USS ''Cheng Ho'' (IX-52) (also written ''Chengho''), an

unclassified miscellaneous vessel The IX (unclassified–miscellaneous) hull classification symbol is used for ships of the United States Navy that do not fit into one of the standard categories. Similar lists of 'miscellaneous' ships can found at : and :. Ship status i ...

, was the only 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 ...

of that name, which was given to her by her civilian owner for

Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferre ...

, the Chinese admiral and explorer.

Exploring vessel

The Chinese junk motor

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

was built at the Ah King Shipways,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

, for Anne Archbold (the daughter of

John Dustin Archbold John Dustin Archbold (July 26, 1848 – December 6, 1916) was an American businessman and one of the United States' earliest oil refiners. His small oil company was bought out by John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company. Archbold rose rapidl ...

, co-founder of

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...

), and launched in October 1939. She was designed and built for a

plant collecting Plant collecting is the acquisition of plant specimens for the purposes of research, cultivation, or as a hobby. Plant specimens may be kept alive, but are more commonly dried and pressed to preserve the quality of the specimen. Plant collecting i ...

expedition to the Dutch East Indies led by botanist

David Fairchild David Grandison Fairchild (April 7, 1869 – August 6, 1954) was an American botanist and plant explorer. Fairchild was responsible for the introduction of more than 200,000 exotic plants and varieties of established crops into the United St ...

. The expedition was intended to last for two years, but after only six months the outbreak of war made further work impossible. Although shortened, the trip was productive. More than 500 different kinds of plants were collected, including more than 90 species of palms.

Navy service

On 14 July 1941 the ship was bought by

from Mrs. Archbold for the nominal sum of one dollar, and placed in service on 23 July 1941, assigned to the

14th Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed United States Navy Regions, Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, N ...

. ''Cheng Ho'' was at the Section Base, Bishop's Point, during the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawa ...

on 7 December 1941. Throughout

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 ...

she served at Pearl Harbor as a picket boat and as an inshore patrol vessel. She was stricken on 25 February 1946, and turned over to the

War Shipping Administration The War Shipping Administration (WSA) was a World War II emergency war agency of the US government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the United States needed for fighting the war. Both shipbuilding under the Maritime C ...

for return to her former owner. ''Cheng Ho'' was last seen in 1990, derelict and beached at

Papeete Papeete ( Tahitian: ''Papeete'', pronounced ) is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Papeete is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivisi ...

, Tahiti.

Notes

References

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External links

The Voyage of the ''Cheng Ho''

Photographs of the ''Cheng Ho'' expedition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng Ho 1939 ships Unclassified miscellaneous vessels of the United States Navy