USS Isabel (SP-521), later PY-10, was a yacht in commission in the United States Navy as a destroyer from 1917 to 1920 and as a patrol yacht from 1921 to 1946.
Isabel was built as a private yacht in 1917 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine for automobile manufacturerJohn North Willys of Toledo, Ohio. Willys had intended for the yacht to have qualities that would make her desirable for use by the U.S. Navy, and had contacted the Navy about the possibility of selling her into naval service. The Navy initially was uninterested. However, after the United States entered World War I on 6 April 1917, the Navy decided to buy Isabel, which it viewed as being not only highly suitable for use as a patrol vessel but also having characteristics similar to those of a destroyer.[1] The Navy therefore acquired her in 1917 prior to completion, converted to Navy use as a destroyer, gave her the patrol vessel designation SP-521,[note 1] and commissioned her as USS Isabel at the Boston Navy Yard[1] in Boston, Massachusetts, on 28 December 1917.[3]
Her commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Shoemaker, received the Navy Cross "for distinguished service... as commanding officer of... Isabel, engaged in the important, exacting and hazardous duty of transporting and escorting troops and supplies through waters infested with enemy submarines and mines." He was relieved by Lieutenant Lewis W. Comstock on 24 July 1918.[3]
Isabel continued protecting convoys carrying troops and supplies to France until the end of the war and departed France on 16 December 1918.[1][3]
Post-World War I service 1919–1920
USS Isabel (SP-521) making smoke ca. 1919. (The photograph has also been identified as showing her on the Yangtze River in 1921).
Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, on 2 January 1919, Isabel remained inactive at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, until 25 April 1919, when she was ordered to Key West, Florida, to report to the commanding officer of submarine USS K-5 (SS-36) for duty as a tender to ships on the Mississippi River. Departing Key West on 14 May 1919, Isabel steamed up the Mississippi to St. Louis, Missouri, stopping at every major port on the river along the way to perform recruiting duties for the Navy.[3]
While Isabel was out of commission, her classification was changed from "destroyer" to "patrol yacht", and, under the Navy's new alphanumeric hull classification system instituted in 1920, her designation changed from SP-521 to PY-10 on 20 July 1920.[3] Meanwhile, the Navy considered how best to employ her in the future. One idea was to convert her into a seaplane tender to support the NC flying boats; another was to send her to Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire to replace the gunboatUSS Scorpion (PY-3) as station ship there. In the end, it was decided to send her to the Far East and employ her on the Yangtze Patrol.[3] Two of her 3-inch (76.2-millimeter) single-purpose guns were removed and replaced by two 3-inch (76.2-millimeter) 23-caliberantiaircraft guns.
During the tumultuous years that followed in China, Isabel served as a member of the patrol and as its flagship, charged with protecting American commerce from pirates. Based at Shanghai, Isabel spent the low-water period on the river at Hankou, returning to the coast in the summer. She and the other small gunboats of the U.S. Navy in China performed the arduous task of protecting American interests during numerous incidents and threats to American nationals. On many occasions the ship came under fire, as in October 1926 when she was caught between the rifle fire of opposing Chinese armies on the Yangtze. Isabel also took part in the Nanking Incident on 24 March 1927, when shelling and threats of force procured the release of a large group of American and British prisoners held by Chinese nationalists in Nanjing. She patrolled the 1,700 nautical miles (3,148 kilometers) of this dangerous river until 1928, when enough purpose-built river gunboats had arrived to serve in the Yangtze Patrol that she was no longer needed on the river.[2][3] She then joined the Asiatic Fleet.[3]
Asiatic Fleet duty 1928–1941
Her aft deckhouse removed,[2]Isabel spent 1928 through 1941 with the Asiatic Fleet in the Philippines and China, much of the time at Manila as "relief flagship" for the fleet commander. In the 1933–1934 gunnery year, she finished first among patrol vessels mounting 3-inch (76.2-millimeter) 50-caliber guns.[2]
