Nansemond, 1926

Feb. 28, 2021
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Nansemond, 1926

later Phlox


A county in Virginia.


Type/Rig/Class: 100-foot patrol boat

Builder: Defoe Boat & Motor Works, Bay City, Michigan

Dates of Service: 1926 - 1949

Disposition: Sold

Displacement: 210 tons

Length: 99' 8"

Beam: 23'

Draft: 4' 6"

Machinery: 2 Grey Marine diesel engines; 300 BHP; twin propellers

Speed: 12 knots maximum

Complement: 15 (with 1 warrant officer)

Armament: 1 x 3"/23 (1930)


Cutter History:

The Nansemond, a 100-foot patrol boat built to combat rum-runners during Prohibition, was one of 13 in her class.  These 13 were steel-hulled patrol boats that were capable of close inshore work but were slower than the 75-foot patrol boats.  They made up for their slower speed and lack of maneuverability with better accommodations for the crew so that they could stay at sea for longer periods and work well off-shore.  They were all built by Defoe Boat & Motor Works of Bay City, Michigan. 

The Nansemond was stationed at New York City for her first year of service and then transferred to Fernandina, Florida.  She also served out of Marquette, Michigan, Chicago, Illinois, and Two Rivers, Wisconsin.  She was modified for buoy tending and was renamed Phlox in 1941.

From 1941 until 1943 she operated out of Alpena, Michigan.  From 1943 until the end of World War II she operated out of Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

She was sold on 30 January 1949.


Sources:

Donald Canney.  U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790-1935.  Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1995.

U.S. Coast Guard.  Record of Movements: Vessels of the United States Coast Guard: 1790 - December 31, 1933.  Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1934; 1989 (reprint).