USS Vedette (SP-163)

USS Vedette (SP-163) in dry dock at L'Orient, France, circa 1917-1918.
History
United States
Name	USS Vedette (SP-163)
Builder	Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine Designed by G. L. Watson
Launched	23 December 1899
Completed	1899
Acquired	4 May 1917
Commissioned	28 May 1917
Stricken	4 February 1919
Fate	Returned to owner 4 February 1919
General characteristics
Type	yacht
Displacement	441 tons
Length	199' 6"
Beam	26' 0"
Draft	12' 0"
Propulsion	Steam engine, single-screw
Complement	61
Armament	Three 3” guns Two Colt machine guns Ten Sperry Mk-1 Naval mines
Armour	steel-hulled

The first USS Vedette (SP-163) was a commercial yacht built in 1899. At the outbreak of World War I, the yacht was leased by the United States Navy, and was used as a section patrol craft in the North Atlantic Ocean. She served honorably during the war, rescuing survivors at sea, and attacking a German U-boat. At war’s end, she was converted to her original configuration and returned to her owner, the railroad executive, financier, and philanthropist Frederick W. Vanderbilt (1856-1938) of New York City.