USS Elfin (SP-965) explained

USS Elfin (SP-965) should not be confused with USS Elf (SP-81).

The second USS Elfin (SP-965) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.

Background

Elfin was built in 1911 as a private motorboat of the same name by at Lynn, Massachusetts. In July 1917, the U.S. Navy leased her from her owner, Alfred W. Gibbs of Wayne, Pennsylvania, for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. She was commissioned^[1] as USS Elfin (SP-965) on 26 July 1917.

Assigned to the 4th Naval District, Elfin served on patrol duties through the end of World War I.

Elfin was returned to Gibbs on 22 November 1918.

References

• • Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships: USS Elfin (SP-965), 1917-1918
• NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Elfin (SP 965)

Notes and References

1. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships assertion that Elfin served in a non-commissioned status – repeated at NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Elfin (SP 965) – appears to have been in error, and Department of the Navy Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships: USS Elfin (SP-965), 1917-1918 corrects the record with a specific commissioning date.