USS ''Palomas'' (IX-91) was a two-masted, steel-hulled, Miscellaneous Unclassified-Schooner in service with 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 ...

. She served 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 opposin ...

, and briefly after the war. She was sold for disposal by the

Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) 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, 195 ...

in 1947. Built as the schooner yacht ''Goodwill'' by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. in 1922, she was acquired by the U.S. Navy on 12 September 1942, and placed into service on 2 October 1942 as the Miscellaneous Unclassified-Schooner ''Palomas''.

History

Operating from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, ''Palomas'' steamed along the southern California coast in a training capacity. A unit of the

Western Sea Frontier Sea Frontiers were several, now disestablished, commands of the United States Navy as areas of defense against enemy vessels, especially submarines, along the U.S. coasts. They existed from 1 July 1941 until in some cases the 1970s. Sea Frontiers ...

, ''Palomas'' protected the southern California area guarding

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

and friendly shipping, and operated in a patrol capacity. She was assigned as a unit of ServRon 2 on 19 October 1943 and continued west coast operations with this unit until the war's end in 1945. After the cessation of hostilities, ''Palomas'' served as a radar training ship, serving out of

Naval Station Treasure Island Naval Station Treasure Island is a former United States Navy facility that operated on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay from 1942 to 1997. History During World War II, Treasure Island became part of the Treasure Island Naval Base, and serve ...

. She then reported to San Francisco for disposal on 1 June 1946. She was placed out of naval service on 10 August 1946, struck from the Naval Register on 25 September 1946, and transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal on 3 March 1947.

Fate

After sale to Ralph E. Larrabee in 1951 for $35,000, her name was changed to ''Goodwill'' as she returned to civilian service. Larrabee, spent a total of $500,000 to restore her to civilian condition. She was already a famous vessel among boat racers and yacht owners. She made a name for herself, being one of the largest civilian yachts on the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, and winning the TransPacific Race in both 1953 and 1959. She also made two Atlantic crossings sometime before or after her military service.

Sinking

On 25 May 1969, ''Goodwill'' ran aground on Sacramento Reef. The wreck was located off the coast of

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

, and south of 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 territorie ...

border. ''Goodwill'' was reported overdue on 31 May, after she was supposed to arrive at Ensenada on 27 May. A joint search effort began with the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

and the

Mexican Navy The Mexican Navy is one of the two independent armed forces of Mexico. The actual naval forces are called the ''Armada de México''. The ''Secretaría de Marina'' (''SEMAR'') (English: Naval Secretariat) includes both the ''Armada'' itself and ...

. On 1 July, her wreck was spotted half-careened on the reef, submerged under of water by a search helicopter. The search continued until 6 June, when a private salvage crew arrived. Two bodies of the nine aboard were recovered. By 10 June, powerful surges and tides had battered the yacht's hull, and gutted the interior; the ship was rapidly breaking up. Though investigation of the incident had continued, salvage, like the ship, was abandoned.

Ship Awards

During her U.S. Navy service, ''Palomas'' earned the following decorations: *

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is 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 perfo ...

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is 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. The Wor ...

References

* * * * *

External links

NavSource, USS Palomas, IX-92
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palomas Ships of the United States Navy Schooners of the United States Navy 1922 ships