USS Barnegat ( SP - 1232 ) The first USS " Barnegat " ( SP - 1232 ) was a commercial tugboat acquired by the U . S . Navy during World War I . She was armed with a 3 - inch gun and sent to Brest , France , to perform towing services for Allied ships . Post - war , she returned to the United States , was decommissioned , and was subsequently used on the Delaware River by the U . S . Army Corps of Engineers . Built in Camden , New Jersey . The first ship to be so named by the U . S . Navy , " Barnegat " ( Id . No . 1232 ) was a steel - hulled , single - screw , ocean - going tug . Originally built for the Luckenbach Steamship Co . , " Luckenbach Tug No . 1 " was completed in 1891 at Camden , New Jersey , by John H . Dialogue . The Navy acquired her “ for distant service ” on 12 October 1917 , assigned her the identification number ( Id . No . ) 1232 , and earmarked her for duty “ as a tug to tow large disabled vessels . ” " Luckenbach Tug No . 1 " was commissioned on 12 October 1917 , Lt . ( jg . ) Paul Farley , USNRF , in command . On 30 October 1917 , General Order No . 334 directed that " Luckenbach Tug No . 1 " be renamed " Barnegat " “ at once . ” World War I service . Crossing the Atlantic Ocean . " Barnegat " fitted out at the New York Navy Yard , Brooklyn , New York , and was detailed , on 20 November 1917 , to accompany the armed yacht " Nokomis " ( Id . No . 609 ) to the Azores , towing submarine chasers . Dispatch traffic , however , indicates difficulties in finding certain items of equipment to be installed on board , the Commander , Naval Station , New York , informing the Navy Department that " Barnegat " and " Montauk " ( Id . No . 1213 ) still needed binnacles and standard compasses as of 11 December , but prognosticated that both ships would be ready to sail on the 12th . " Barnegat " ultimately departed New York City for the Philadelphia Navy Yard , there to complete preparations “ for distant service ” and thence to await onward routing . At sea mechanical problems . " Barnegat " - - - with the French submarine chaser SC - 171 in tow - - - departed the Delaware Capes on 22 December 1917 , bound for Bermuda , as part of a small flotilla of armed tugs and yachts ordered to deliver six submarine chasers built in American shipyards to the French government . " Venetia " ( Id . No . 431 ) , the flagship for the convoy , towed " SC - 67 " , " Lydonia " ( Id . No . 700 ) , " SC - 173 " ; " Montauk " , " SC - 29 " , and " Gypsum Queen " ( Id . No . 430 ) , " SC - 170 " and " SC - 172 " . One day out , on the afternoon of 23 December , " Lydonia " reported boiler trouble . Consequently , Comdr . Louis B . Porterfield , the group ’ s commanding officer , ordered " Montauk " to release " SC 29 " and to take " Lydonia " and her charge , " SC - 173 " , astern , and directed " Barnegat " to pick up " SC 29 " . While " Venetia " stood by , her starboard whaleboat ready to assist the tug if necessary , " Barnegat ’ s " sailors got the towline on board the French craft at 1600 . Then , as " Montauk " and her disabled charge returned toward Norfolk , Virginia , the little flotilla again set course for Bermuda . During the mid watch on Christmas day , however , " Barnegat " and her tows dropped so far astern of the convoy that " Venetia " , with " SC - 67 " still riding at the end of the towline astern , began searching for them . Hailing " Gypsum Queen " close at hand on her port beam , " Venetia " signaled to “ stay close … and keep in sight . ” A less than a half hour into the morning watch , at 0425 , " Venetia " spotted a light on her starboard bow and began steering toward it . No sooner had the convoy flagship made contact with her one prodigal , but " Gypsum Queen " , that had fallen astern during the search for " Barnegat " , dropped below the horizon . " Barnegat " soon informed " Venetia " of her difficulties , promising to be ready to proceed in about two hours . Eventually , by 0945 on Christmas Day , the tug was underway and steaming slowly ; by the midpoint in the morning watch , the convoy was on course and together again , with " Venetia ’ s " log containing the notation that she was steaming various courses and various speeds “ to keep in touch with the tugs . ” Regrouping at Bermuda . The little convoy reached Bermuda shortly before the start of the mid watch on 27 December , with " Barnegat " bringing up the rear ; a strong northeasterly wind and nearly continuous rain made the reception chilly and damp , but eventually all of the ships and their tows were safely anchored in Great Sound . " Barnegat " then shifted to His Majesty ’ s Dockyard , Bermuda , on the afternoon of the 29th . " Barnegat ’ s " executive officer visited " Venetia " on the morning of the 31st ; presumably the topic of conversation was voyage repairs , for that afternoon the “ exec ” returned to the ship with an officer from Prometheus ( Repair Ship No . 