Definition
USS Du Pont (TB‑7) was a Porter‑class torpedo boat of the United States Navy, commissioned in 1897 and serving in various capacities—including combat patrol, training, and coastal defense—until her decommissioning in 1919.
Overview
The vessel was constructed by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in Bristol, Rhode Island. Launched on 30 March 1897 and commissioned on 23 September 1897 under Lieutenant (junior grade) Spencer S. Wood, Du Pont operated primarily along the U.S. East Coast. During the Spanish‑American War she performed dispatch, picket, and patrol duties off Key West and in Cuban waters. After the war she spent extended periods in reserve, serving intermittently as a training ship for Naval Reservists and state naval militias (North Carolina, Massachusetts). Recommissioned for World War I, she was assigned to the 2d Naval District and later to Patrol Squadron, New London Section, operating in Narragansett Bay. To free the name for newer vessels, she was renamed Coast Torpedo Boat No. 3 on 1 August 1918. Du Pont was decommissioned on 8 March 1919, struck from the Navy list in November 1919, and sold on 19 July 1920.
Etymology / Origin
The ship was named in honor of Rear Admiral Samuel Francis Du Pont (1803–1865), a prominent United States Navy officer noted for his service during the Mexican‑American War and the Civil War.
Characteristics
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Class & type | Porter‑class torpedo boat |
| Displacement | 165 long tons (≈ 168 t) |
| Length | 175 ft 6 in (53.49 m) |
| Beam | 17 ft 9 in (5.41 m) |
| Draft | 4 ft 8 in (1.42 m) (mean) |
| Propulsion | 3 × Normand boilers feeding vertical quadruple‑expansion engines; 2 screw propellers; 3 200 ihp (≈ 2 386 kW) |
| Speed | 28 kn (≈ 52 km/h; 32 mph) on trial |
| Complement | 24 officers and enlisted personnel |
| Armament | • 4 × 1‑pounder (37 mm) guns • 3 × 18‑inch (450 mm) torpedo tubes (single‑tube mounts) |
| Builder | Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., Bristol, Rhode Island |
| Laid down | February 1896 |
| Launched | 30 March 1897 |
| Commissioned | 23 September 1897 |
| Decommissioned | 8 March 1919 |
| Fate | Sold for scrap, 19 July 1920 |
Related Topics
- Porter‑class torpedo boats – the class to which Du Pont belonged, representing the last generation of U.S. Navy torpedo boats before the shift to destroyers.
- United States Navy torpedo boat program – the broader development and operational use of small, high‑speed torpedo‑armed craft in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Spanish‑American War (1898) – conflict in which Du Pont performed patrol and dispatch duties in the Caribbean.
- United States Naval Reserve – organization for which Du Pont served as a training platform for reservists.
- Coast Torpedo Boat No. 3 – the designation adopted in 1918 after the ship’s name was reassigned.
- Samuel Francis Du Pont – the naval officer after whom the ship was named.
All information presented is derived from publicly available naval records and the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.