SS ''Yale'', a 3,731 gross ton coastal passenger steamship, was built by the

Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding and Engine Works Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

in 1906, for service between New York and Boston. In March 1918 the U.S. Navy acquired her from the Pacific Steamship Company of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, placing her in

commission Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anothe ...

later in that month as USS ''Yale'' (ID-1672). USS ''Yale'' served between March 1918 and September 1919. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the ship made 31 round-trip voyages transporting troops between

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. ''Yale'' was decommissioned in early September 1919 and, in June 1920, together with her sister ship sold for commercial operation along the Pacific Coast between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The

Los Angeles Steamship Company The Los Angeles Steamship Company or LASSCO was a passenger and freight shipping company based in Los Angeles, California. Description The company, formed in 1920, initially provided fast passenger service between Los Angeles and San Francisco. I ...

spent $8,000,000 to turn the troop ships into high-speed luxury liners, able to make the one way trip in 18 hours.

World War II

After 15 years of fast passenger service along the West Coast, ''Yale'' was laid up in 1935; in 1940 the national emergency resulting from the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

brought her back into use. She was used this time as a dormitory ship in

Alaskan Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

waters. The United States Navy again acquired her in April 1943 and in August she was commissioned as USS ''Greyhound'' (IX-106) on 8 August 1943. She was the third ship of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

to be named for the

greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgen ...

, a breed of tall, slender, swift hound with a narrow pointed head. After brief service ''Greyhound'' decommissioned on 31 March 1944, and began duty as a floating barracks for personnel at various

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected m ...

training schools. She was placed out of service on 9 March 1948 and her name was struck 18 June 1948. She was turned over to the Maritime Commission 12 November 1948 and placed with the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Olympia, Washington until 5 June 1949 when she was sold for scrapping. She departed Olympia on 13 July 1949, towed by the Red Stack tug ''Hercules'', bound for the Walter W. Johnson Company scrap yard at

Stockton Stockton may refer to: Places Australia * Stockton, New South Wales * Stockton, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region New Zealand *Stockton, New Zealand United Kingdom *Stockton, Cheshire *Stockton, Norfolk *Stockton, Chirbu ...

, California, where she was due to arrive 18 July. The salvaged steel was to go to the Columbia steel mill at

Pittsburg, California Pittsburg is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is an industrial suburb located on the southern shore of the Suisun Bay in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, and is part of the Sacramento–San Joaquin R ...

Sources

*
Naval Historical Center

References

Unclassified miscellaneous vessels of the United States Navy Steamships of the United States 1906 ships {{US-mil-ship-stub

World War II

Sources

See also

References