The Eagle class patrol craft were a set of steel ships smaller than destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s but having a greater operational radius than the wooden-hulled, 110 feet (33.5 m) submarine chaser

Submarine chaser

A submarine chaser is a small and fast naval vessel specially intended for anti-submarine warfare. Although similar vessels were designed and used by many nations, this designation was most famously used by ships built by the United States of America...

s developed in 1917. The submarine chasers' range of about 900 miles (1,448.4 km) at a cruising speed of 10 knots (19 km/h) restricted their operations to off-shore anti-submarine work and denied them an open-ocean escort capability; their high consumption of gasoline and limited fuel storage were handicaps the Eagle class sought to remedy.

They were originally commissioned USS Eagle Boat No.1 (or 2,3..etc.) but this was changed to PE-1 (or 2,4.. etc.) in 1920. They never officially saw combat in World War I, but some were used during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War

Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War

The Allied intervention was a multi-national military expedition launched in 1918 during World War I which continued into the Russian Civil War. Its operations included forces from 14 nations and were conducted over a vast territory...

.PE-19, 27, 32, 38, 48 and 55-57 survived to be used in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Attention turned to building steel patrol vessels. In their construction, it was necessary to eliminate the established shipbuilding facilities as possible sources of construction as they were totally engaged in the building of destroyers, larger warships, and merchant shipping. Accordingly, a design was developed by the Bureau of Construction and Repair which was sufficiently simplified to permit speedy construction by less experienced shipyards.

Involvement of Ford motor company

In June 1917, President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...

 had summoned auto-builder Henry Ford

Henry Ford

Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...

 to Washington in the hope of getting him to serve on the United States Shipping Board

United States Shipping Board

The United States Shipping Board was established as an emergency agency by the Shipping Act , 7 September 1916. It was formally organized 30 January 1917. It was sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board.http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/Hurley/bridgeTC.htm | The Bridge To France by Edward N....

. Wilson felt that Ford, with his knowledge of mass production techniques, could immensely speed the building of ships in quantity. Appraised of the need for antisubmarine vessels to combat the U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

 menace, Ford replied, "what we want is one type of ship in large numbers."

On 7 November, Ford accepted membership on the Shipping Board and an active advisory role. Examining the Navy's plans for the projected steel patrol ships, Ford urged that all hull plates be flat so that they could be produced quickly in quantity and he also persuaded the Navy to accept steam turbines instead of reciprocating steam engines.

At this point, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels

Josephus Daniels

Josephus Daniels was a newspaper editor and publisher from North Carolina who was appointed by United States President Woodrow Wilson to serve as Secretary of the Navy during World War I...

 was drawn into the project. He recognized that no facilities were available at the Navy yards for building new craft and asked Ford if he would undertake the task. Ford agreed, and, in January 1918, he was directed to proceed with the building of 100 of them. Later on, 12 more were added for delivery to the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 government.

Construction

Ford's plan for building the ships was revolutionary. Establishing a new plant on the River Rouge

River Rouge (Michigan)

The River Rouge, also known as the Rouge River, is a river in the Metro Detroit area of southeastern Michigan. It flows into the Detroit River at Zug Island, which is the boundary between the cities of River Rouge and Detroit....

 on the outskirts of Detroit, he proposed to turn them out as factory products, using mass production techniques, and employing factory workers. He would then send the boats by the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

 and the St. Lawrence River to the Atlantic coast. However, Ford had little part in the design of the boats. Except for his insistence upon simple plans and the use of steam turbines, he contributed little of a fundamental nature to the design concept.

The assembly plant was completed in five months, and the first keel was laid in May 1918. The machinery and fittings were largely built at Ford's Highland Park plant in Detroit. At first, Ford believed that boats could be sent down a continuously moving assembly line like automobiles. The size of the craft made this too difficult, however, and a "step-by-step" movement was instituted on the 1700 feet (518.2 m) line. The first Eagle boat was launched on 11 July. The launching of these 200 feet (61 m) craft was a formidable operation. Not built on ways from which they could slide into the water, the hulls moved slowly from the assembly line on enormous, tractor-drawn flatcars. They were then placed on a 225 feet (68.6 m) steel trestle alongside the water's edge which could be sunk 20 feet (6.1 m) into the water by hydraulic action.

