USS ''Harvard'' (SP-209) was a

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made 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 ...

leased by the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. She was outfitted as a

patrol craft A patrol boat (also referred to as a patrol craft, patrol ship, or patrol vessel) is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defence, border security, or law enforcement. There are many designs for patrol boats, and they ...

and assigned to patrol duty in the North

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, protecting civilian ships from German

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

s. In addition, she saved the lives of a number of survivors from ships that had been torpedoed. Post-war she was decommissioned and returned to her owner in her original civilian shipboard configuration.

Construction

The second ship to be named ''Harvard'' by the

, the vessel was a steel yacht, was built as ''Eleanor'' by

Bath Iron Works Bath Iron Works (BIW) is a major United States shipyard located on the Kennebec River in Bath, Maine, founded in 1884 as Bath Iron Works, Limited. Since 1995, Bath Iron Works has been a subsidiary of General Dynamics, one of the world's largest ...

Bath, Maine Bath is a city in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. Bath is included in the Brunswick, Maine, Brunswick Micropolitan statistical area, micropolitan area. Bath has a 2024 population of 8,870. It is also the county seat of Sagadahoc County ...

, for

William A. Slater William Albert Slater (1857–1919), was an American businessman, art collector, and philanthropist from Connecticut who was a member of the prominent Slater family. Early life and career William Slater, the son of John Fox Slater and grandson ...

in 1894. She was sold to G F Baker and renamed the ''Wacouta'' then leased by the Navy from G. F. Baker,

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, 23 April 1917. ''Waoouta'' was renamed ''Harvard'' and commissioned 10 May 1917 at New York City.

World War I service

Assigned to the North Atlantic

After being fitted out for overseas service, ''Harvard'' departed New York City 9 June 1917 with a

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

, and arrived at

Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port, port city in the Finistère department, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of a peninsula and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an impor ...

, 4 July. She then engaged in patrol duties out of Brest, and on 16 July picked up 59 survivors from the ill-fated British steamship ''Trelissick''. ''Trelissiok'' had been torpedoed and sunk 15 July, after having rescued some 30 men from another torpedoed British ship, ''Exford'', the day before. ''Harvard'' returned the survivors from both ships safely to Brest. Continuing her duties around Brest, ''Harvard'' performed as a harbor patrol and coastal convoy ship. She assisted the torpedoed merchantman ''Texas'' 29 November 1917 and searched for survivors of the sinking of ''Hundaago'', a Norwegian steamship, 4 August 1918.

Post-war return to owner

''Harvard'' departed for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

21 November 1918 and remained there until June 1919, when she returned to New York City via

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. The yacht was decommissioned and turned over to her owner 26 July 1919.

References

*
USS Harvard (SP-209), 1917-1919
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvard Steam yachts Ships built in Bath, Maine World War I patrol vessels of the United States 1904 ships