USS Winchester (SP-156) was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919. Prior to and following World War I, Winchester was a private yacht, later renamed Renard. In World War II, Renard was requisitioned for use in the Royal Canadian Navy as a patrol vessel, keeping her name. She was returned to her owners in 1944.
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 fifth USS Ranger (SP-237) was United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
USS Helenita (SP-210) was a yacht leased from its owner by the U.S. Navy during World War I. She was outfitted as an armed patrol craft and initially assigned to North Atlantic Ocean duty, but found to be too lightly built for the ocean. She was then relegated to patrol of Long Island Sound and the Delaware Bay until war's end, when her guns were removed and she was returned to her owner.
The sixth USS Niagara (SP-136), later PY-9, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1918 to 1931 and which served during World War I.
USS Zoraya (SP-235) was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy from 1917 to 1919.
The first USS Orca (SP-726) was a yacht that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1918.
The third USS Mohican (SP-117), later USS SP-117, was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.
The second USS Sovereign (SP-170) was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1918 to 1919.
The first USS Josephine (SP-913), later USS SP-913, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
USS Sunbeam III (SP-251) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919. The prefix designator means Section Patrol Craft.
USS Mary Alice (SP-397) was a United States Navy patrol vessel commissioned in 1917 and sunk in 1918.
The third USS Seneca (SP-427), later USS SP-427, was a United States Navy minesweeper and patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
USS Gaivota (SP-436) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
USS Arcady (SP-577) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
USS Vivace (SP-583) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
USS Sapphire (SP-710) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
The second USS Wissahickon (SP-852), which also served as USS SP-852, was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918.
USS Katrina (SP-1144) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
The third USS Pilgrim (SP-1204) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919.
United States