U.S. Navy "SP" and "ID" Merchant Ship Inspections, 1916-1941
M.Y. Arawan II (S.P. 1) on 27 September 1916 flying the U.S. civilian yachting flag and displaying the first SP number issued. She was acquired by the Navy on 27 March 1917. (NH 95860)
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The first item below shows all of the merchant ships and craft that were inspected by the Navy between 1916 and 1940 and given Section Patrol (SP) or Identification (ID) numbers. It presents copies of the index cards for a set of data cards created to summarize the inspection reports for these ships, with annotations and additions by Shipscribe. These index and data cards (less the annotations and additions) are now held by the Ship Histories Branch of the Naval History and Heritage Command, while the inspection reports that they summarize are in the National Archives (Record Group 19, Entry 88, 1912-1925, subject number 1502-A). The second item below, based on the same sources as the first plus items like the Navy's Ships' Data books, shows all of the ships acquired by the Navy during World War I that were assigned SP or ID numbers.
