USS Sunbeam III (SP-251) was a 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...

 patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919. The prefix designator means Section Patrol Craft.http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/170251.htm

Sunbeam III was built as a civilian

Civilian

A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...

 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...

 of the same name in 1917 by the Charles L. Seabury Company and the Gas Engine and Power Company at Morris Heights

Morris Heights, Bronx

Morris Heights is a low income residential neighborhood located in the west Bronx. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 5. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: West Burnside Avenue to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the...

 in the Bronx, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. Her owner, Mr. R. B. Roosevelt of New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, loaned her to the U.S. Navy under a free lease

Lease

A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee to pay the lessor for use of an asset. A rental agreement is a lease in which the asset is tangible property...

 agreement 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 vessel. She was delivered to the Navy on 16 June 1917 and 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 Sunbeam III (SP-251) on 18 July 1917.

Sunbeam III was assigned to 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....

 duty to protect antisubmarine nets in the New York Harbor

New York Harbor

New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...

 area for the remainder of World War I.

Sunbeam III was stricken from the Navy List

Navy List

A Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a country....

 on 21 January 1919 and returned to Roosevelt.

This craft appears to be the same Sunbeam which was sold to a new owner in 1923, and through navigation error, found itself stranded in the Niagara River.http://www.niagarafrontier.com/scow.htmlhttp://www.nflibrary.ca/nfplindex/data/8/1/89481-501429.jpg See Niagara Scow

Niagara Scow

The Niagara Scow is the unofficial name of the wreck of a small scow that brought two men perilously close to plunging over the Horseshoe Falls, the largest of the Niagara Falls...

for further information.