mosquito fleet

American  

noun

1. a group or fleet of PT boats or other small, armed boats.

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Etymology

Origin of mosquito fleet

First recorded in 1795–1805

Example Sentences

Incorporated in 1900, the ambitious firm already had converted many of Seattle’s passenger-only “mosquito fleet” boats into car ferries, operating from its Colman Dock base.

From Seattle Times

That year, on the blustery morning of Jan. 8 at Pier 1 at the foot of Seattle’s Yesler Way, the stately SS Clallam, just 9 months old and deemed the queen of the informally named Mosquito Fleet, took on 61 passengers bound for Port Townsend and Victoria, B.C.

From Seattle Times

At the time, the modest island resort, formerly a mosquito fleet terminal and later a laundromat, was a stop along the Northwest version of the hippie trail.

From Seattle Times

In the late 19th century, steamboats, also called stern-wheelers, were part of Puget Sound’s celebrated Mosquito Fleet and a prime mode of transport for hops, timber and people in rural waterways.

From Seattle Times

On the National Register of Historic Places since 1973, the Virginia V remains the sole surviving Mosquito Fleet steamship among hundreds of private craft that once plied Puget Sound like a swarm of busy bugs.

From Seattle Times