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|Ship struck= |Ship struck=
|Ship reinstated= |Ship reinstated=
|Ship honours= |Ship honours =
|Ship fate=Scuttled, 9 April 1968 |Ship fate = Scuttled, 9 April 1968
|Ship notes= Call sign: Nan/Baker/Roger/Tare |Ship notes = Call sign: Nan/Baker/Roger/Tare
}} }}
{{Infobox ship characteristics {{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship beam= {{convert|27|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam= {{convert|27|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|10|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}} |Ship draft={{convert|10|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=two {{convert|850|hp|abbr=on|lk=on}} Winton ]s, two shafts |Ship propulsion= Two {{convert|850|hp|abbr=on|lk=on}} Winton ]s, two shafts
|Ship speed={{convert|13.9|kn|lk=in}} |Ship speed={{convert|13.9|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship range= |Ship range=
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==Service history== ==Service history==
The {{convert|185|ft|m|adj=on}} ship was berthed in 1926 from the parts of an abandoned new ], as the ] ''Savanarola'' by the ] of ].{{sfn|DANFS}} The yacht, originally constructed for the United States Navy but due to naval treaties was prevented from being completed. The still unbuilt vessel was sold to Mrs. Cadwalader of ], Pennsylvania. After completion the vessel was given the name ''Sequoia'' before being sold to James Elverson who renamed it ''Allegro''.<ref name=stearns>{{cite web |url=https://xray-mag.com/blog/diving-mizpah |title=Diving the Mizpah |last=Stearns |first=Walt |work=X-Ray Mag |date=17 July 2015 |access-date=4 October 2019}}</ref> In 1929 it was sold to ] of ], Pennsylvania, founder and president of the ],{{sfn|DANFS}}<ref name=tribune>{{cite web |title=Eugene McDonald Kinney |work=The Chicago Tribune |date=17 October 2000 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2000/10/17/eugene-mcdonald-kinney/ |access-date=11 January 2013}}</ref> who used it both as a ] residence and a floating laboratory on which to test his electronics company's new products. One of the largest yachts on the ] in its Jazz Age heyday, the ship was renamed ''Mizpah'' in 1929.<ref name=stearns/> The {{convert|185|ft|m|adj=on}} ship was berthed in 1926 from the parts of an abandoned new ], as the ] ''Savanarola'' by the ] of ], Virginia.{{sfn|DANFS}} The yacht, originally constructed for the United States Navy but due to naval treaties was prevented from being completed. The still unbuilt vessel was sold to Mrs. Cadwalader of ], Pennsylvania. After completion the vessel was given the name ''Sequoia'' before being sold to James Elverson who renamed it ''Allegro''.<ref name=stearns>{{cite web |url=https://xray-mag.com/blog/diving-mizpah |title=Diving the Mizpah |last=Stearns |first=Walt |work=X-Ray Mag |date=17 July 2015 |access-date=4 October 2019}}</ref> In 1929 it was sold to ] of ], Pennsylvania, founder and president of the ],{{sfn|DANFS}}<ref name=tribune>{{cite web |title=Eugene McDonald Kinney |work=The Chicago Tribune |date=17 October 2000 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2000/10/17/eugene-mcdonald-kinney/ |access-date=11 January 2013}}</ref> who used it both as a ] residence and a floating laboratory on which to test his electronics company's new products. One of the largest yachts on the ] in its Jazz Age heyday, the ship was renamed ''Mizpah'' in 1929.<ref name=stearns/>


===United States Navy service=== ===United States Navy service===
] ]
''Mizpah'' was acquired by the ] on 16 March 1942 and converted to a warship at ], ], with Lieutenant ] in command. It was ] USS ''Mizpah'' (PY-29) on 26 October 1942. ''Mizpah'' departed Sturgeon Bay on 16 November 1942 for service as a ] escort along the eastern coast of the United States between ] and ] until July 1944. From August 1944 until April 1945, ''Mizpah'' served as a navigation ] from the Amphibious Training Base at ], training officers to sail amphibious vessels in the ] region.{{sfn|DANFS}} ''Mizpah'' was acquired by the ] on 16 March 1942 and converted to a warship at ], ], Wisconsin, with Lieutenant ] in command. It was ] USS ''Mizpah'' (PY-29) on 26 October 1942. ''Mizpah'' departed Sturgeon Bay on 16 November 1942 for service as a ] escort along the eastern coast of the United States between ] and ], Florida until July 1944. From August 1944 until April 1945, ''Mizpah'' served as a navigation ] from the Amphibious Training Base at ], Virginia, training officers to sail amphibious vessels in the ] region.{{sfn|DANFS}}


