Photographed prior to World War I by Edwin Levick, New York City.
History
United States
Name	USS Alert SP-511
Builder	George Lawley and Sons, Neponset, Massachusetts
Launched	1913
Acquired	12 May 1917
Commissioned	31 May 1917
Decommissioned	25 November 1918
Renamed	SP-511 in April 1918
Fate	Returned to her owner, DeWitt T. Cuyler, Philadelphia, PA, 30 November 1918
General characteristics
Displacement	39 t
Length	75 ft (23 m)
Beam	12 ft (3.7 m)
Draft	3 ft 9 in (1.14 m)
Speed	15.6 knots (28.9 km/h; 18.0 mph)
Complement	11
Armament	one 1-pounder

The motorboat Alert built in Neponset, Massachusetts., by George Lawley and Sons, in 1913—was acquired by the US Navy under free-lease on 12 May 1917 from DeWitt T. Cuyler, of Philadelphia., for use as a section patrol boat. Designated SP-511, Alert was commissioned on 31 May 1917.

Assigned to the 1st Naval District, Alert performed local patrol duty at the Portsmouth, NH Navy Yard and in the Boston area for the remainder of World War I. Decommissioned at Lawley's shipyard on 25 November 1918, two weeks after the signing of the armistice, the boat was returned to her owner on 30 November 1918.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Alert (SP 511)