USS Taniwha explained
USS Taniwha (SP-129) was an armed
yacht that served in the
United States Navy as a
patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.
Taniwha was built as a
civilian yacht in 1909 by the George Lawley & Son at
Neponset,
Massachusetts. The U.S. Navy acquired
Taniwha under a free
lease from her owner, Mr. Henry B. Anderson of New York City, for use as a
patrol boat during
World War I and
commissioned the same day as USS
Taniwha (SP-129). The date of her
de facto acquisition and commissioning is reported both as 14 May 1917
[1] and as 18 May 1917, although the Navy did not formalize her acquisition from Anderson until several months later, on 29 September 1917.
Assigned to the 3rd Naval District, Taniwha operated on section patrol protecting waters near New York City against incursions by enemy forces, particularly submarines. Her service to the Navy continued through the end of hostilities, which came on 11 November 1918.
Taniwha was decommissioned on 4 April 1919, and her name was stricken from the Navy List on the same day. She was returned to her owner either that day or in early June 1919.[2]
References
Notes and References
- Per the Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images and NavSource Online http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/170129.htm
- NavSource Online http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/170129.htm the yacht was returned in June 1919; according to the Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images, the date of return is variously reported as 4 April 1919 and as early June 1919