''Mizpah'' underwent conversion to a ] at ], Massachusetts and was employed as such by Destroyer Force, ]. ''Mizpah'' became the flagship of Rear Admiral ] at ], on 28 May 1945 under the command of Lt. Stephen M. Etnier. Hustvedt was succeeded by Rear Admiral ], on 4 September 1945. In mid-October, 1945, Lt. Etnier was succeeded by Lieutenant D. Dudley Bloom, who sailed ''Mizpah'' from Portland, Maine, south to ], arriving on 10 December 1945. She was ] on 16 January 1946 and transferred to the United States War Shipping Administration (WSA) on 25 September 1946 for disposal.{{sfn|DANFS}} ''Mizpah'' underwent conversion to a ] at ], Massachusetts and was employed as such by Destroyer Force, ]. ''Mizpah'' became the flagship of Rear Admiral ] at ], Maine, on 28 May 1945 under the command of Lt. Stephen M. Etnier. Hustvedt was succeeded by Rear Admiral ], on 4 September 1945. In mid-October, 1945, Lt. Etnier was succeeded by Lieutenant D. Dudley Bloom, who sailed ''Mizpah'' from Portland, Maine, south to ], South Carolina, arriving on 10 December 1945. She was ] on 16 January 1946 and transferred to the United States War Shipping Administration (WSA) on 25 September 1946 for disposal.{{sfn|DANFS}}


===Final years=== ===Final years===
The WSA then sold her to a private Honduran corporation for transporting bananas out of South America. While sailing to ], the vessel was caught in a storm, suffered a broken ], and was laid up in Tampa for repair. At that time, Eugene Kinney,<ref name=tribune/> McDonald's nephew and Zenith Corporation vice president who had grown up on ''Mizpah'' and served as a naval officer in the ] during ], learned of her plight and purchased her. Finding ''Mizpah'' irreparably damaged, however, Kinney ] her off the coast of Palm Beach, Florida, on 9 April 1968,<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Smyth |first=Pete |title=When the Great Ship Went Down |magazine=Motor Boating |date=August 1968 |page=65}}</ref> along with another ship, {{USS|PC-1174}}, to serve as an ] reef to prevent ]. The WSA then sold her to a private Honduran corporation for transporting bananas out of South America. While sailing to ], Florida, the vessel was caught in a storm, suffered a broken ], and was laid up in Tampa for repair. At that time, Eugene Kinney,<ref name=tribune/> McDonald's nephew and Zenith Corporation vice president who had grown up on ''Mizpah'' and served as a naval officer in the ] during ], learned of her plight and purchased her. Finding ''Mizpah'' irreparably damaged, however, Kinney ] her off the coast of Palm Beach, Florida, on 9 April 1968,<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Smyth |first=Pete |title=When the Great Ship Went Down |magazine=Motor Boating |date=August 1968 |page=65}}</ref> along with another ship, {{USS|PC-1174}}, to serve as an ] reef to prevent ].


Sitting in {{convert|90|-|110|ft}} of water<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9YmUlktJVYC&pg=PA24&dq=USS+mizpah+wreck#q=USS%20mizpah%20wreck |title=Rubber Ducks Away |magazine=Sport Diver |last=Boyd |first=Ellsworth |pages=22, 24 |date=August 1996 |volume=4 |number=4 |issn=1077-985X}}</ref> with her hatches left ajar, ''Mizpah'' is now one of the chief attractions of an offshore scuba diving area known as "The Mizpah Corridor".<ref name=stearns/> Sitting in {{convert|90|-|110|ft}} of water<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9YmUlktJVYC&pg=PA24&dq=USS+mizpah+wreck#q=USS%20mizpah%20wreck |title=Rubber Ducks Away |magazine=Sport Diver |last=Boyd |first=Ellsworth |pages=22, 24 |date=August 1996 |volume=4 |number=4 |issn=1077-985X}}</ref> with her hatches left ajar, ''Mizpah'' is now one of the chief attractions of an offshore scuba diving area known as "The Mizpah Corridor".<ref name=stearns/>
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{{Recreational dive sites|wresit}} {{Recreational dive sites|wresit}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Mizpah (PY-29)}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Mizpah (PY-29)}}

