United States lightship Portsmouth (LV-101)
{{Short description|American lightvessel, launched 1916}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
| {{Infobox ship begin
}} {{Infobox ship image | Ship image = Image:A Light Named Portsmouth.jpg | Ship caption = }} {{Infobox ship career | Hide header = | Ship country = United States | Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|United States|coast guard}} Image:Seal of the United States Lighthouse Service.png | Ship name =*LV 101
| Ship identification = *LV-101 (1916–1939)
| Ship namesake = | Ship ordered = | Ship builder = Pusey & Jones | Ship laid down = 1915 | Ship launched = 12 January 1916 {{cite web |url=http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblightships/LV101.asp |work=U.S. Coast Guard Lightships & Those of the U.S. Lighthouse Service |title=Vessel Designation: LV 101 / WAL 524 |publisher=United States Coast Guard |access-date=2009-12-16 }} | Ship sponsor = | Ship christened = | Ship completed = | Ship acquired = 2 September 1916 | Ship commissioned = | Ship decommissioned = 23 March 1964 | Ship in service = 1916 | Ship out of service = 1963 | Ship renamed = | Ship refit = | Ship struck = | Ship homeport = | Ship motto = | Ship nickname = | Ship fate = | Ship status = Museum ship | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox ship characteristics | Hide header = | Header caption = | Ship type = Lightship | Ship displacement = {{convert|360|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} | Ship length = {{convert|101|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}} | Ship beam = {{convert|25|ft|m|abbr=on}} | Ship draft = {{convert|11|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}} | Ship depth = | Ship hold depth = | Ship propulsion = Meitz & Weiss 4-cylinder kerosene engine, {{convert|200|hp|0|abbr=on}} 1944: Cooper-Bessemer 315HP Six Cylinder Diesel | Ship speed = {{convert|8|kn|lk=in}} (4 Cylinder) {{convert|8.2|kn|lk=in}} (6 Cylinder) | Ship boats = | Ship complement = | Ship armament = None | Ship notes = }} {{Infobox NRHP | embed = yes | name = Lightship No. 101, Portsmouth | nrhp_type = nhl | designated_other1 = Virginia Landmarks Register | designated_other1_number = 124-0102 | designated_other1_num_position = bottom | image = | caption = | location = Portsmouth, Virginia | coordinates = {{coord|36|50|19|N|76|17|55|W|display=inline,title}} | map_width = 300 | locmapin = Virginia | area = | built = 1916 | architect = Pusey & Jones Lightship; US Lighthouse Establishment | architecture = | designated_nrhp_type = 5 May 1989{{cite web |url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=2054&ResourceType=Structure |title=Lightship No. 101 "Portsmouth" |access-date=2008-06-26 |work=National Historic Landmark summary listing |publisher=National Park Service |archive-date=December 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071229070516/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=2054&ResourceType=Structure |url-status=dead }} | added = 5 May 1989 | refnum = 89001080{{NRISref|2008a}} }} |
United States Lightship 101, now known as Portsmouth as a museum ship, was first stationed at Cape Charles, Virginia. Today she is at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum in Portsmouth, Virginia. Portsmouth never had a lightship station; however, when the vessel was dry docked there as a museum, she took on the pseudonym Portsmouth. A National Historic Landmark, she is one of a small number of surviving lightships.{{cite web
|url={{NHLS url|id=89001080}}
|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form / Lightship No. 101
|format=pdf
|last=Foster
|first=Kevin J.
|publisher=National Park Service
|date=5 August 1988
|access-date=2012-09-08
}}
History
Lightship Portsmouth (LV-101) was built in 1915 by Pusey & Jones. She first served as Charles in the Chesapeake Bay outside Cape Charles, Virginia from 1916 until 1924. After that assignment Portsmouth served just over a year as the relief ship for other lightships in her district. She was then moved to Overfalls, Delaware, where she was stationed from 1926 to 1951 as Overfalls. In 1939 when the United States Lighthouse Service was absorbed into the United States Coast Guard she was reclassified WAL-524, but still kept a station name on her hull. During World War II the vessel was not armed, however many other lightships were. In 1951 LV-101/WAL 524 was reassigned to Stonehorse Shoal, Massachusetts, where she served until decommissioned in 1963. The lightship then sat in harbor at Portland, Maine, until her fate had been decided.
On 3 September 1964 LV-101 was donated to the City of Portsmouth, Virginia, to become a part of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum. Portsmouth was dry docked at the London Pier in Portsmouth. Although she was never stationed there, she has taken on the city's name. In 1989, Portsmouth was designated a National Historic Landmark and is open for visitation.
Name and station assignments
Lightship are numbered, the stations have names. Light Vessel 101 was assigned to the stations:
- Charles, Cape Charles, Virginia (1916–1924)
- Relief, Relief 5th District (1925–1926)
- Overfalls, Overfalls, Delaware (1926–1951)
- Stonehorse, Stonehorse Shoal, Massachusetts (1951–1963)
- CrossRip, Cross Rip Shoal, Massachusetts (1963–1964)
Other lightships of Chesapeake Bay
See also
Citations
{{Reflist}}
References
- {{cite web
|url={{NHLS url|id=89001080}}
|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form / Lightship No. 101
|format=pdf
|last=Foster
|first=Kevin J.
|publisher=National Park Service
|date=5 August 1988
|access-date=2012-09-08
}}
- {{cite web
|url={{NHLS url|id=89001080|photos=y}}
|title=Accompanying Photos
|format=pdf
|publisher=National Park Service
|access-date=2012-09-08
}}
External links
- {{commons category-inline|Portsmouth (ship, 1916)}}
- [http://www.portsmouthnavalshipyardmuseum.com/lightship/about.html Lightship Portsmouth]
- [http://www.portsmouthnavalshipyardmuseum.com/naval_shipyard/index.html Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum]
- [http://cblights.com/lights/lightshipportsmouth.html Chesapeake Bay Lighthouse Project - Lightship Portsmouth]
- [http://www.overfalls.org/ Lightship Overfalls]
{{Lightvessels}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia}}
{{Oldest surviving ships (pre-1919)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portsmouth}}
Category:Museum ships in Virginia
Category:Lightships of the United States
Category:Ships of the United States Lighthouse Service
Category:Ships built by Pusey and Jones
Category:National Historic Landmarks in Virginia
Category:Museums in Portsmouth, Virginia
Category:National Historic Landmark lighthouses
Category:National Register of Historic Places in Portsmouth, Virginia
Category:Ships on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia