USS ''Nahma'' (SP-771) was a

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 ...

patrol vessel 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 ...

in commission from 1917 to 1919. She operated during and in the immediate aftermath of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, seeing service in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

, and

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

. Prior to her U.S. Navy service, she was the private

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 ...

''Nahma'', a sister ship of the yacht which became the U.S. Navy patrol vessel and

presidential yacht Presidential yacht may refer to a vessel of a country's navy that would be specially used by the country's president. It is common for a vessel to be designated as the presidential yacht during a fleet review. Some countries (below) have vessels p ...

. After her U.S. Navy service, ''Nahma'' returned to private ownership. Renamed ''Istar'', she operated as a rum runner and later as a fish

factory ship A factory ship, also known as a fish processing vessel, is a large ocean-going vessel with extensive on-board facilities for processing and freezing caught fish or whales. Modern factory ships are automated and enlarged versions of the earlier wh ...

Construction and early career

''Nahma'' was built by the

Clydebank Engineering & Shipbuilding Company John Brown and Company of Clydebank was a Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding firm. It built many notable and world-famous ships including , , , , , and the '' Queen Elizabeth 2''. At its height, from 1900 to the 1950s, it was one o ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, in 1897 as a private luxury steam

for

Robert Goelet Robert Goelet Jr. (September 29, 1841 – April 27, 1899) was an American heir, businessman and yachtsman from New York City during the Gilded Age. Early life Robert Goelet was born on September 29, 1841 in Manhattan, New York City, to Sarah ...

. She was launched on 14 February 1897.NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Nahma (SP 771)Accessed 28 March 2023
/ref> ''Nahma'' was the sister ship of the yacht ''Mayflower'', built at the same time on the River Clyde for

Ogden Goelet Ogden Goelet (June 11, 1851 New York City – August 27, 1897 Cowes, Isle of Wight) was an American heir, businessman and yachtsman from New York City during the Gilded Age. With his wife, he built Ochre Court in Newport, Rhode Island, his so ...

, brother of Robert Goelet. ''Mayflower'' went on to become , a U.S. Navy

and

United States Navy

The

acquired ''Nahma'' on a free

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

from Robert Goelet′s son,

Robert Walton Goelet Robert Walton Goelet (March 19, 1880 – May 2, 1941) was a financier and real estate developer in New York City. He was one of the largest property owners in the city by the time of his death. Early life Robert Walton Goelet, nicknamed Bertie ...

, on 21 June 1917 for use during

as a

section patrol A Section Patrol Craft was a civilian vessel registered by the United States Navy for potential wartime service before, during, and shortly after World War I. Historical overview The SP/ID registration system In 1916, with World War I raging a ...

vessel. She was commissioned into U.S. Navy service on 27 August 1917 as USS ''Nahma'' (SP-771). Soon after

fitting out Fitting out, or outfitting, is the process in shipbuilding that follows the float-out/launching of a vessel and precedes sea trials. It is the period when all the remaining construction of the ship is completed and readied for delivery to her o ...

and

shakedown Shakedown may refer to: * Shakedown (continuum mechanics), a type of plastic deformation * Shakedown (testing) or a shakedown cruise, a period of testing undergone by a ship, airplane or other craft before being declared operational * Extortion, ...

by the Navy ''Nahma'' reported to

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

to join a group of U.S. Navy vessels based there and serving as

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 ...

escorts. With these ships, she escorted Allied vessels in the

, as well as in the

between the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and Gibraltar. On 6 October 1917, ''Nahma'' was involved in a series of

friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while en ...

incidents. At 19:00 on 5 October, she was on patrol in the Atlantic Ocean west of Gibraltar when she received a

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

report of an

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Kaise ...

submarine in the vicinity and proceeded toward its reported position. At 02:00 on 6 October she sighted a flash ahead which resembled the flash of a gun. At 02:30 she sighted the Italian cargo ship , followed by two submarines. ''Bologna'' was on a voyage from

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 ...

to Gibraltar as part of a convoy that was running five days behind schedule, and the submarines were the ''

Regia Marina The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' changed its name to ''Marina Militare'' ("M ...