The original contract called for delivery of 100 ships by 1 December 1918. Although the first seven boats were completed on schedule, succeeding ones did not follow as rapidly, even though the labor force reached 4,380 by July and later peaked at 8,000. The chief reasons were Ford's excessive initial optimism and the inexperience of labor and supervisory personnel in shipbuilding. Upon the signing of the Armistice in November 1918, the number under contract, previously raised from 100 to 112, was cut to 60. Of these, seven were commissioned in 1918, and the remaining 53 were commissioned in 1919.

The entire Eagle Boat operation came briefly under challenge by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge

Henry Cabot Lodge

Henry Cabot "Slim" Lodge was an American Republican Senator and historian from Massachusetts. He had the role of Senate Majority leader. He is best known for his positions on Meek policy, especially his battle with President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 over the Treaty of Versailles...

 of Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 in December 1918. At the ensuing Congressional hearings, Navy officials successfully defended the boats as being a necessary experiment and well made while Ford profits were proved to be modest.

US service

The term "Eagle Boat" stemmed from a wartime Washington Post editorial which called for "...an eagle to scour the seas and pounce upon and destroy every German submarine." However, the Eagle Boats never saw service in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Reports on their performance at sea were mixed. The introduction, at Ford's insistence, of flanged plates instead of rolled plates facilitated production but resulted in sea-keeping characteristics which were far from ideal. In the first years after the war, a number of them were used as aircraft tenders. Despite the handicap of their size, they serviced photographic reconnaissance planes at Midway

Midway Atoll

Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...

 in 1920 and in the Hawaiian Islands

Hawaiian Islands

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...

 in 1921 before being supplanted by larger ships. A number of the Eagle Boats were transferred to the United States Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

 in 1919, and the balance were sold in the 1930s and early 1940s. These vessels were used during World War II. One was stationed in Miami as a training vessel.

