_at_anchor_off_Mios_Woendi_island%2c_Dutch_New_Guinea%2c_on_8_September_1944_(80-G-258698).jpg) USSHilo | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Caroline |
| Owner | Eldridge R. Johnson |
| Builder | Bath Iron Works |
| Yard number | 141 |
| Laid down | 1 September 1930 |
| Launched | 18 July 1931 |
| Completed | 28 September 1931 (Delivered) |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Sold in 1938 |
| General characteristics (Caroline) | |
| Type | Motor yacht |
| Tonnage | 1,839 GRT |
| Length | 278 ft 11 in (85.01 m) |
| Beam | 38 ft 3 in (11.66 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m) |
| Depth | 22.7 ft (6.9 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 14.5knots (16.7 mph; 26.9 km/h) |
| Range | 25,000 nautical miles (29,000 mi; 46,000 km) |
| Crew | 42 |
| United States | |
| Name | Moana |
| Owner | William B. Leeds |
| Acquired | 1938 |
| Fate | Acquired by the US Navy, 28 November 1941 |
| United States | |
| Name | USSHilo |
| Namesake | Hilo, Hawaii |
| Acquired | 28 November 1941 |
| Commissioned | 11 June 1942 |
| Decommissioned | 3 March 1946 |
| Stricken | 20 March 1946 |
| Identification | Callsign: NAVZ |
| Fate |
|
| General characteristics (USSHilo) | |
| Type | Motor torpedo boat tender |
| Displacement | 2,350 long tons (2,390 t) |
| Length | 278 ft 11 in (85.01 m) |
| Beam | 38 ft 3 in (11.66 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft (5.2 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 14.5knots (16.7 mph; 26.9 km/h) |
| Complement | 105 officers and enlisted |
| Armament | 1 ×3 in (76 mm)/50 caldual purpose gun |
USSHilo (AGP-2) was a converted yacht that saw service as amotor torpedo boat tender in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War II. It was originally the yachtCaroline built forEldridge R. Johnson and launched 18 July 1931.Caroline was at the time the second largest yacht and largest American built Diesel yacht. It was built with a laboratory as well as palatial quarters and was loaned and equipped by Johnson for the Johnson-Smithsonian Deep-Sea Expedition of 1933 that explored thePuerto Rico Trench. The yacht was sold in 1938 toWilliam B. Leeds and renamedMoana replacing an earlier Leeds yacht of the same name.
It was purchased by the US Navy in 1941 and commissioned as USSHilo, first designated as Patrol Gunboat (PG) 58 and then functioning and designated as Motor Torpedo Boat Tender (AGP) 2 supporting the torpedo boats for the duration of World War II.
Caroline was built in 1931 byBath Iron Works,Bath, Maine at a cost of 1.5 million dollars for theVictor Talking Machine Company founder Eldridge R. Johnson. The yacht's keel was laid 1 September 1930 as Bath's hull number 141 with launch on 18 July 1931 and delivery to the owner on 28 September 1931.[1] The yacht, replacing a smaller yacht of the same name, was named for Johnson's mother, Caroline Reeves Johnson, and christened by his grand niece, Caroline Fenimore Fitler, also named for his mother.[2] On registrationCaroline was assigned official number 231135 and the signal and radio call letters WDEC.[3]
The yacht was designed by Henry J. Gielow's company with unusually large owner's quarters, extending the full width amidships with two baths, seven guest staterooms, quarters for two maids and two valets, and a crew of forty.[4] The guest staterooms, all with private bath, were aft with those on port and starboard sides connected by 7 ft (2.1 m) sliding doors enabling them to be connected into larger suites. On the main deck was a 36 ft (11.0 m) by 26 ft (7.9 m) living room with a fireplace forward. Aft was a partially sheltered deck with a lobby and elevator connecting the owner's quarters below and a laboratory on the deck above on the upper deck. Aft of that were a smoking room and 29 ft (8.8 m) by 26 ft (7.9 m) dining room with a dressing room and shower for owner and guests, quarters for the chief engineer, dining room for the maids and galley between smoking room and dining room. Captain and radio operators had quarters on the upper deck where there was also a radio room and a lounge and observation room as well as the laboratory. The pilot house and chart room occupied the bridge deck.[4]