'' (Italian Royal Navy) submarines and , two of the three submarines serving as escorts for the convoy. The third escorting submarine had become separated from the convoy in fog after the reported sighting of a German submarine.Doughty, Leonard, Jr., Lieutenant Commander, "Mistaken Attacks in the World War," ''Proceedings'', October 1934.
/ref> Having earlier received a report of enemy submarine activity in the area and seen what appeared to be a flash of gunfire, ''Nahma''′s crew assumed that ''H6'' and ''H8'' were German submarines attacking ''Bologna''. She opened gunfire, firing two rounds at the leading submarine, ''H8'', neither of which hit, and made a recognition signal challenge. When ''H8'' did not respond, she fired two more rounds, then ceased fire when ''H8'' responded correctly to the challenge. ''Nahma'' then approached ''H6'' and observed members of ''H6''′s crew running aft along her deck. They were going to hoist the Italian colors, but ''Nahma'' assumed they were going to man ''H6''′s

deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose ...

and fired one round. It hit ''H6''′s conning tower, killing two men and wounding seven others, two of whom later died of their wounds. ''Nahma'' then identified ''H6'' as friendly, ceased fire, and stood by to assist ''H6'' for the remainder of the night. At about 05:00 on 6 October 1917, the British

torpedo boat A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs were steam-powered craft dedicated to ramming enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes. Later evolutions launched variants of ...

arrived on the scene and accidentally fired one round toward ''Nahma''. It missed, and ''Nahma'' headed toward the flash. At 05:20 she sighted ''TB 93'' and mistook her for a German submarine. She opened gunfire, firing two rounds at ''TB 93'' before identifying her as friendly. On the morning of 6 October, ''Nahma'' escorted ''H6'' and ''H8'' to Gibraltar. ''Nahma'' continued her escort duties through the

armistice with Germany The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

, which brought World War I to an end on 11 November 1918. Following the war, she remained in the Mediterranean for relief and quasi- diplomatic work. Operating in the

and

, she carried relief supplies to refugee areas; evacuated American nationals, non-combatants, the sick, and the wounded from areas of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

affected by the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

and the

Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

; and provided communications services between ports. She was decommissioned at Greenock, Scotland, on 19 July 1919 and returned to Robert Walton Goelet.

Later career

In 1923, Goelet sold ''Nahma'' to Jeremiah Brown and Company, which renamed her ''Istar'' and registered her under the British flag. Later in 1923,

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

Lieutenant Colonel George Ernest Millner, DSO, OBE, MC, acquired her. During the years of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, she became part of the illicit

rum running Rum-running or bootlegging is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. Smuggling usually takes place to circumvent taxation or prohibition laws within a particular jurisdiction. The t ...

fleet off the

Virginia Capes The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America. In 1610, a supply ship learned of the famine at Jamestown when it ...

, smuggling Scotch whisky into the United States on behalf of Sir Brodrick Hartwell from 1923 to 1925. In 1925, ''Istar'' was sold to

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

Commander C. L. Kerr, DSO, and Robin Thynne of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 1927, she again was sold, to

Alfred Ehrenreich Alfred Ehrenreich (1882–1931) was a Moravian-born American immigrant who developed and advanced the trade of wide scale shark harvesting. He had been fascinated by sharks from an early age. He helped to start a business in America that caught and ...

of Marine Products in Southampton, who converted her for use as a

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...

-processing

. By March 1931, ''Istar'' had been laid up at

Port Natal Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, and she was sold for scrap that month. Rather being scrapped, however, she was

scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

outside the harbour at

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, South Africa, on 28 March 1931.

References

External links

*
Photo gallery
at Naval Historical Center
YouTube wreck dive video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nahma (SP-771) Patrol vessels of the United States Navy World War I patrol vessels of the United States Ships built on the River Clyde 1897 ships Individual yachts Steam yachts Prohibition in the United States Fishing vessels of the United Kingdom Friendly fire incidents of World War I Maritime incidents in 1917 Maritime incidents in 1931 Scuttled vessels Shipwrecks of South Africa Shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean