USS Dawn (SP-26)
| .jpg) Dawn as a private pleasure craft sometime between 1914 and 1917, prior to her U.S. Navy service | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| .svg.png) United States | |
| Name | USS Dawn | 
| Namesake | Previous name retained | 
| Builder | Hehre and Aker, Clason Point, The Bronx, New York | 
| Completed | 1914 | 
| Acquired | 19 June 1917 | 
| Commissioned | 19 June 1917 | 
| Fate | Returned to owner 4 April 1918 | 
| Notes | Operated as private motorboat Dawn 1914-1917 and from 1918 | 
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Repair boat | 
| Length | 51 ft (16 m) | 
| Installed power | 60-horsepower (0.045-megawatt) gasoline engine; 20-horsepower (0.015-megawatt) electric motor | 
| Propulsion | Electric drive, with gasoline engine driving generator to power electric motor; one shaft | 
| Speed | 9 knots | 
Note: This ship should not be confused with USS Dawn (SP-37), a yawl ordered delivered to the United States Navy in 1917 but never commissioned into service.
The second USS Dawn (SP-26) was a motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a repair boat from 1917 to 1918.
Dawn was built in 1914 by Hehre and Aker at Clason Point in The Bronx, New York, as a private motorboat of the same name. The U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner, W. T. Donnelley of Brooklyn, New York, on 19 June 1917 for World War I service as a repair boat, deeming her electric-drive propulsion plant suitable for furnishing electric power for lighting, machine shop work, or repairs. She was commissioned as USS Dawn (SP-26) on 19 June 1917, the day of her acquisition from Donnelley.
Dawn was assigned to the 2nd Naval District. Apparently she did not prove satisfactory in service, for a January 1918 U.S. Navy note commented that the Navy had decided to return her to her owner.
The Navy returned Dawn to Donnelley on 4 April 1918.
References
 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here. This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center: Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: Dawn (American Motor Boat, 1914). Served as USS Dawn (SP-26) in 1917-1918
- Photo gallery of USS Dawn (SP-26) at NavSource Naval History