The first USS Comber (SP-344) was a United States Navy minesweeper in commission from 1917 to 1919.

USS Comber (right) moored to port of minesweeper USS Crest (SP-339) (left).
History
United States
NameUSS Comber
NamesakePrevious name retained
BuilderManitowoc Shipbuilding Company, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
Completed1916
Acquired1917
Commissioned19 April 1917
FateReturned to owners 2 April 1919
NotesOperated as commercial fishing trawler Comber 1916-1917 and from 1919
General characteristics
TypeMinesweeper
Tonnage303 Gross register tons
Length143 ft (44 m)
Beam22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)
Draft13 ft 5 in (4.09 m)
Installed power600 indicated horsepower (0.45 megawatt)
PropulsionSteam engine, one shaft
Speed11 knots
Complement27
Armament
  • 1 × 6-pounder gun
  • 1 × 3-pounder gun

U.S. Navy career

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Comber was built in 1916 as a commercial fishing trawler of the same name by Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The U.S. Navy chartered Comber in 1917 for World War I service and commissioned her as USS Comber (SP-344) on 19 April 1917.

Fitted out as a minesweeper, Comber carried out minesweeping operations along the coast of New England in the 1st Naval District and 2nd Naval District, carried supplies, and patrolled in the Newport, Rhode Island, area. During the spring and summer of 1918, Comber made two voyages to Bermuda, convoying submarine chasers. After a brief tour of minesweeping in the 4th Naval District off Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware, Comber moved to Boston, Massachusetts to resume minesweeping operations off New England.

The Navy returned Comber to her owners on 2 April 1919.

References

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