USS Corona

Last updated

USS Corona 1917 World War I.jpg
USS Corona in 1917,
probably leaving New York for France
History
NameCorona
Owner
  • 1905: HA Laughlin
  • 1921: Clarence H Dodge
  • 1921: Oscar T Ledberg
  • 1927: Philip A Curran
  • 1928: Ferraro Hnos & P Valle
Operator1917: United States Navy
Port of registry
BuilderHawthorns & Co, Leith
Yard number105
Launched22 February 1905
CompletedMay 1905
Acquiredfor US Navy, 10 June 1917
Commissioned20 July 1917
Decommissioned17 May 1919
Stricken4 April 1919
Identification
Fatecapsized and sank 1941
General characteristics
Type steam yacht
Tonnage304  GRT, 134  NRT
Length
  • 172 ft (52 m) overall
  • 150.5 ft (45.9 m) registered
Beam23.15 ft (7.06 m)
Depth12.45 ft (3.79 m)
Installed power74 NHP, 650 ihp
Propulsion
Complementin US Navy: 63
Armament2 × 3-inch/50-caliber guns

USS Corona (SP-813) was a steel-hulled steam yacht that was launched in Scotland in 1905 as Corona. In 1917 the United States Navy had her converted into an armed yacht. She was based in France until 1918, and then in reserve in Connecticut. In 1921 she was sold back into civilian use. In 1928 she was re-registered in Peru, where she became a merchant ship. She sank off the Peruvian coast in 1941.

Contents

Building and registration

Hawthorns & Co of Leith, Scotland built the yacht as yard number 105. She was launched on 22 February 1905 as Corona for HA Laughlin of Pittsburgh. [1] Her lengths were 172 ft (52 m) overall [2] and 150.5 ft (45.9 m) registered. Her beam was 23.15 ft (7.06 m) and her depth was 12.45 ft (3.79 m). Her tonnages were 304  GRT and 134  NRT. She had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine that was rated at 74 NHP [3] or 650 ihp. [2]

Laughlin at first registered her at Philadelphia, [3] but by 1906 had re-registered her at New York. [4] By 1910 her code letters were LBCW. [5]

Armed yacht

The US Navy bought Corona at New York on 10 June 1917. She was converted for naval use, which included arming her with two 3-inch/50-caliber guns. On 20 July she was commissioned at New York as USS Corona, with the pennant number SP-813 and code letters GSVL. Lieutenant Lemuel M Stevens was her first commanding officer. [2]

Corona left New York on 30 July; sailed via St. John's, Newfoundland and the Azores; and on 30 August arrived in Brest, France. From there she escorted convoys and patrolled the English Channel. By the end of August 1918, Lieutenant Commander Howard H. J. Benson had succeeded Lieutenant Stevens as her commanding officer. [2]

The Armistice of 11 November 1918 ended the war. On 5 December 1918 Corona left Brest, and on 28 December she arrived in New London, Connecticut, where she was held in reserve. [2] On 4 April 1919 she was struck from the Navy Directory . [6] She left New London on 5 May 1919; arrived in New York the next day; and was decommissioned on 17 May. [2]

Later years

Lloyd's Register listed the US Navy as Corona's owner until 1922. [7] However, early in 1921 Clarence H Dodge of New York bought Corona. [2] On 1 October 1921 Corona Oscar T Ledberg of Providence, Rhode Island bought her. [8] He already owned the former USS Satilla, which he had renamed Edith. By 1927 Philp A Curran owned Corona. [9] By 1928 Ferraro Hermanos ("Ferraro Brothers") and P Valle owned her, and had registered her in Callao in Peru. [10] By 1930 Lloyd's Register described her as an "ex yacht", as by then she was in commercial merchant trade. [11]

On 25 April 1941, Corona capsized and sank in the Pacific off the Peruvian coast, about 20 nautical miles (37 km) northwest of the Guañape Islands. [12]

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Nahant</i> (SP-1250) Tugboat of the United States Navy

USS Nahant (SP-1250) was a civilian tugboat that the United States Navy acquired in World War I. She was a tugboat in New York Harbor. After the war she was loaned to the City of New York until 1928, when she was disposed of by the Navy.

