Freedom (IX-43)

Last updated
USS Freedom
History
Flag of the United States.svgUnited States
NameUSS Freedom
OwnerUnited States government
OperatorUnited States Navy
Port of registryIX-43
BuilderGreat Lakes Boat Building Co.
Acquired10 September 1940
In service10 September 1940
Out of service1962
FateUnknown
NotesShip Radio Callsign: NACY
General characteristics
TypeTwo Masted Auxiliary Schooner
Displacement60 light tons, 72 gross tons
Length88 Feet 8 Inches
Beam20 Feet
PropulsionHall Scott Gasoline auxiliary engine single propeller,175 shp
Armornone
Aircraft carriednone
Aviation facilitiesnone

Freedom (IX-43), an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the second ship of the United States Navy of that name. An auxiliary schooner, she was acquired by the Navy in 1940, and assigned to the United States Naval Academy where she served in a noncommissioned status through 1962.

History

An Act of Congress of 6 June 1940 authorized the Secretary of the Navy to accept without expense to the Government the 88-foot 2-masted schooner Freedom and her equipment as a gift to the Naval Academy from her owner J. Sterling Morton, nephew of former Secretary of the Navy Paul Morton. She had been designed by John G. Alden and built at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The yacht was delivered to the Navy on September 10, 1940 at the shipyard of Henry B. Nevins, Inc., City Island, Bronx and arrived at the Naval Academy two days later. On 24 October 1940 the Chief of Naval Operations assigned her the class designation "Unclassified" and directed that her name be retained. On 8 January 1941 the Secretary of the Navy approved the adoption by the BuShips of the symbol IX, already in use in the Navy Filing Manual, for vessels designated "Unclassified," and BuShips assigned her the hull designation IX-43.

Freedomproved to be an excellent boat for ocean cruising and for teaching midshipmen how to handle a large sailing rig. She was sold in 1968, following the investigation of the faltering sailing program at the Naval Academy by the Fales Committee in the mid-1960s.

Purchased by the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship in Annapolis, Md., she became the miscellaneous function (training) vessel Freedom and was still in service in 1972.

Related Research Articles

<i>Waxahachie</i> (YTB-814) Tugboat of the United States Navy

Waxahachie (YTB-814), sometimes misspelled Waxahatchie, was a United States Navy Natick-class large harbor tug named for Waxahachie, Texas.

<i>America</i> (yacht) Racing yacht; 1st winner of the Americas Cup

America was a 19th-century racing yacht and first winner of the America's Cup international sailing trophy.

USS <i>Guinevere</i> (IX-67)

The USS Guinevere (IX-67) was a patrol vessel of the United States Navy that operated in service from 1942 to 1945.

USS <i>Cumberland</i> (IX-8)

USS Cumberland (IX-8), an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Cumberland River.

USS Highland Light (IX-48), an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the only ship of the United States Navy to have that name, which was retained from her previous owner. She was designed by Frank Payne and built by George Lawley & Son in 1931 for Dudley Wolfe, who raced her to the first under-three-day time in the Bermuda Race in 1932, a record that stood until 1974. Wolfe was killed in 1939 in a failed attempt to climb K2, and the yacht was donated to the United States Navy for use at the United States Naval Academy. The craft was acquired 26 October 1940 and remained in service at the academy until struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 1 April 1965. Highland Light has since passed through several owners and is currently for sale. The Highland Light Trophy at the USNA is constructed from the ship's wheel.

USS Dwyn Wen (IX-58), an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the only ship of the United States Navy to have that name, which was given to her by her former owner, possibly in honor of Saint Dwynwen.

Forbes (IX-90), an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the only ship of the United States Navy with that name. A sailing yacht formerly named Morning Star, Forbes served in a noncommissioned status in the 7th Naval District during World War II.

USS Canandaigua (IX-233), an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for Canandaigua, New York.

USS <i>Echo</i>

USS Echo (IX-95), an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the nymph Echo. A sailing scow, she was used as a supply ship in the South Pacific from 1942 to 1944.

USS El Cano (IX-79), an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for Elcano (PG-38). A schooner, she was acquired on 8 August 1942 as Pioneer, renamed El Cano on 17 August 1942, and served in a noncommissioned status in the 11th Naval District during World War II.

USS Ramona (IX-76), an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for a title character in a novel. A steel-hulled schooner, her keel was laid down in 1920 by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company, in Newport, Rhode Island. She was acquired by the Navy under bareboat charter from S. M. Spalding of Los Angeles, California, on 15 July 1942 and was placed in service 5 August 1942.

USS Gloria Dalton (IX-70), an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be given that name. Her keel was laid down in 1925 by Craig Shipbuilding Company, in Long Beach, California. She was purchased by the Navy 11 May 1942 and commissioned on 30 May 1942.

Geoanna was a steel auxiliary schooner built in 1934 by Craig Shipbuilding Company in Long Beach, California. Geoanna was requisitioned during World War II for service briefly with the U.S. Navy before transfer to the U.S. Army for Southwest Pacific operations. There Geoanna served as a United States Army Signal Corps communications ship with a mixed United States Army, Navy and Australian civilian crew through the New Guinea and Philippine campaigns. The ship remained in the Philippines after post war disposal.

USS Domino (IX-208), an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the game piece. The freighter was acquired from the War Shipping Administration in May 1945. The hull classification symbol IX-208 was reserved for her, but she was never taken up on the list of naval vessels, and no classification was ever assigned to her. She was returned to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) in February 1946.

USS <i>Carmita</i> (IX-152)

USS Carmita (IX-152) was a Trefoil-class concrete barge - a supply ship made of concrete - during World War II. Considered an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, she was acquired and placed in service on 11 May 1944. The IX-152 was the second ship of the United States Navy to have the name Carmita and was named for the first Carmita, a schooner captured during the American Civil War. The IX-152 was originally known as Slate. She was attached to Service Force, Pacific Fleet, until 25 September 1946 when she was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.

USS <i>Reina Mercedes</i>

USS Reina Mercedes (IX-25) was an unprotected cruiser of the Spanish Navy which was captured in Cuba in 1898 by the U.S. Navy during the Spanish–American War. She was refurbished and used by the U.S. Navy as a non-self-propelled receiving ship at Newport, Rhode Island, and subsequently as a detention vessel and barracks ship for the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, until 1957.

USS Kestrel (AMc-5), was built in 1938 as Chanco by the Salisbury Yacht Co., Salisbury, Maryland. The yacht was acquired by the United States Navy on 1 October 1940, converted to a coastal minesweeper, and commissioned as USS Kestrel (AMc-5) on 21 January 1941.

USS Albatross (AM-71) was an Albatross-class minesweeper of the United States Navy during World War II.

USS <i>Favorite</i> U.S. tugboat used in WW1 and WW2

USS Favorite (SP-1385/ID-1385/IX-45) was a large 1,223 gross register tons (GRT) tugboat acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War I. She performed a variety of work for the navy, including icebreaking, salvage, wrecking, and tugboat services. She was loaned to Panamanian authorities after World War I, but was returned to the U.S. Navy to do her part in the Panama Canal area during World War II as the IX-45.

USS Palomas (IX-91) was a two-masted, steel-hulled, Miscellaneous Unclassified-Schooner in service with the United States Navy. She served during World War II, and briefly after the war. She was sold for disposal by the Maritime Commission in 1947.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .