Perry, 1926
The Perry was named for Commodore Matthew C. Perry, USN, who gained international notoriety for "opening" Japan to trade with the Western powers.
Type/Rig/Class: 100-foot patrol boat
Builder: Defoe Boat & Motor Works, Bay City, Michigan
Dates of Service: 1926 - 1937
Disposition: Transferred to US Navy?
Displacement: 210 tons
Length: 99' 8"
Beam: 23'
Draft: 4' 6"
Machinery: 2 Grey Marine diesel engines; 300 BHP; twin propellers
Speed: 12 knots maximum
Complement: 15 (with 1 warrant officer)
Armament: 1 x 3"/23 (1930)
History:
The Perry, a 100-foot patrol boat built to combat rum-runners during Prohibition, was one of 13 in her class. These 13 were steel-hulled patrol boats that were capable of close inshore work but were slower than the 75-foot patrol boats. They made up for their slower speed and lack of maneuverability with better accommodations for the crew so that they could stay at sea for longer periods and work well off-shore. They were all built by Defoe Boat & Motor Works of Bay City, Michigan.
The Perry was commissioned at Bay City, Michigan, and was then transferred to New London, Connecticut, through 1928. She then transferred to St. Petersburg, Florida and Port Everglades, Florida, through 1933. In 1935 she was based out of Two Rivers, Wisconsin until she was placed out of service on 31 December 1937.
Sources:
Donald Canney. U.S. Coast Guard and Revenue Cutters, 1790-1935. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1995.
U.S. Coast Guard. Record of Movements: Vessels of the United States Coast Guard: 1790 - December 31, 1933. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1934; 1989 (reprint).