HMCS <i>Hochelaga</i> Steam yacht, patrol ship, and Jewish migrant ship

HMCS Hochelaga was a steam yacht that was converted into a Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) patrol ship. She was built in Scotland, and launched in 1900 as Waturus for Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria. He sold her to a US buyer in 1902, who sold her to the Canadian Government in 1915. She was converted into an armed yacht, renamed Hochelaga, and patrolled the Atlantic coast of Canada. She was in naval service until 1920, when she was offered for sale. From 1923 to 1942 Hochelaga was a ferry linking Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. From 1943 to 1945 the United Fruit Company used her in the sugar trade with Puerto Rico. In 1946 she was renamed HaChayal Ha'Ivri, although officially she remained registered as Hochelaga. As HaChayal Ha'Ivri she tried to take Jewish emigrants from Belgium to Palestine, but was stopped by the Royal Navy. By 1951 she was registered under the Panamanian flag of convenience. Lloyd's Register still listed her in 1959.

<i>Kanawha</i> (1899) US steam yacht and patrol vessel

Kanawha was a steam yacht that was built in 1899. She was built for a member of the New York Yacht Club (NYYC), to replace a previous yacht of the same name. Henry Huttleston Rogers of Standard Oil bought her in 1901, and owned her until his death in 1909. The United States Navy used her as a patrol vessel in the First World War from 1917 to 1919. Marcus Garvey's Black Star Line acquired her in 1919 and renamed her Antonio Maceo.

USS <i>Wabash</i> (ID-1824) German-built cargo steamship

USS Wabash (ID-1824) was a cargo steamship. She was launched in Germany in 1900 for DDG „Hansa“ as Wartburg. In 1905 Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL) bought her and renamed her Tübingen. In 1917 the United States seized her and renamed her Seneca. In 1918 she was commissioned into the United States Navy as USS Wabash. She was scrapped in Italy in 1924.

USS <i>Argonne</i> (1918) Japanese-built cargo steamship

USS Argonne was a cargo steamship that was built in Japan in 1916 as Taifuku Maru No. 1. She served in the United States Navy from October 1918 to January 1919. In 1922 a French company bought her and renamed her Calonne. In 1922 an Italian company bought her and renamed her Wally. She was scrapped in Italy in 1935.

USS <i>Long Beach</i> (AK-9) Cargo ship that served under British, Greek, German & US ownership

USS Long Beach (AK-9) was a cargo steamship that was built in England in 1892 as Yarrowdale, passed through a succession of British, Greek and German owners, and was seized by the United States in 1917. She served in the US Navy until 1921, then in the US Merchant Marine, and was scrapped in 1924. She was called Nicolaos Castriotis in Greek ownership, Hohenfelde in German ownership, and Golden Gate from 1923.

USS <i>Kanawha II</i> United States Navy patrol vessel

USS Kanawha II (SP-130), later called USS Piqua (SP-130), was a steam yacht that was built in 1899, and which the United States Navy used as an armed yacht in the First World War. She was commissioned in 1917 as Kanawha II, with the "II" added probably to distinguish her from the oiler USS Kanawha (AO-1). She was renamed Piqua in 1918, probably for the same reason.

USS <i>Auburn</i> (ID-3842) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

The first USS Auburn (ID-3842) was a steam turbine cargo ship of the United States Shipping Board that was built in 1919 and scrapped in 1934. In 1919 she briefly served in the United States Navy.

USS <i>Sultana</i> Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Sultana (SP-134) was a steam yacht acquired under a free lease by the United States Navy in World War I. She was outfitted as a patrol boat and was assigned to escort duty in the North Atlantic Ocean. She rescued survivors adrift in the water, and protected cargo ships from U-boat attack, and was returned to her owner at the close of the war.

USS <i>Druid</i> Patrol vessel of the United States Navy

USS Druid (SP-321) was a private yacht launched 10 February 1902 as Rheclair that was built for Daniel G. Reid. Reid sold the yacht to Senator Nelson W. Aldrich who renamed the yacht Nirvana only just over a year before his death. Aldrich's estate chartered Nirvana to John Wanamaker until it was bought by his son Rodman Wanamaker who used the yacht for cruising until a fire on 14 December 1916, just before a cruise south, severely damaged the vessel. He chartered an alternate vessel for his trip south and, after full repairs, the yacht was sold to Walter W. Dwyer who gave it the name Druid with intentions to sell the yacht to the government in order to finance a shipyard venture in Pensacola, Florida.

USS <i>Margaret</i> (SP-524) Steam yacht used by the US Navy in World War I

USS Margaret (SP-524) was a steam yacht that was built in 1913. She was an United States Navy armed yacht from 1917 until 1919, when she was transferred to the United States Department of War. She was later sold back into civilian ownership, and was still registered as a merchant vessel in 1933.

