- USS Wacondah (SP-238)
USS "Wacondah" (SP-238) was an advanced-design
yacht acquired by theU.S. Navy duringWorld War I . She was outfitted as an armedpatrol craft assigned to guard theNew York City harbor against Germansubmarine s and to provide escort protection to commercial ships. Post-war she was sold and continued her maritime career as the yacht "Intercolonial".A turbine-powered steam yacht
"Revolution" -- a steel-hulled, screw steam yacht designed by Charles L. Seabury -- was completed in
1901 , atMorris Heights, New York , by the Charles L. Seabury Co. and the Gas Engine and Power Co., for mining engineerF. Augustus Heinze . One of the first American turbine-powered steam "express" yachts, "Revolution" was later acquired byBoston, Massachusetts , banker Charles Hayden in1907 and renamed "Wacondah".World War I service
When the United States entered World War I on
6 April 1917 , the Navy soon began collecting ships and small craft from civilian owners to serve as auxiliaries and patrol craft. Inspected at the3d Naval District , "Wacondah" was acquired by the Navy on24 May 1917 . Fitted out for wartime service, "Wacondah" was commissioned on14 September 1917 , Lt. (jg.) Samuel Wainwright,USNRF , in command.Assigned to protect New York harbor
By virtue of her light construction—built for speed rather than sea-keeping -- "Wacondah" was restricted to "sheltered waters." Assigned to the 3d Naval District, she operated on local patrol duties out of
New York harbor for the duration of the war.Post-war decommissioning
Decommissioned and struck from the
Navy list on21 August 1919 , "Wacondah" was sold on4 June 1920 to the International Steamship and Trading Company and renamed "Intercolonial".See also
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U.S. Navy
*World War I References
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* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-w/sp238.htm USS Wacondah (SP-238), 1917-1920. Originally the civilian yacht Revolution (1901), which was later renamed Wacondah and Intercolonial]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/170238.htm NavSource Online: Wacondah (SP 238)]
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