USS Kanawha II (SP-130)/USS Piqua (SP-130) -- was a yacht acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. She was placed into service as an escort for Allied convoys traveling across the dangerous North Atlantic Ocean. German U-boats were active in sinking Allied ships, and Kanawha II provided a valuable service as a lookout and in one instance attacked one and drove it off. Post-war she was returned to her pre-war owner in July 1919.
An armed yacht was a yacht that was armed with weapons and was typically in the service of a navy. The word "yacht" was originally applied to small, fast and agile naval vessels suited to piracy and to employment by navies and coast guards against smugglers and pirates. Vessels of this type were adapted to racing by wealthy owners. The origin of civilian yachts as naval vessels, with their speed and maneuverability, made them useful for adaptation to their original function as patrol vessels. In the United States Navy armed yachts were typically private yachts expropriated for government use in times of war. Armed yachts served as patrol vessels during the Spanish–American War and the World Wars. In the latter conflicts, armed yachts were used as patrol vessels, convoy escorts, and in anti-submarine duties. In the United States, yachts were purchased from their owners with the owners given an option to repurchase their yacht at the close of hostilities.
The first USS Vedette (SP-163) was a commercial yacht built in 1899. At the outbreak of World War I, the yacht was leased by the United States Navy, and was used as a section patrol craft in the North Atlantic Ocean. She served honorably during the war, rescuing survivors at sea, and attacking a German U-boat. At war’s end, she was converted to her original configuration and returned to her owner, the railroad executive, financier, and philanthropist Frederick W. Vanderbilt (1856-1938) of New York City.
USS Harvard (SP-209) was a yacht leased by the U.S. Navy during World War I. She was outfitted as a patrol craft and assigned to patrol duty in the North Atlantic Ocean, protecting civilian ships from German submarines. In addition, she saved the lives of a number of survivors from ships that had been torpedoed. Post-war she was decommissioned and returned to her owner in her original civilian shipboard configuration.
USS James (SP-429) — also known as USS W. T. James (SP-429) — was a steam trawler acquired by the United States Navy during World War I. She was converted into an armed minesweeper and assigned to the European Theater, where she performed varied tasks, including minesweeping, patrolling, and escorting of larger ships in convoy. In 1919, while returning to the United States, she was severely damaged in a storm off the French coast, and sank. Her crew were rescued.
USS Utowana (SP-951) – also known as USS Victorine (SP-951) -- was a fishing trawler acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War I. The Navy had planned to use her as a minesweeper based out of Kittery, Maine; however, Utowana spent most of her service time operating as an armed patrol craft, responsible for escorting Allied ships across the dangerous North Atlantic Ocean. She served through the war and the armistice before returning to the United States for decommissioning.
Philip K. Bauman was built in 1912 by M. M. Davis and Son, Solomons, Maryland, as a Menhaden fishing trawler, official number 210557. The steam powered vessel was built for the Douglas Company, Inc., of Reedville, Virginia. It had a single three cylinder steam engine with one boiler. The vessel was 146.5 ft (44.7 m) registered length, 23.9 ft (7.3 m) beam, with a depth of 11 ft (3.4 m). A single boiler powered a three-cylinder steam engine of 600 I.H.P.
The third USS Wanderer (SP-132), was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy from 1917 to 1919.
USS Walter Adams (SP-400), or ID-400, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1918 to 1919.
The first USS Courtney (SP-375) was a patrol boat and minesweeper in commission in the United States Navy from 1917–1919.
USS Goliah (SP-1494), also listed as ID-1494, was an armed tug that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel and tug from 1918 to 1919.
The first USS Comber (SP-344) was a United States Navy minesweeper in commission from 1917 to 1919.
USS Spray (ID-2491) was a United States Navy trawler which served as a minesweeper and was in commission from 1918 to 1919.
The second USS Ripple (ID-2439) was a United States Navy trawler which served as a minesweeper and was in commission from 1918 to 1919.
USS Otis W. Douglas (SP-313) was a United States Navy minesweeper in commission from 1917-1919.
USS Kenneth L. McNeal (SP-333) was a minesweeper that served in the United States Navy from 1917 to 1919.
USS City of Lewes (SP-383), later USS Lewes (SP-383), was a minesweeper and patrol vessel that served in the United States Navy from 1917 to 1919.
USS East Hampton (SP-556) was a United States Navy minesweeper, patrol vessel, and lightvessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
USS Dreadnaught (ID-1951), later YT-534 and YNG-21, was a United States Navy tug that was in service from 1918 to 1944.
USS Vester (SP-686) was a United States Navy patrol vessel and minesweeper in commission from 1917 to 1919.
United States