reported to Lieutenant Phillips that the ship was taking water and that he was unable to keep the flooding under control. At 0800 hours, the

executive officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

Lieutenant, junior grade Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...

, Henry J. Porter, USNRF, and the ship's

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examined the steering gear and found the quadrant working loose on the rudder, the stuffing box slack in its bed, and all bolts loose in the woodwork. They tried to repair the damage but could not. Meanwhile, the flooding continued below decks as the ship rolled and pitched at an alarming rate. By noon, though, the water in the engine room had not gained on the pumps. At last the ship seemed to be holding her own. ''Algonquin'' kept ''Wilbert A. Edwards'' in tow as she steamed ahead at slow speed, and the two ships eventually returned to Halifax on 4 October 1917.

Reassignment to the 1st Naval District

After ultimately returning to Boston in company with the collier USS ''Mars'' (Collier No. 6), ''Wilbert A. Edwards'' underwent repairs there. However, the Navy concluded that she would not be fit for "distant service" and, on 2 February 1918, reassigned her to section patrol duties in the

1st 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 northern New England. ''Wilbert A. Edwards'' remained in 1st Naval District service through the end of World War I and into 1919, spending most of her time under repair.

Decommissioning and disposal

''Wilbert A. Edwards'' was decommissioned at Boston on 21 August 1919. She was stricken from the Navy List on 24 September 1919 and simultaneously sold back to the W. A. Edwards Corporation. She resumed commercial operations, which she continued into the late 1940s.

Notes

References

*
NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Wilbert A. Edwards (SP 315)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilbert A. Edwards (SP-315) Patrol vessels of the United States Navy World War I patrol vessels of the United States Ships built in Solomons, Maryland 1911 ships