USS Carnelian

USS Carnelian (PY-19) was a converted yacht that patrolled with the United States Navy in World War II. She was named for carnelian, a semi-precious stone.

USS Carnelian (PY-19)
History
United States
Name	Trudione (October 1930−December 1930) Seventeen (December 1930−June 1941)
Builder	Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine
Laid down	5 May 1930
Launched	18 October 1930
Renamed	Seventeen, December 1930
Fate	Sold to the US Navy 13 May 1941
History
United States
Name	Carnelian
Namesake	Carnelian
Acquired	13 May 1941
Commissioned	7 June 1941
Decommissioned	4 January 1946
Stricken	21 January 1946
Identification	Hull symbol:PY-19 Code letters:NAXU
Fate	Transferred to the Maritime Commission, 24 October 1946
General characteristics
Type	Patrol yacht
Displacement	500 long tons (508 t)
Length	190 ft 11 in (58.19 m)
Beam	26 ft (7.9 m)
Draft	11 ft (3.4 m)
Installed power	2 × Cooper Bessemer JR-8 diesel engines 1,700 bhp (1,300 kW)
Propulsion	2 × screws
Speed	13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)
Complement	59 officers and enlisted
Armament	1 × 3 in (76 mm)/50 caliber gun 2 × depth charge tracks

Construction, acquisition, and commissioning

Carnelian was built as the yacht Trudione in 1930 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine for Ross W. Judson who was president of Bath Iron Works and Continental Motors Corporation. It was named after his twin daughters, Trudi & Ione. She was renamed Seventeen in December 1930. She was then purchased by the Navy on 13 May 1941 and commissioned on 7 June 1941.

Service history

Carnelian arrived at Jacksonville, Florida, on 23 February 1942 for patrol duty in the Caribbean. Later based on New Orleans, Louisiana for duty escorting convoys to Galveston, Texas and Key West, Carnelian provided essential services to the Gulf Sea Frontier in its task of guarding a wide area with minimal forces. From November 1942 through January 1944, the converted yacht screened convoys, composed primarily of tankers with cargoes of oil, between Trinidad and Recife, Brazil.

After overhaul, Carnelian joined the anti-submarine training group based at Norfolk, Virginia, with whom she served until 25 January 1945. Assigned then to the Potomac River Naval Command, she was based at the Mine Warfare Test Station, Solomons, Maryland, for mine test operations in Chesapeake Bay.

Carnelian was decommissioned on 4 January 1946 and transferred to the Maritime Commission on 24 October 1946.

References

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

External links

Photo gallery of USS Carnelian (PY-19) at NavSource Naval History