Caroline had a 235 ft (71.6 m) waterline length with 278 ft 11 in (85.0 m) length overall, 38 ft (11.6 m) beam, draft of 15 ft (4.6 m) (Navy 17 ft (5.2 m)) and displacement tonnage of 2,350.[4][5] Registry information showed 1,839 GRT, 247.3 ft (75.4 m) length, 38.2 ft (11.6 m) breadth and depth of 22.7 ft (6.9 m) with a crew of forty-two.[3] She was the largest Diesel powered yacht built in America and the second largest private yacht in America at that time.[4][6]
Power was provided by two Cooper-Bessemer 1,500-horsepower diesel engines driving two screws with a maximum speed of 14 knots. Fuel capacity was sufficient for a cruising range of 25,000 nautical miles (29,000 mi; 46,000 km). In addition the yacht had one of the largestSperry Gyroscope Companygyroscopic-stabilizers built for a private vessel.[4][5] The gyroscope wheel itself weighed 88,000 pounds (40,000 kg) spun by a 210-horsepower Diesel-electric motor at 13,000 revolutions a minute and taking one and a half hours to reach that maximum speed. The device was designed to counter five and a half degrees of roll. The total weight of the two engines and gyroscope was approximately 400,000 pounds (180,000 kg)[7] Two 150-kilowatt and one 50-kilowatt diesel–electric generating sets provided electrical power.[8] A carbon dioxide fire extinguishing system was installed for fire protection.[9]
Johnson offered the use of theCaroline for scientific research including a 1932 archeological expedition to South America andEaster Island.[10] In October 1932 Johnson equipped and offered for use the yacht for what was expected to be a series of expeditions in cooperation with theSmithsonian Institution to be known as the Johnson-Smithsonian Deep-Sea Expedition. The first was to thePuerto Rico Trench embarking investigators from several disciplines and government agencies and institutions interested in oceanographic work. Those included theNaval Research Laboratory, Agriculture and Commerce Departments as well asThe American Museum of Natural History,Carnegie Institution and theOceanographic Institution of Woods Hole.[11]
The expedition, under the leadership ofDr. Paul Bartsch of the Smithsonian, sailed from New York on 21 January 1933.[11] In addition to the scientific party Johnson and his son, E. R. Fenimore Johnson who had helped prepare the yacht, and invited guest went with the expedition.[6][11][12] Aside from description and addition of new species to collections three lines of echo soundings were gathered across the trench with the Navy echo sounding device operated by US Navy seamanThomas Townsend Brown and water samples were taken at various depths.[11][13] E. R. Fenimore Johnson assisted with the sounding work and had his own interests in ocean research, equipping his own yacht,Elsie Fenimore for such work.[13][14] Both he andElsie Fenimore served in World War II in mine warfare work.[14] Further expeditions did not take place due to theeconomic depression and theEuropean situation.[15]
Caroline was engaged in pleasure cruising as well as science. One example was a 1935 cruise in whichDouglas Fairbanks andLady Ashley and other film personalities, departing at Tahiti, were Johnson's guests aboard on a cruise in which the yacht continued toSuva, theSolomon Islands, Japan, China, and the East Indies before continuing to Southampton.[16] Johnson loved theCaroline and theJohnson Victrola Museum,Dover, Delaware, features a song written about the yacht played with78-rpm records on authenticVictor Talking Machines.[17][18]
By March 1937, with the earlier 171 ft (52.1 m)Caroline[note 1] being sold to Joseph M. Shenck of Los Angeles, Johnson chartered his laterCaroline for the winter cruising season.[19]
In 1938Caroline was advertised asCaroline II for sale and bought by William B. Leeds who named the yachtMoana, replacing a smaller yacht, 159.9 ft (48.7 m) (Official number 226065/KGCK), of the same name.[20][21][22][23][note 2]
