USS ''Lillian II'' (SP-38) was an armed

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 ...

that served in 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 ...

as a

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 the ...

in 1917. ''Lillian II'' was built in 1909 by Willard Downes at Bayshore, New York, as a private motorboat of the same name. The U.S. Navy acquired ''Lillian II'' from her owner, S. F. Rothschild of Bayshore, under a bare-boat charter on 6 June 1917 for

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 ...

service. She was enrolled in the

Coast Defense Reserve The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

on 8 June 1917, delivered to the Navy on 16 June 1917, and commissioned as USS ''Lillian II'' (SP-38) on 20 July 1917. Assigned to the 3rd Naval District at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, ''Lillian II'' operated as a shore

patrol boat 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 the ...

Great South Bay The Great South Bay is a lagoon situated between Long Island and Fire Island, in the State of New York. It is about long and has an average depth of 4 feet 3 inches and is 20 feet at its deepest. It is protected from the Atlantic Ocean by Fire ...

on the southern coast of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, New York. The Navy decommissioned ''Lillian II'' on 19 December 1917 and returned her to her owner on 20 December 1917.

References

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NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Lillian II (SP 38)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lillian II (SP-38) Patrol vessels of the United States Navy World War I patrol vessels of the United States Ships built in New York (state) 1909 ships