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| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USSMcKeever Brothers |
| Namesake | Previous name retained |
| Builder | Robert Palmer & Sons,Noank,Connecticut |
| Completed | 1911 |
| Acquired | 18 May 1917 |
| Commissioned | 5 May 1917 |
| Stricken | 22 March 1919 |
| Fate | Sold 1 July 1919 |
| Status | Still abandoned in Seaford Delaware as of 2021 |
| Notes | Operated as commercialfishing vesselMcKeever Brothers 1911-1917 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Patrol vessel andminesweeper |
| Length | 136 ft (41 m) |
| Beam | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
| Draft | 12 ft (3.7 m) mean |
| Propulsion | Steam engine |
| Speed | 10knots |
| Complement | 22 |
| Armament | 2 ×3-pounder guns |
USSMcKeever Brothers (SP-683), sometimes written asUSSMcKeever Bros., was aUnited States Navypatrol vessel andminesweeper in commission from 1917 to 1919.
McKeever Brothers was built as a commercialsteam "menhaden fisherman"-typefishing vessel of the same name byRobert Palmer & Sons atNoank,Connecticut, in 1911. In May 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her from her owners,Steven W. McKeever andEdward J. McKeever, for use duringWorld War I. Assigned thesection patrol number 683, she wascommissioned on 5 May 1917 as USSMcKeever Brothers (SP-683). Her acquisition from the McKeevers apparently formally took place retrospectively on 18 May 1917.
Assigned to the4th Naval District and based atPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania,McKeever Brothers conducted coastal and minesweeping patrols in theDelaware River andDelaware Bay for the remainder of World War I.
McKeever Brothers wasdecommissioned after the war, stricken from theNavy List on 22 May 1919, and sold on 1 July 1919. The ship was used as a private fishing vessel in theChesapeake Bay, home-ported out of Shad Point, Maryland, along the Wicomico River into the early 1960s. After several years of inactivity,McKeever Brothers was towed down the Nanticoke River, and into a specially dug channel alongside the river, near the intersection of US Route 13 and Concord Rd in Seaford, Delaware. Once in place, the channel was backfilled, leaving the ship grounded. Following extensive alterations,McKeever Brothers opened to the public in 1968 as the Flagship Nanticoke Queen seafood restaurant. The ship operated in that capacity for several decades, under different owners and a few name changes. The facility last operated as the Nautico Restaurant, and closed sometime in the early 2000s.McKeever Brothers remains in place, in deteriorating condition. In 2021, the property appeared to be sold and the ship was removed, with location/status unknown.[citation needed]
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.