USS Sea Hawk (SP-2365), was an armed motorboat

Motorboat

A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...

 that served in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.

Sea Hawk was built in 1917 by Herreshoff Manufacturing Company at Bristol, Rhode Island

Bristol, Rhode Island

Bristol is a town in and the historic county seat of Bristol County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,954 at the 2010 census. Bristol, a deepwater seaport, is named after Bristol, England....

, as the civilian motorboat Herreshoff No. 319. The U.S. Navy acquired her from Arthur Winslow of Boston, Massachusetts, on 20 October 1917 for 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...

 service as a patrol boat. She was commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 as USS Sea Hawk (SP-2365) in December 1917.

Sea Hawk initially served as a patrol boat in the 1st Naval District, operating in the Boston area. Later she was transferred to the 7th Naval District for employment in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 waters.

Due to an urgent need for craft such as Sea Hawk at Brest, France

Brest, France

Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...

, an order dated 14 October 1918 went out from Washington, D.C., to Boston, directing the Commandant of the 1st Naval District to ready six section patrol

Section patrol

A Section Patrol craft was a civilian vessel registered by the United States Navy for potential service during and shortly after World War I....

 boats -- USS Commodore

USS Commodore (SP-1425)

The second USS Commodore was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.Commodore was built in 1917 by Herreshoff Manufacturing Company at Bristol, Rhode Island, as the civilian motorboat Herreshoff No. 318. The U.S. Navy acquired her in October...

, Cossack

USS Cossack (SP-695)

The second USS Cossack was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.-Construction, acquisition, and commissioning:...

, War Bug

USS War Bug (SP-1795)

USS War Bug was a three-armed motorboat in commission in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1918.War Bug was built as the wooden-hulled motorboat Herreshoff 320 at Bristol, Rhode Island, in 1917 by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company for a private owner, and probably was...

, Sea Hawk, Kangaroo

USS Kangaroo (SP-1284)

The first USS Kangaroo was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.-Construction and commissioning:...

, and SP-729

USS Apache (SP-729)

The third USS Apache , later USS SP-729, was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.-Construction, acquisition, and commissioning:...

 -- to be shipped to France as deck cargo along with spare parts to keep them operational. However, this proposed movement appears to have been canceled, probably because of the armistice

Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)

The armistice between the Allies and Germany was an agreement that ended the fighting in the First World War. It was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on 11 November 1918 and marked a victory for the Allies and a complete defeat for Germany, although not technically a surrender...

 with Germany of 11 November 1918 that ended World War I and eliminated the need for more U.S. Navy patrol craft in Europe.

Decommissioned

Ship decommissioning

To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....

 after World War I ended, Sea Hawk remained at Key West, Florida

Key West, Florida

Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...

, awaiting final disposition with other section patrol boats until the night of 9-10 September 1919, when she disappeared in the 1919 Florida Keys hurricane

1919 Florida Keys Hurricane

The Florida Keys Hurricane or Atlantic Gulf Hurricane of 1919 was an intense Atlantic hurricane, killing 772 people as it moved through the Florida Keys and Texas. The second tropical cyclone of the 1919 hurricane season, it moved in the proximity of the eastern Greater Antilles and Bahamas...

and was not recovered.