Moana was purchased by the Navy on 28 November 1941 and converted to Navy use atCraig Shipbuilding,Long Beach, California, she commissioned asUSSHilo (PG-58) on 11 June 1942. One of the first ships to be used as a motor torpedo boat tender,Hilo departed Long Beach, California, to load supplies atSan Diego, California on 19 June and sailed forPearl Harbor on 28 June.[5]
The ship arrived Pearl Harbor on 5 July 1942, and was immediately sent toPalmyra Island to tend to torpedo boat squadron 1B (consisting of PT-21, PT-23, PT-25, and PT-26).Hilo remained in the vicinity fueling and providing supplies to the boats then under training until returning to Pearl Harbor again on 4 October. She was soon underway, however, steaming by way of Palmyra Island toCanton Island, where she arrived on 29 October. There she took on passengers and proceeded toFunafuti, arriving on 2 November 1942 with Squadron 1B.[5][24]
The ship remained at Funafuti until 25 November, tending torpedo boats and engaging in rescue operations as American forces prepared for the coming assault on theGilberts andMarshalls. On 12 November theHilo and other units from Funafuti rescuedEddie Rickenbacker and the crewmen of a crashed B-17 after they were adrift at sea in rubber boats for 21-days. She next sailed forNoumea,New Caledonia, arriving on 2 December, and from there escorted four PT boats toCairns, Queensland, where she moored on 11 December.[5]
Hilo was then sent to set up the first torpedo boat base inNew Guinea, atMilne Bay, arriving on 17 December. Commencing operations soon after their arrival,Hilo's boats contributed to the hard-foughtBuna-Gona campaign in New Guinea as allied forces began their return to thePhilippines. The boats fired at Japanese ashore, destroyed barges loaded with men and supplies, and even foughtsubmarines in support of the troops ashore. On 13 January 1943, her designation was changed toAGP-2.[5]
In February 1943,Hilo explored the coast for a suitable advance PT boat base, and by the 28th had established one atKana Kope. The torpedo boats stationed there withHilo soon had a chance to fight, as Japanese efforts to reinforce theirLae andSalamaua garrisons led to theBattle of the Bismarck Sea from 2–4 March. The tender remained at Kana Kope until late April, when she began to move up the New Guinea coast to various anchorages. AsHilo's torpedo boats continued to take part in the successful New Guinea campaign,Hilo herself underwent many air raids and endured extremes of climate and disease before being relieved on 20 October. The tender sailed toSydney, Australia, arriving on 13 November, and sailed again on 9 February 1944 for Milne Bay.[5]
Hilo again took up her tending duties in theNew Guinea area and was transferred toTalasea,New Britain on 26 March. She remained there until 4 June tending two squadrons of torpedo boats, after which she shifted her operations toMios Woendi and became a command ship for torpedo boat operations in theU.S. 7th Fleet her tender equipment removed. The ship remained there until 6 November.[5]
With the invasion of the Philippines underway,Hilo sailed toLeyte Gulf, arriving on 12 November. During the next months the ships in the Gulf were under almost constant air attack.Hilo was nearly hit on 26 November askamikaze attackedSan Juanico Straits; onekamikaze crashed some 250 yd (230 m) ahead of the tender.Hilo's gunners scored several kills during this period.[5]
Commander, Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons, 7th Fleet, shifted his flag toCyrene on 16 January, and for the next nine monthsHilo was occupied with passenger voyages to various islands, including Mios Woendi and thePalaus. She departedSamar on 26 October 1945 for theUnited States viaEniwetok and Pearl Harbor.Hilo received fourbattle stars for service in World War II.[5]
Hilo arrived on 1 December and was decommissioned on 3 March 1946.[5] The ship entered theSuisun BayNational Defense Reserve Fleet on 30 June 1946 and was sold on 6 November 1947 by theUnited States Maritime Commission to Pillsbury & Martingnoni,San Francisco, California.[25] The ship was scrapped in 1958.[26]
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
