USS ''Irene Forsyte'' (IX-93) was a three masted

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

originally built as ''MacLean Clan'' which was briefly converted to a

Q-ship Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchantman, armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the c ...

, of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

In commercial service

The three-masted

''MacLean Clan'' was built in 1920 by the MacLean Construction Company,

Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia Mahone Bay is a town on the northwest shore of Mahone Bay along the South Shore of Nova Scotia in Lunenburg County. A long-standing picturesque tourism destination, the town has recently enjoyed a growing reputation as a haven for entrepreneu ...

for H.W. Adams of

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia Lunenburg () is a port town on the South Shore (Nova Scotia), South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded in 1753, the town was one of the first British attempts to settle Protestants in Nova Scotia. Historically, Lunenburg's economy relied o ...

. Built at the end of the era of three masted merchant schooners, she was one of two schooners built by MacLean construction in 1920, the other being the auxiliary tern schooner ''Cote Nord''. ''Maclean Clan'' worked in the coastal trade into the 1930s. She had an auxiliary engine installed in 1926 and was sold and re-registered in

Windsor, Nova Scotia Windsor is a community located in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a service centre for the western part of the county and is situated on Nova Scotia Highway 101, Highway 101. The community has a history d ...

in 1929."Clan MacLean" Parks Canada, Ship Information Database
/ref> In the early 1930s she was purchased by Captain Thomas Antle. Renamed ''Irene Myrtle'', the schooner barely survived the tough trade conditions of that time and was in poor condition by the end of the decade. Given a new lease on life by the increased shipping traffic provoked by the war, she served in the coal trade between

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

and

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

into 1942. That summer, while the ship was loading coal at

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

, Captain Antle died and the ship was eventually put up for sale.

Acquired by the US Navy

At this time, the U.S. Navy began looking for a smaller coastal vessel to serve as a Q-ship, complementing the larger decoy ships , , and . Purchased on 16 November 1942, for about US$12,000, the schooner was renamed ''Irene Forsyte'' and given hull designation symbol IX-93 on 7 December. She was delivered to the

Thames Shipyard The Old Thames Shipyard is a historic shipyard on the Thames River at the end of Farnsworth Street in New London, Connecticut. Established in 1900, the shipyard included, at the time of its listing on the National Register of Historic Places in ...

, for conversion. Fitted with new engines, quick-firing armament, as well as concealed radar and sonar equipment, the auxiliary was commissioned 26 August 1943.

Service history

Based on the experience of Q-ships 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 ...

, it was hoped ''Irene Forsyte'', with her relatively heavy armament concealed, could lure German submarines into close quarters on the surface and sink them with gunfire. Success in the venture would require a good disguise. After a volunteer crew sailed the schooner from New London on 29 September 1943, she changed her name and flag to that of a Portuguese

Grand Banks The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordfi ...

fishing schooner. The crew also further concealed the guns and altered her rigging and profile. The disguised Q-ship then stood southeast in hopes of encountering enemy submarines. Originally, the Navy planned to use the vessel off the "Trinidad corner" where

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s had congregated and where several

s had been attacked. However, by the time she was ready for sea, the situation had changed and she was given orders to sail on or about 26 September for

Recife, Brazil Recife ( , ) is the state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North and the Northeast Region of Brazil. It is the largest city in Pernambuco state, and ...

, along the Maury Track. In the early morning hours of 4 October 1943, a dispatch from ''Irene Forsyte'' reported that she was hove to at approximately 38°N, 66°W (near

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 schooner's seams had opened during the course of a heavy storm and her pumps were just able to keep ahead of the flooding. The message further stated that the condition might become serious if the heavy weather continued; permission was requested to proceed to

for repairs. Commander-in-Chief,

U.S. Atlantic Fleet The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFFC) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Sta ...

(CINCLANT), ordered two tugs to proceed to the scene and render assistance. Later in the day, however, ''Irene Forsyte'' reported that no assistance was needed and that she was proceeding to

. The tugs were recalled. She anchored in

Hamilton Harbour Hamilton Harbour (formerly known as Burlington Bay) lies on the western tip of Lake Ontario, bounded on the northwest by the City of Burlington, on the south by the City of Hamilton, and on the east by Hamilton Beach (south of the Burlington ...

, and was reconditioned. Immediately a Board of Investigation convened to determine why the vessel had been permitted to go to sea in such obviously unseaworthy condition. In commenting on the report of the

Naval Inspector General The Office of Naval Inspector General for the United States Department of the Navy was established during World War II to make investigations as directed by the secretary of the Navy and the chief of naval operations. The current mission of the n ...

, the Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet, Admiral Ernest J. King wrote: The schooner arrived New York 8 November 1943 and, after an inspection three days later, she was decommissioned 16 December. Transferred 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 ...

, she was used for a time on a loan basis by the Merchant Marine Cadet Corps as a training ship until returned to the Navy for disposal on 28 November 1944. Stricken from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

on 22 December 1944, the schooner was transferred to the

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 1950. The c ...

and eventually sold at

public auction A government auction or a public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a governmen ...

18 October 1945.

Fate

Purchased by a

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n shipping firm, she was renamed ''Santa Clara'' and served another six years in the island trade. The aging schooner met her end off

La Ceiba La Ceiba () is a municipality, the capital of the Honduran department of Atlántida (department), Atlántida, and a port city on the northern Caribbean coast in Honduras. It forms part of the southeastern boundary of the Gulf of Honduras. With ...

when, heavily laden, she ran into bad weather, took on water and sank on 21 December 1951.

Awards

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had per ...

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal was a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. Histo ...

References

Bibliography

External links

USS ''Irene Forsyte''

Q-Ships
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irene Forsyte Q-ships of the United States Navy Unclassified miscellaneous vessels of the United States Navy Ships built in Nova Scotia 1922 ships Schooners of the United States Schooners