USS <i>Wakiva II</i> Steam yacht and First World War armed yacht

USS Wakiva II (SP-160) was a steel-hulled steam yacht that was built in Scotland for Lamon V. Harkness in 1907, and converted into an armed yacht in 1917. She was a United States Navy convoy escort from Brest, France from October 1917. That November she attacked and almost certainly sank an enemy U-boat. She was sunk in May 1918 by a collision that killed two of her crew.

USS <i>Charlton Hall</i> Cargo steamship that served in the US Navy in World War I

USS Charlton Hall (ID-1359) was a cargo steamship that was built in Scotland in 1907 and served in the merchant fleets of the United Kingdom, United States and Greece. She served in the United States Navy in 1918. She was renamed Atlantis and then Anastasis in 1930. She was scrapped in China in 1934.

USS <i>Craster Hall</i> Cargo steamship that served in the United States Navy

USS Craster Hall (ID-1486) was a cargo steamship that was built in Scotland in 1909 and served in the merchant fleets of first the United Kingdom and then the United States. From 1918 to 1919, she served in the United States Navy. In 1927, she was damaged in a collision off the coast of Peru, was beached to prevent her sinking, but was wrecked.

USS <i>Santa Rosalia</i> Cargo steamship that served in the US Navy in World War I

USS Santa Rosalia (ID-1503) was a cargo steamship that was built in Scotland in 1910 and served in the merchant fleets of the United Kingdom, United States and Greece. She served in the United States Navy in 1918–19. She was renamed Stefanos Costomenis in 1929 and sank in the North Atlantic in 1936.

USS <i>Munwood</i> Cargo steamship that served in the United States Navy

USS Munwood (ID-4460) was a cargo steamship that was built in Scotland in 1914 and was part of the United States Merchant Marine until 1928. From 1918 to 1919 she served in the United States Navy. In 1928 Yugoslav interests bought her and renamed her Vila. In 1935 she sank as the result of a collision in the Adriatic Sea.

USS <i>Aphrodite</i> Steam yacht, patrol vessel, and merchant ship

Aphrodite was a steam yacht that was launched in 1898. When completed in 1899 she was the largest steam yacht yet built in the US. In 1917 she was commissioned into the United States Navy as the patrol vessel USS Aphrodite (SP-135). She was based in France from 1917 to 1918; in England from 1918 to 1919; and then returned to her private owner.

USS <i>Eastern Shore</i> Japanese-built cargo steamship

USS Eastern Shore (ID-3500) was a cargo steamship that was built in Japan in 1918 for the United States Shipping Board (USSB). From December 1918 to May 1919 she spent six months in the United States Navy. She was scrapped in 1935.

USS <i>Eastern Light</i> Japanese-built cargo ship

USS Eastern Light (ID-3538) was an Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) Design 1127 cargo steamship that was built in Japan in 1918 for the United States Shipping Board (USSB). From December 1918 to April 1919 she spent five months in the United States Navy. In 1926 she was sold and renamed Willkeno. She was renamed Isthmian in 1937 and Illinoian in 1939. in 1944 she was scuttled off the coast of Normandy as Blockship 485.

USS <i>Beukelsdijk</i> Dutch-owned cargo ship that was requisitioned for the US Navy in WW1

USS Beukelsdijk was a Dutch-owned turret deck ship that was built in England in 1903 as Grängesberg. She was renamed Beukelsdijk in 1916 when she changed owners. In 1918 she was requisitioned as USS Beukelsdijk, with the Naval Registry Identification Number ID–3135. She returned to civilian service in 1919, and was wrecked in the Norwegian Sea in 1923.

References

  1. ↑ "Corona". Scottish Built Ships. Caledonian Maritime Research Trust. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Radigan, Joseph M. "Corona (SP 813)". Section Patrol Craft Vessel Photo Archive. NavSource Naval History. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  3. 1 2 Register of Yachts 1905, COR.
  4. ↑ Register of Yachts 1906, COR.
  5. ↑ Register of Yachts 1910, COR.
  6. ↑ "Corona". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . Naval History and Heritage Command. Archived from the original on 13 October 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  7. ↑ Lloyd's Register of Yachts 1922, COQ.
  8. ↑ Lloyd's Register of Yachts 1923, COR.
  9. ↑ Lloyd's Register of Yachts 1927, COR.
  10. ↑ Lloyd's Register of Yachts 1928, COR.
  11. ↑ Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1930, COR.
  12. ↑ Avec43; Allen, Tony (11 March 2020). "SS Corona (+1941)". Wrecksite. Retrieved 12 September 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.