2 ) . On New Year ’ s Day , 1918 , Ensign John Alexander , USNRF , was detached from " Venetia " with orders to command " Barnegat " . " Venetia " later transferred foodstuffs to " Barnegat " via " Prometheus ’ s " motor sailer on 5 January , the day that the tug quit the dockyard to anchor in Great Sound . More conferences between commanding officers ensued , probably dealing with the next leg of the voyage , that commenced as the flotilla took departure on 7 January 1918 for the Azores . Forming a line of divisions with " Venetia " in the lead , again towing " SC - 67 " ; " Nokomis " and " Galatea " ( SP - 714 ) followed , as did " Penobscot " ( Id . No . 982 ) , " Nahant " ( Id . No . 1250 ) and " Concord " ( Id . No . 773 ) ; " Barnegat " and " Gypsum Queen " brought up the rear . Stopping in the Azores . By the time that " Barnegat " reached Ponta Delgada , Azores , in late January , plans were being broached for her future employment . Vice Admiral William S . Sims , Commander , U . S . Naval Forces in European Waters , suggested to the Chief of Naval Operations that the majority of vessels assigned to the western bases be tugs . Consequently , he contemplated sending , about 25 January , " Barnegat " ( among other vessels ) to the French coast to base at Brest . She left the dockyard on 5 January ; and the flotilla sortied for the Azores two days later . The convoy reached Punta Delgada late in the month , and Barnegat operated in and around that island group into the spring . Highlights of her Azores duty were a run to Horta , Fayal , to tow French submarine chaser " SC 28 " to Punta Delgada and a cruise in nearby waters to search for the troopship " Hancock " . " Barnegat " , with " Gypsum Queen " and two French subchaser s , cleared the Azores early in the spring and proceeded to France . Upon their arrival at Brest on 23 April 1918 , " Barnegat " and " Gypsum Queen " were assigned to Division 9 , Patrol Force . Homeport in Brest , France . " Barnegat " operated with that organization through the Armistice , towing vessels that ranged from lighters to battleships and transports . Continuing to operate out of Brest after the fighting ended , she added work as a dispatch vessel and as a passenger ferry to her duties as a tug . Toward the end of her service in Europe , she embarked a party of motion picture photographers on 7 August to film the gigantic transport " Leviathan " . " Barnegat " got underway on 24 September 1919 in company with " Bella " ( Id . No . 2211 ) and " Nahant " , bound for the Azores . However , less than 24 hours out , she accidentally rammed and holed " Nahant " . Then she and " Bella " stood by their damaged consort until they escorted her back to Brest . While she waited for " Nahant " to complete repairs , " Barnegat " conducted harbor operations through the first fortnight of October . Returning to Norfolk , Virginia . The same trio again left French waters on 15 October . After a brief stop at Punta Delgada , they encountered heavy seas and gale - force winds . Experiencing engine difficulties in the predawn darkness of 3 November , the tug radioed her plight to " Bella " and bridled her bow for towing . " Nahant " passed a hawser to the tug and " Barnegat " remained under tow until late the next afternoon when she was again able to proceed under her own power . A few days later , " Nahant " suffered propulsion difficulties and " Barnegat " closely accompanied her to Bermuda . They got underway once more on 24 November and reached Norfolk four days later . Post - war disposition . Although no record of " Barnegat ' s " decommissioning has been found , she was probably inactivated on the day of her arrival at Norfolk or very soon thereafter . The last entry in her log was made on that day . The tug was moved to Philadelphia in February 1920 and lay in the navy yard there until 17 August 1920 when she was ordered transferred to the War Department . Thereafter , she was operated in the Delaware River by the Army Corps of Engineers . After 1923 , her name disappeared from lists of vessels owned by the Federal Government .