USS ''Knickerbocker'' (SP-479), 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 ...

tug,

minesweeper A minesweeper is a small warship designed to remove or detonate naval mines. Using various mechanisms intended to counter the threat posed by naval mines, minesweepers keep waterways clear for safe shipping. History The earliest known usage of ...

, and dispatch ship in commission from 1917 to 1919.

Construction and acquisition

''Knickerbocker'' was built as a commercial tug of the same name in 1873 by

Neafie & Levy Neafie, Levy & Co., commonly known as Neafie & Levy, was a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania shipbuilding and engineering firm that existed from the middle of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century. Described as United States, America's "first spe ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania. She was rebuilt in 1904. The U.S. Navy

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

d ''Knickerbocker'' from her owner, the

Cornell Steamboat Company Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

of New York City, on 2 May 1917 for use 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 ...

and enrolled her in the

Navy Coast Defense Reserve A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

, then purchased her outright from Cornell Steamboat on 13 September 1917. She was commissioned at New York City as USS ''Knickerbocker'' (SP-479) on 22 September 1917 .

Operational history

Assigned to the

3rd 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 ...

, ''Knickerbocker'' operated on the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

and in

New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...

as a minesweeper, tug, and dispatch ship. Though ''Knickerbocker'' was ordered stricken from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval author ...

on 14 March 1918 due to her poor material condition and accordingly was stricken on 16 March 1918, a scarcity of tugs resulted in her retention for harbor duty, and she was reinstated on the Navy List in April 1918. On 30 December 1918, ''Knickerbocker'' was assigned as tender to the

training Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...

and

guard ship A guard ship is a warship assigned as a stationary guard in a port or harbour, as opposed to a coastal patrol boat, which serves its protective role at sea. Royal Navy In the Royal Navy of the eighteenth century, peacetime guard ships were usual ...

and served as a dispatch ship.

Disposal

''Knickerbocker'' was decommissioned on 18 February 1919 and was sold the same day to Francis J. McDonald of Ardmore, Pennsylvania.

References

*
Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: ''Knickerbocker'' (Harbor Tug, 1873). Served as USS ''Knickerbocker'' (SP-479) in 1917–1919
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knickerbocker (SP-479) Auxiliary ships of the United States Navy World War I auxiliary ships of the United States Minesweepers of the United States Navy Ships built by Neafie and Levy World War I minesweepers of the United States 1873 ships