USS Josephine (SP-1243)

Josephine as a civilian yacht sometime between 1905 and 1917, prior to her U.S. Navy service.
History
United States
Name	USS Josephine
Namesake	Previous name retained
Builder	Peter Grutti Shipyards, New Orleans, Louisiana
Completed	1905
Acquired	27 October 1917
Commissioned	5 November 1917
Decommissioned	6 December 1918
Fate	Returned to owners
Notes	Operated as civilian yacht Josephine 1905-1917 and from December 1918
General characteristics
Type	Patrol vessel
Tonnage	32 tons
Length	82 ft (25 m)
Beam	12 ft 10 in (3.91 m)
Draft	4 ft 6 in (1.37 m)
Propulsion	Diesel engine
Speed	12 knots
Armament	1 × 3-pounder gun 1 × 1-pounder gun

The second USS Josephine (SP-1243) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.

Josephine was built as a civilian motor yacht of the same name in 1905 by the Peter Grutti Shipyards at New Orleans, Louisiana. The U.S. Navy acquired her at New Orleans from her owners, Lee H. Tate et al. of St. Louis, Missouri, on 27 October 1917 for World War I service as a patrol vessel. She was commissioned as USS Josephine (SP-1243) on 5 November 1917.

Attached to the 8th Naval District and based at Burrwood, Louisiana, Josephine patrolled the Southwest Pass, the lower Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico on the section patrol for the remainder of World War I.

Josephine was decommissioned on 6 December 1918 and was returned to Tate and his co-owners.

Josephine should not be confused with two other patrol vessels, USS Josephine (SP-913) and USS Josephine (SP-3295), which also were in commission in the U.S. Navy during World War I.

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Department of the Navy: Navy History and Heritage Command: Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: Josephine (Motor Yacht, 1905); Later USS Josephine (SP-1243), 1917-1918
• NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: Josephine (SP 1243)