![HMS Tuscarora FL20328](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/HMS_Tuscarora_FL20328.jpg)
An armed yacht was a
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 ...
that was armed with
weapon
A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, ...
s and was typically in the service of a
navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
. The word "yacht" ("hunter"; Dutch "jacht"; German "jagd", literally meaning "to hunt") was originally applied to small, fast and agile naval vessels suited to piracy and to employment by navies and coast guards against smugglers and pirates. Vessels of this type were adapted to racing by wealthy owners. The origin of civilian yachts as naval vessels, with their speed and maneuverability, made them useful for adaptation to their original function as patrol vessels. In 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 ...
armed yachts were typically private yachts expropriated for government use in times of war. Armed yachts served as patrol vessels during the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (cloc ...
and the
World Wars
A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...
. In the latter conflicts, armed yachts were used as patrol vessels, convoy escorts, and in anti-submarine duties. In the United States, yachts were purchased from their owners with the owners given an option to repurchase their yacht at the close of hostilities.
History
Spanish–American War
World War I
Before the outbreak of war in Europe, there had been much discussion in the United Kingdom of a wartime role for privately owned
motor and steam yachts and smaller power boats. This led to Admiral Sir
Frederick Inglefield
Admiral Sir Frederick Samuel Inglefield, (29 April 1854 – 8 August 1921) was a Royal Navy officer who served as Fourth Sea Lord, was appointed as a Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy and commanded auxiliary patrol forces in Worl ...
forming a Motor Boat Reserve Committee in 1912 to consider whether this would be useful and how it could be achieved. In early 1914 the
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
created a Motor Boat Reserve with experienced volunteers from various yacht clubs. At the start of the war in August 1914, the reserve was activated under the title Royal Naval Motor Boat Reserve (RNMBR). Eventually, the RNMBR was incorporated into the
Auxiliary Patrol
The Auxiliary Patrol was an antisubmarine patrols initiative by the British to help combat German submarine operations in the early stages of World War I. It was under the command of the Admiral of Patrols at the Admiralty and was the pioneer of ...
and its crews into the
Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). By December 1914, each sea area of the
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
was allocated a dedicated unit of the Auxiliary Patrol, typically comprising six
armed trawler
Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the First and Second World Wars. Some—known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers"— were purpose-built t ...
s or
drifter
A drifter is a vagrant who moves from place to place without a fixed home or employment.
Drifter(s) or The Drifter(s) may also refer to:
Films and television Films
* ''The Drifter'' (1917 film), an American film directed by Fred Kelsey
* ''Th ...
s and a single armed yacht, together with smaller motor boats, with the roles of harbour defence,
mine
Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to:
Extraction or digging
* Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging
*Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine
Grammar
*Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun
...
clearance and anti-submarine patrolling. The crews were augmented by volunteers from all over the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
. By 1917, there were 150 patrol units, each led by an armed yacht, usually equipped with radio.
In the course of the war, a total of 159 motor yachts were hired by the Admiralty, some serving as far away as the
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...
. The British armed yacht destroyed the German
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
with
depth charges off
Portland Bill in May 1918. A number of motor yachts operated as patrol boats in the waters of
British Dominion
The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire.
"Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 Im ...
s and colonies, including ''Nusa'', a German yacht which was captured in the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
in September 1914 and was later used by the
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
in their home waters.
![USS Hauoli (SP-249)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/USS_Hauoli_%28SP-249%29.jpg)
On the entry of the United States into the war in April 1917, a large number of motor yachts were acquired by the US Navy and Coast Guard. In the coastal waters of France, there was a considerable U-boat threat to the shipping required to transport and supply the
American Expeditionary Force, and the only available warships were six armed yachts which were formed into the US Patrol Squadron Operating in European Waters. The squadron left
New York Navy Yard on 4 June 1917 and crossing via
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = "Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, es ...
and the
Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
, arrived in
Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
* Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
* Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
** Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Br ...
on 4 July. A second and third squadron arrived during the same month, their colourful
dazzle camouflage giving rise to the nickname "the
Easter egg
Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...
fleet". Reinforcements of armed trawlers and destroyers arrived in October, however the yachts remained active with the force until the end of the war. Surfaced U-boats were engaged with gunfire in the early months and in 1918, two submarines were claimed to have been destroyed with depth charges, but neither of these claims were supported by post-war research.
World War II
During
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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the US navy commandeered small vessels, including private yachts, and requisitioned them to patrol US coastal waters and the Gulf of Mexico against German
U-boats
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare rol ...
. In the Gulf, the boats ventured out for 12 miles. The US Coast Guard Auxiliary was formed to man the vessels, but their crews were inexperienced and untrained. They had absolutely no navigation equipment, and, consequently, the crew often had no idea where they were. The boats were equipped with radios, which, in theory, were to be used to report any U-boat sightings. In practice, however, reporting a U-boat's position was impossible due to the crew's lack of bearings. The men on board spent their time scanning the horizon with binoculars, having been given pictures and silhouettes of the different types of U-boats so that they would be able to identify them.
Some of these boats were armed with a .50 caliber machine gun in the bow and four depth charges on racks in the stern, although actually attacking a U-boat was probably suicidal. The lopsided battle would have conceivably ended with the U-boat using its deck guns to blow up the patrol yacht (since scoring a hit with a torpedo was improbable).
The
Royal Canadian Navy
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...
also commandeered and used armed yachts and other such vessels for anti-submarine patrols, having 12 of them.
Notable armed yachts
Canada
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
United Kingdom
*
*
* HMS ''Philante'', after 1947
HNoMY ''Norge'', the Norwegian
royal yacht
*
*
United States
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* -WWI USNRF Base Section 5 located in West Sayville, New York. One of the search and rescue vessels for sunk off Fire Island, New York on 18 July 1918.
*
*
*
*
*
* - WWI USNF Base Section 5 located in West Sayville, New York. She was one of the search and rescue vessels responded to the sinking of off Fire Island, New York on 18 July 1918. Later renamed ''Mar-Sue''.
*
*
* -WWI USNRF Base Section 5 located in West Sayville, New York. She was one of the three vessels from USNRF Section Base 5 that responded to the sinking of on 18 July 1918 for search and rescue.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
See also
*
Patrol boat
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 the ...
*
PT boat
A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the war ...
*
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
References
{{Reflist
Ship types
Yachts