Ships

Designation	Keel Laid	Launched	Commissioned	Disposition
PE-1	7 May 1918	11 July 1918	27 October 1918	Sold 11 June 1930
PE-2	10 May 1918	19 August 1918	July 11 1918	Sold 11 June 1930
PE-3	16 May 1918	11 September 1918	11 November 1918	Sold 11 June 1930
PE-4	21 May 1918	15 September 1918	14 November 1918	Sold 11 June 1930
PE-5	28 May 1918	28 September 1918	19 November 1918	Sold 11 June 1930
PE-6	3 June 1918	16 October 1918	21 November 1918	Destroyed as target 30 November 1934
PE-7	8 June 1918	5 October 1918	24 November 1918	Destroyed as target 30 November 1934
PE-8	10 June 1918	11 November 1918	31 October 1919	Sold 1 April 1931
PE-9	17 June 1918	8 November 1918	27 October 1919	Sold 26 May 1930
PE-10	6 July 1918	9 November 1918	31 October 1919	Destroyed 19 August 1937
PE-11	13 July 1918	14 November 1918	29 May 1919	Sold 16 January 1935
PE-12	13 July 1918	12 November 1918	6 November 1919	Sold 30 December 1935
PE-13	15 July 1918	9 January 1919	2 April 1919	Sold 26 May 1930
PE-14	20 July 1918	23 January 1919	17 June 1919	Destroyed as target 22 November 1934
PE-15	21 July 1918	25 January 1919	11 June 1919	Sold 14 June 1934
PE-16	22 July 1918	11 January 1919	5 June 1919	Transferred to USCG United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...  late 1919
PE-17	3 August 1918	1 February 1919	3 July 1919	Wrecked off Long Island, New York 22 May 1922
PE-18	5 August 1918	10 February 1919	7 August 1919	Sold 11 June 1930
PE-19	6 August 1918	30 January 1919	25 June 1919	Destroyed 6 August 1946
PE-20	26 August 1918	15 February 1919	28 July 1919	Transferred to USCG late 1919
PE-21	31 August 1918	15 February 1919	31 July 1919	Transferred to USCG late 1919
PE-22	5 September 1918	10 February 1919	17 July 1919	Transferred to USCG late 1919
PE-23	11 September 1918	20 February 1919	19 June 1919	Sold 11 June 1930
PE-24	13 September 1918	24 February 1919	12 July 1919	Sold 11 June 1930
PE-25	17 September 1918	19 February 1919	30 June 1919	Capsized in Delaware Bay squall 11 June 1920
PE-26	25 September 1918	1 March 1919	1 October 1919	Sold 29 August 1938
PE-27	22 October 1918	1 March 1919	14 July 1919	Sold 4 June 1946
PE-28	23 October 1918	1 March 1919	28 July 1919	Sold 11 June 1930
PE-29	18 November 1918	8 March 1919	20 August 1919	Sold 11 June 1930
PE-30	19 November 1918	8 March 1919	14 August 1919	Transferred to USCG United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...  late 1919
PE-31	19 November 1918	8 March 1919	14 August 1919	Sold 18 May 1923
PE-32	30 November 1918	15 March 1919	4 September 1919	Sold 3 March 1947
PE-33	14 February 1918	15 March 1919	4 September 1919	Sold 11 June 1930
PE-34	8 January 1919	15 March 1919	3 September 1919	Sold 9 June 1932
PE-35	13 January 1919	22 March 1919	22 August 1919	Sold 7 June 1938
PE-36	22 January 1919	22 March 1919	20 August 1919	Sold 27 February 1936
PE-37	27 January 1919	25 March 1919	30 September 1919	Sold 11 June 1930
PE-38	30 January 1919	29 March 1919	30 July 1919	Sold 3 March 1947
PE-39	3 February 1919	29 March 1919	20 September 1919	Sold 7 June 1938
PE-40	7 February 1919	5 April 1919	1 October 1919	Destroyed as target 19 November 1934
PE-41	20 February 1919	5 April 1919	26 September 1919	Sold 11 June 1930
PE-42	13 February 1919	17 May 1919	3 October 1919	Sold 11 June 1930
PE-43	17 February 1919	17 May 1919	2 October 1919	Sold 26 May 1930
PE-44	20 February 1919	24 May 1919	30 September 1919	Disposed of 14 May 1938
PE-45	20 February 1919	17 May 1919	2 October 1919	Sold 11 June 1930
PE-46	24 February 1919	24 May 1919	3 October 1919	Sold 10 December 1936
PE-47	3 March 1919	19 June 1919	4 October 1919	Sold 30 December 1935
PE-48	3 March 1919	24 May 1919	8 October 1919	Sold 10 October 1946
PE-49	4 March 1919	14 June 1919	10 October 1919	Sold 20 September 1930
PE-50	10 March 1919	18 July 1919	6 October 1919	Sold 11 June 1930
PE-51	10 March 1919	14 June 1919	2 October 1919	Sold 29 August 1938
PE-52	10 March 1919	9 July 1919	10 October 1919	Sold 29 August 1938
PE-53	17 March 1919	13 August 1919	20 October 1919	Sold 26 August 1938
PE-54	17 March 1919	17 July 1919	10 October 1919	Sold 26 May 1930
PE-55	17 March 1919	22 July 1919	10 October 1919	Sold 3 March 1947
PE-56	25 March 1919	15 August 1919	26 October 1919	Torpedoed by off Portland, Maine, on 23 April 1945
PE-57	25 March 1919	29 July 1919	15 October 1919	Sold 5 March 1947
PE-58	25 March 1919	2 August 1919	20 October 1919	Disposed of 30 June 1940
PE-59	31 March 1919	12 April 1919	19 September 1919	Sold 29 August 1938
PE-60	31 March 1919	13 August 1919	27 October 1919	Sold 29 August 1938

PE-61 through PE-112 were canceled on 30 November 1918.
PE-5, PE-15, PE-25, PE-45, PE-65, PE-75, PE-86, PE-95, PE-105, and PE-112 were allotted for transfer to Italy, though this plan was cancelled and none were ever delivered.

See also

• Patrol boat
  Patrol boat
  A patrol boat is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defense duties.There have been many designs for patrol boats. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, or police force, and may be intended for marine and/or estuarine or river environments...
  
  
• List of patrol vessels of the United States Navy
• PC Patrol Craft of World War II
• USS Eagle Boat No. 56 (PE-56)

External links

• Mare Island Navy Yard - 1928. Elbridge Ayer Burbank
  Elbridge Ayer Burbank
  Elbridge Ayer Burbank was an American artist who sketched and painted more than 1200 portraits of Native Americans from 125 tribes. He studied art in Chicago and in his 30s traveled to Munich, Germany for additional studies with notable German artists...
  
  pencil sketch.