The first USS ''Roselle'' (SP-350) was a

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 ...

that served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during 1917. ''Roselle'' was built as a commercial

steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

harbor tug of the same name in 1903 by Neafie and Levy at

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. On 10 May 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her from her owners, the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey, for use as a minesweeper during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. She was commissioned on 22 September 1917 as USS ''Roselle'' (SP-350). Assigned to the

3rd Naval District United States Naval Districts is a system created by the United States Navy to organize military facilities, numbered sequentially by geographic region, for the operational and administrative control of naval bases and shore commands in the Unit ...

, ''Roselle'' was based at

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. She conducted

minesweeping Minesweeping is the practice of removing explosive naval mines, usually by a specially designed ship called a minesweeper using various measures to either capture or detonate the mines, but sometimes also with an aircraft made for that purpos ...

patrols in

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

. On 31 December 1917, the Navy returned ''Roselle'' to the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey, which required her services for work deemed vital to national defense. ''Roselle'' continued in commercial service after World War I under various owners. In 1936, she was renamed ''Fearless''. ''Fearless''s name disappeared from registers of commercial vessels in 1942.

References

*
Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: ''Roselle'' (American Harbor Tug, 1903). Served as USS ''Roselle'' (SP-350) in 1917
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosell (SP-350) Minesweepers of the United States Navy Ships built by Neafie and Levy World War I minesweepers of the United States 1903 ships