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USS ''Winchester'' (SP-156) was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919. Prior to and following World War I, ''Winchester'' was a private yacht, later renamed ''Renard''. In World War II, ''Renard'' was requisitioned for use in the Royal Canadian Navy as a patrol vessel, keeping her name. She was returned to her owners in 1944.


Description

''Winchester'' had a tonnage of . The yacht was
long Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensur ...
with a
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...
of and a draft of . The ship was propelled by two geared Parsons
steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turbin ...
s driving two shafts powered by two
watertube boiler A high pressure watertube boiler (also spelled water-tube and water tube) is a type of boiler in which water circulates in tubes heated externally by the fire. Fuel is burned inside the furnace, creating hot gas which boils water in the steam-gene ...
s creating . This gave the ship a maximum speed of .


Construction and career

SS ''Winchester'' was built as a fast,
steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
- hulled,
steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
-powered,
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
-like civilian yacht in 1916 by Bath Iron Works at
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
, Maine. The ship was ordered for construction by the millionaire Peter W. Rouss. The yacht was launched on 29 April 1916. ''Winchester'' was considered a "floating palace" during her career in the 1920s. The U.S. Navy acquired the yacht from her owner on 30 May 1917 for use as a patrol vessel during World War I.


United States Navy service, 1917–1919

After her acquisition, the yacht was commissioned on 4 September 1917 as USS ''Winchester'' (SP-156). ''Winchester'' initially was assigned to section patrol duty in the 2d Naval District in southern New England, patrolling the coast between
Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...
, Massachusetts and New London, Connecticut. In January 1918, the vessel was reassigned to the
5th Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...
and operated in the Norfolk-
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
area of Virginia, where she was assigned to special duty with the U.S. Navy Bureau of Construction and Repair to test minesweeping equipment. Late in December 1918, ''Winchester'' deployed to City Island in the
Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York. It is south of Westchester County, New York, Westchester County; north and east of the ...
, where she continued her minesweeping testing duties. On 13 April 1919, she returned to the 5th Naval District, operating out of Yorktown, Virginia, continuing to test minesweeping gear. ''Winchester'' was decommissioned at Norfolk on 19 December 1919. After several attempts, she was finally sold to
Cox and Stevens Cox & Stevens began in 1905 as a yacht design and commercial brokerage in New York City. The original principal partners were Daniel H. Cox, Irving Cox, and marine engineer Colonel Edwin Augustus Stevens Jr., son of renowned designer Edwin Augus ...
of New York City on 24 March 1921.


Civilian career, 1921–1940

''Winchester'' resumed civilian service as a yacht with Cox and Stevens. The ship was sold several times, first to Vincent Astor who rebuilt the yacht in 1930. The vessel was finished with teak, ivory and walnut. The owner's quarters, located aft, comprised a lounge, two double staterooms, four single staterooms and four baths. Forward was the dining room and crew quarters. The yacht was sold to Russell A. Alger, Jr., and then to Cornelius Vanderbilt III. ''Winchester'' was later sold to B. P. McCurdy, this latter time being rechristened SS ''Renard''.


Royal Canadian Navy and fate

After failing to acquire any British vessels at the outset of World War II for auxiliary purposes, the Royal Canadian Navy discreetly searched the American market for suitable ships. However, American law prevented the sale of ships for possible use in the war to any of the belligerents. The Royal Canadian Navy requisitioned unsuitable Canadian yachts and had their respective owners go to the United States and buy those ships the navy wanted as replacements. Once the ships arrived in Canada, the navy then returned the original yachts and requisitioned the new ones. ''Renard'' was among those vessels chosen and was acquired in 1940. ''Renard'' was brought to Halifax, Nova Scotia and commissioned there on 27 May 1940 with the
pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...
S13, which was later altered to Z13, keeping her name. The vessel then went to Quebec City, Quebec where she was converted into an armed yacht, having a 12-pounder naval gun placed forward, an ASDIC set installed and armed with
depth charge A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
s. This took until December 1940, when the ship returned to Halifax and was assigned to the Halifax Local Defence Force. In 1941, ''Renard'' was
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to HMCS ''Stadacona'' and in 1942 was fitted with high-speed target towing gear. ''Renard'' remained with this unit until April 1942 when the ship was taken in hand for a refit, this lasting until July. Upon completion, she was attached to as a torpedo training ship and two torpedo tubes were installed aft. In July 1943 the training group moved to
Digby Digby may refer to: Places Australia * Digby, Victoria, a town Canada * Digby (electoral district), a former federal electoral district in Nova Scotia (1867–1914) * Digby (provincial electoral district), a provincial electoral district i ...
, Nova Scotia. However, by November ''Renard'' was back at Halifax. In 1944, ''Renard'' was surveyed and was found not worth repairing and was paid off on 1 August. The vessel was put up for disposal on 15 November 1945 and sold to W.N. MacDonald of
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Nova Scotia. The ship remained at Sydney until 1949, when the yacht was converted to a stationary power plant for a mining development near Mabou, Nova Scotia. ''Renard''s turbines were stripped out and replaced with modern generators and her oil burning units were replaced with pulverized coal burning equipment. The ship was derelict at Sydney, Nova Scotia in 1955.


References


Citations


Sources

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External links


Department of the Navy Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships: USS ''Winchester'' (SP-156), 1917–1921. Originally the civilian yacht ''Winchester'' (1916)


{{DEFAULTSORT:Winchester (SP-156) Armed yachts of the Royal Canadian Navy Patrol vessels of the United States Navy World War I patrol vessels of the United States Ships built in Bath, Maine Steam yachts 1916 ships