Revision as of 13:15, 2 January 2025

United States Navy patrol yacht

USS Mizpah on its trial run
History
United States
NameMizpah
BuilderNewport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company
Laid down1926
Commissioned26 October 1942
Decommissioned16 January 1946
FateScuttled, 9 April 1968
NotesCall sign: Nan/Baker/Roger/Tare
General characteristics
Class and typePatrol yacht
Displacement607 tons
Length181 ft (55 m)
Beam27 ft (8.2 m)
Draft10 ft 7 in (3.23 m)
PropulsionTwo 850 hp (630 kW) Winton diesel engines, two shafts
Speed13.9 knots (25.7 km/h; 16.0 mph)
Armament

USS Mizpah (PY-29) was a United States Navy patrol yacht. Constructed in 1926, the vessel was constructed as the pleasure yacht Savarona. In 1929 it was renamed Allegro and then Mizpah for use on the Great Lakes. The vessel was acquired by the United States Navy in 1942 and converted to a warship and commissioned the same year. Mizpah served as a convoy escort along the United States East Coast before becoming a school ship in 1944. Following the end of the war, the vessel returned to private operation in 1946 until 1967 when Mizpah was laid up with a broken crankshaft at Tampa, Florida. An attempt to save the ship proved futile and Mizpah was scuttled off the coast of Florida as an artificial reef in 1968. The wreck is now a popular dive site.

Service history

The 185-foot (56 m) ship was berthed in 1926 from the parts of an abandoned new destroyer, as the pleasure yacht Savanarola by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Newport News, Virginia. The yacht, originally constructed for the United States Navy but due to naval treaties was prevented from being completed. The still unbuilt vessel was sold to Mrs. Cadwalader of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After completion the vessel was given the name Sequoia before being sold to James Elverson who renamed it Allegro. In 1929 it was sold to Eugene F. McDonald of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founder and president of the Zenith Radio Corporation, who used it both as a Chicago residence and a floating laboratory on which to test his electronics company's new products. One of the largest yachts on the Great Lakes in its Jazz Age heyday, the ship was renamed Mizpah in 1929.

United States Navy service

USS Mizpah in drydock, undergoing conversion

Mizpah was acquired by the United States Navy on 16 March 1942 and converted to a warship at Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding Company, Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, with Lieutenant Stephen M. Etnier in command. It was commissioned USS Mizpah (PY-29) on 26 October 1942. Mizpah departed Sturgeon Bay on 16 November 1942 for service as a convoy escort along the eastern coast of the United States between New York City and Key West, Florida until July 1944. From August 1944 until April 1945, Mizpah served as a navigation school ship from the Amphibious Training Base at Little Creek, Virginia, training officers to sail amphibious vessels in the Chesapeake Bay region.

Mizpah underwent conversion to a flagship at Boston, Massachusetts and was employed as such by Destroyer Force, Atlantic Fleet. Mizpah became the flagship of Rear Admiral Oliver M. Hustvedt at Portland, Maine, on 28 May 1945 under the command of Lt. Stephen M. Etnier. Hustvedt was succeeded by Rear Admiral Frank E. Beatty, Jr., on 4 September 1945. In mid-October, 1945, Lt. Etnier was succeeded by Lieutenant D. Dudley Bloom, who sailed Mizpah from Portland, Maine, south to Charleston, South Carolina, arriving on 10 December 1945. She was decommissioned on 16 January 1946 and transferred to the United States War Shipping Administration (WSA) on 25 September 1946 for disposal.

Final years

The WSA then sold her to a private Honduran corporation for transporting bananas out of South America. While sailing to Tampa, Florida, the vessel was caught in a storm, suffered a broken crankshaft, and was laid up in Tampa for repair. At that time, Eugene Kinney, McDonald's nephew and Zenith Corporation vice president who had grown up on Mizpah and served as a naval officer in the South Pacific during World War II, learned of her plight and purchased her. Finding Mizpah irreparably damaged, however, Kinney scuttled her off the coast of Palm Beach, Florida, on 9 April 1968, along with another ship, USS PC-1174, to serve as an artificial reef to prevent beach erosion.

Sitting in 90–110 feet (27–34 m) of water with her hatches left ajar, Mizpah is now one of the chief attractions of an offshore scuba diving area known as "The Mizpah Corridor".

Citations

  1. ^ DANFS.
  2. ^ Stearns, Walt (17 July 2015). "Diving the Mizpah". X-Ray Mag. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Eugene McDonald Kinney". The Chicago Tribune. 17 October 2000. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  4. Smyth, Pete (August 1968). "When the Great Ship Went Down". Motor Boating. p. 65.
  5. Boyd, Ellsworth (August 1996). "Rubber Ducks Away". Sport Diver. Vol. 4, no. 4. pp. 22, 24. ISSN 1077-985X.

Sources

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