W L Messick ScStr

W. L. Messick

(ScStr.: t. 237 (gross); 1. 145'0"; b. 23'0"; dr. 9'0"
(mean); cpl. 36; a. 1 6-pdr.)

W. L. Messick-a wooden-hulled, strew steamer built in 1911 at Norfolk, Va., by Smith and McCoy-was purchased by the Navy on 7 April 1917 from Joseph H. Bellows of Reedville, Va. Commissioned simultaneously, W. L. Messick-classified as SP~322-was assigned to the 5th Naval District and served as a minesweeper in the Virginia capes area for the duration of World War I. She was subsequently decommissioned and sold on 27 August 1919 to her former owner.