In December 1941, as the threat of war with Japan grew ever larger, Isabel was given a secret mission by PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt to make a reconnaissance of the coast of Japanese-occupied French Indochina. Personally briefed on the plan by Asiatic Fleet commander AdmiralThomas C. Hart, Isabel's commanding officer, Lieutenant John W. Payne Jr., took her to sea on 3 December 1941, with all excess topside weight removed and her motorboat replaced by a pulling whaleboat, heavily fueled and provisioned, carrying additional life rafts, and with all of her codebooks except for one prearranged cipher left ashore. She left Manila under a cover story that she was searching for a PBY Catalina flying boat missing off the Indochinese coast. Payne was under orders to approach the coast under the cover of darkness, showing lights that would mislead observers to think that she was a fishing vessel, and report on Japanese ship movements; if forced to fight, he was to fight back as best he could and try to escape, but, if necessary, to destroy Isabel rather than allow the Japanese to capture her.[2][3]
Isabel first sighted another ship on 5 December 1941, when she encountered a large, dark-gray ship flying no flag and apparently altering course frequently to try to move out of sighting range. On the morning of 6 December 1941, a Japanese Aichi E13A1 "Jake" reconnaissancefloatplane from the seaplane tender Kamikawa Maru circled Isabel at an altitude of 1,000 feet (300 meters) and a range of 2,000 yards (1,800 meters). She was in sight of Cam Ranh Bay, French Indochina, later that day when she was ordered to return to Manila. While she was on her return voyage, she received word on 8 December 1941 (which was 7 December 1941 in the United States and at Hawaii), of the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the beginning of U.S. participation in World War II.[citation needed]
Isabel's first wartime duty was to escort U.S. Navy submarines through the minefields off Corregidor as they sortied from Manila Bay to defend the Philippines.[2] She was at Cavite Navy Yard when Japanese aircraft made a devastating attack on the base on 10 December 1941. Eight bombs, all duds, ringed Isabel's fantail. She shot down one of the attackers.[3] That evening Isabel and two destroyers escorted the submarine tenders Holland and Otus with the just relieved Commander of Submarines south to Borneo in order to set up an alternate command.[5]
For the next month Isabel operated as an antisubmarine escort for convoys in the East Indies, as outnumbered American, British, Australian, and Dutch forces tried desperately to oppose the Japanese offensive. She underwent air raids at Batavia on Java, Palembang on Sumatra, and Tjilatap on Java, escaping from several ports only days ahead of invading Japanese forces.[3] On 20 January 1942 the ship was part of the covering force at Ratai Bay on the Sunda Strait during the transfer of 3,456 personnel from the liner Aquitania, considered too valuable to risk within enemy land based air range, to smaller vessels for onward transport to Singapore.[6][note 4]
On the way back from a convoy assignment on 7 February 1942, Isabel was sent to rescue survivors from the Dutchmerchant shipVan Cloon, which had been sunk by torpedoes and gunfire from a Japanese submarine, near Surabaya, Java. As Isabel picked up 187 survivors of Van Cloon, the Japanese submarine which had sunk Van Cloon, probably I-55, fired a torpedo at Isabel and surfaced nearby. The torpedo missed, and Isabel quickly drove the submarine down with gunfire and assisted a patrolling Dutch Catalina flying boat in dropping depth charges to drive it from the area.[2][3]
By the time all ships were ordered to leave Java strong Japanese forces under Admirals Kondō and Nagumo were operating south between the islands and Australia.[7][8]Isabel was among the last American ships to leave Java before the island fell to the Japanese and avoided the fate of other ships, including an entire four ship convoy and its escort HMASYarra, transiting the Japanese operating area and arrived in Australia on 7 March 1942 after seeing gunboat USS Asheville (PG-21) sunk during numerous Japanese air raids on the ships south of Java during the voyage to Australia.[3][7][note 5]
Based at Fremantle in Western Australia, Isabel took up new duties as escort and training ship for the U.S. Navy submarines now also based there, serving as a target for submarines practicing torpedo approaches. She also helped train allied submarines. Isabel remained on this duty until 27 August 1945, twelve days after hostilities with Japan ceased.[3]
A month later, a Navy inspection team deemed Isabel to be in such poor condition that she should be decommissioned, towed to sea, and sunk.[citation needed] She was decommissioned on 11 February 1946 and struck from the Navy List on 26 February 1946, but rather than being sunk, she was sold for scrap on 2 March 1946. Scrapping began on 25 March 1946.[3]
↑ Cressman, p. 60, places the date at 29 January 1918
↑ Cressman, p. 60, says the submarine was UC-55, but Gröner, Erich, German Warships 1815–1945 Volume Two: U-Boats and Mine Warfare Vessels, Annapolis, Maryland:Naval Institute Press, 1991, ISBN1-55750-301-X, p. 33, says that UC-55 was sunk in September 1917. U-55 (see Gröner, ppp 26 & 28) and UB-55 (see Gröner, p. 9), however, both were in commission in March 1918, and, given her English Channel operating area, UB-55 is likely the submarine to which Cressman is referring.
↑ A useful map diagram is on page 630 in Gill's Australia in the War of 1939–1945 (navy) volume 1 showing ships sunk and fleeing Australian naval vessels.
The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by February 1942, after which it was dissolved, and the remnants incorporated into the naval component of the South West Pacific Area command, which eventually became the Seventh Fleet.
USS Bonefish(SS-223) was a Gato-class submarine, the first United States Navy ship to be named for the bonefish.
USS Bogue (AVG/ACV/CVE/CVHE-9) was the lead ship in the Bogue class of escort carriers in the United States Navy during World War II. The ship was named for Bogue Sound in North Carolina.
USS Whipple, a Clemson-class destroyer was the second ship of the United States Navy named in honor of Captain Abraham Whipple (1733–1819), who served in the Continental Navy.
USS Bluegill (SS-242/SSK-242) was a Gato-class submarine in commission in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946, from 1951 to 1952, and from 1953 to 1969. She was named for the bluegill, a sunfish of the Mississippi Valley.
USS Haddo(SS-255), a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the haddo.
USS Pintado (SS-387/AGSS-387), a Balao-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the pintado.
The Yangtze Patrol, also known as the Yangtze River Patrol Force, Yangtze River Patrol, YangPat and ComYangPat, was a prolonged naval operation from 1854–1949 to protect American interests in the Yangtze River's treaty ports. The Yangtze Patrol also patrolled the coastal waters of China where they protected U.S. citizens, their property, and Christian missionaries.
USS Alden (DD-211) was a Clemson-class destroyer of the United States Navy (USN). Serving during World War II, Alden is the only ship of the US Navy to have been named for Rear Admiral James Alden, Jr. (1810–1877).
USS John D. Edwards (DD-216) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II.
USS Parrott (DD-218) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II and was the second ship named for George Fountain Parrott.
USS Bulmer (DD-222/AG-86) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. It was the last warship of the Asiatic Fleet in USN commission.
USS Stewart (DD-224) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. She was the second ship named for Rear Admiral Charles Stewart. Scuttled in port at Surabaya, Java, she was later raised by the Japanese and commissioned as Patrol Boat No. 102. She came back under American control in 1945 after the occupation of Japan.
USS Paul Jones (DD-230/AG–120) was a Clemson-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War II. It was the third ship named for John Paul Jones.
The first HMAS Bendigo (J187/B237/A111) was a Bathurst-class minesweeper, a group commonly known as corvettes and including escort and patrol duties along with minesweeping.
USS Finch (AM-9) was a Lapwing-class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the dangerous task of removing mines from minefields laid in the water to prevent ships from passing. Finch was named for the finch, and is strictly speaking the only U.S. vessel named for such.
USS Tulsa (PG-22), nicknamed the Galloping Ghost of the South China Coast, was an Asheville-class gunboat of the United States Navy that was in commission from 1923 to 1946. She was named after the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the county seat of Tulsa County.
The first USS Oahu (PR-6), a Yangtze River gunboat, was laid down by Kiangnan Dock and Engineering Works, Shanghai, China, 18 December 1926; launched as PG–46 on 26 November 1927; sponsored by Mrs. Bryson Bruce, wife of Comdr. Bruce; and commissioned 22 October 1928, Lt. Comdr. A. C. Thomas in command.
USS Harveson (DE-316) was an Edsall-class destroyer escort built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. She served in the Atlantic Ocean the Pacific Ocean and provided destroyer escort protection against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys.
USS Johnnie Hutchins (DE-360) was a John C. Butler-class destroyer escort acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy, in addition to other tasks as assigned, such as patrol or radar picket. She served in the Pacific Ocean, and, post-war, she returned home with a Navy Unit Commendation awarded to her for her battle with Japanese midget submarines on 9 August 1945.
References
Cressman, Robert J. "Historic Fleets: A Fine Little Vessel." Naval History, Vol. 22, No. 6, December 2008, pp.60–61.
Lenton, H.T. World War 2 Fact Files: American Gunboats and Minesweepers London: Macdonald and Jane's: London, 1974. ISBN0-356-08064-1
Office Of Naval Intelligence – United States Navy (1943). The Java Sea Campaign. Combat Narratives. Washington, DC: United States Navy. LCCN2009397493.
Naval History And Heritage Command. "Isabel". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History And Heritage Command. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
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.
United States
1 Battle Stars 
