USS Alabaster

	USS Alabaster (PYc-21) at anchor in San Pedro Bay, Philippine Islands while at Navy Yard for modification. c. July 1945
History
United States
Name	Alamo
Owner	William F. Ladd
Builder	Mathis Yacht Building Company, Camden, New Jersey
Launched	1932
Fate	Sold in 1934 to Lucius B. Manning, President of the Cord Automobile Corp
United States
Name	Ronaele
Owner	Lucius B. Manning
Acquired	1934
Fate	Sold back to William F. Ladd in 1936
United States
Name	Rellimpa, Ranley and Ronaele
Owner	William F. Ladd
Acquired	1936
Fate	Sold to the Navy 3 January 1942
United States
Name	Alabaster
Namesake	Alabaster
Builder	Philadelphia Navy Yard
Acquired	3 January 1942
Commissioned	31 January 1942
Decommissioned	17 December 1945
Stricken	21 January 1946
Fate	Sold into private ownership, 9 April 1947; Destroyed by fire, 1982;
General characteristics
Type	Patrol boat
Displacement	230 long tons (234 t)
Length	143 ft (44 m)
Beam	23 ft 5 in (7.14 m)
Draft	12 ft 5 in (3.78 m)
Speed	14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph)
Complement	48
Armament	1 × 3 in (76 mm) gun; 2 × .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns; 2 × Depth charge tracks;

The USS Alabaster (PYc-21) was a coastal patrol yacht of the United States Navy during World War II.

The ship was built in 1932 by the

shipbuilder's plate affixed in the upper access portion of its engine room. Alamo was designed by Tams, Incorporated for William F. Ladd with a cruising radius of 4,000 miles and a fresh water capacity of 5,500 gallons. A pair of Winton diesel engines of 375 horsepower each and two 15 kW Winton diesel generators provided propulsive and electrical power. A speed of 14.5 knots (16.7 mph; 26.9 km/h) was achieved in trials. The hull construction made extensive use of welding.^[1] Before Navy acquisition the yacht, Mathis hull #214, official number 231388, had been named Rellimpa, Ranley, and Ronaele.^[2]

The yacht was acquired by the U.S. Navy on 3 January 1942, renamed Alabaster on 13 January 1942 and simultaneously classified a coastal patrol yacht and designated PYc-21. Converted by the

Philadelphia Navy Yard for naval service, it was commissioned on 31 January 1942.^[3]

Service history

World War II, 1942–1945

Assigned to the Inshore Patrol and based at the section base at

Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island. The following day, the patrol yacht reported for duty with the Commander, Anti-submarine Development, Atlantic Fleet, at Quonset Point and began a month of training to ready her crew for the new assignment.^[3]

On 5 January 1944, she completed her training and received orders to report to the Commander,

Milne Bay, New Guinea, where she remained for about three months instructing Navy men in the use of various ASW devices. In mid-June, she moved to Seeadler Harbor at Manus in the Admiralty Islands where she resumed ASW training duties. On 19 October, she departed Manus to return to New Guinea and dropped anchor at Hollandia on the 21st. She remained at that base until the end of January 1945, providing ASW training services and making emergency repairs to radar and sonar equipment, On 31 January 1945, she weighed anchor and shaped a course for the Philippines. Alabaster arrived in San Pedro Bay, Leyte, on 6 February and resumed her previous training and repair missions.^[3]

The end of the war in mid-August 1945 found her still at Leyte, and she was then declared surplus to the needs of the Navy. The yacht cleared San Pedro Bay to return to the United States. Steaming via

Maritime Commission for disposal.^[3]

In private ownership, 1947–1982

Alabaster was initially sold on 9 April 1947 to Lyman A. Whitney, of San Diego, California,[3] however this purchase was never completed, and she was finally purchased by Col. C. S. Smith, USAR, Ret., who restored her as a private cruising yacht and renamed her Alamo.^[4]

In 1959–1960 she was the setting (called Fortuna II) for the CBS television series Mr. Lucky, starring John Vivyan, Ross Martin and Pippa Scott.^[4]

Alamo was sold in 1960 to Enrique Braun of Acapulco, renamed Fiesta II, and served as a harbor cruise vessel until 1982. In that year it was sold and towed to Puerto Vallarta to be converted to a floating restaurant. It caught fire and sank during conversion and its wreckage is now a popular scuba diving venue.^[4]

References

Notes

^ "Alamo – William F. Ladd's Motor Yacht". Motor Boating. Vol. LI, no. 3. March 1933. pp. 24–25. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
^ Colton, Tim (6 June 2018). "Mathis Yacht Building, Camden and Gloucester City NJ". ShipbuildingHistory. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "USS Alabaster". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. 2004. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c Priolo, Gary P. (2007). "Alabaster (PYc-21)". NavSource Naval History. Retrieved 25 October 2011.

Bibliography

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entries can be found here and here.
Photo gallery of USS Alabaster at NavSource Naval History

[1] "Alamo – William F. Ladd's Motor Yacht". Motor Boating. Vol. LI, no. 3. March 1933. pp. 24–25. Retrieved 1 September 2018.

[2] Colton, Tim (6 June 2018). "Mathis Yacht Building, Camden and Gloucester City NJ". ShipbuildingHistory. Retrieved 1 September 2018.

[DANFS-3] "USS Alabaster". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. 2004. Retrieved 25 October 2011.

[NavSource-4] Priolo, Gary P. (2007). "Alabaster (PYc-21)". NavSource Naval History. Retrieved 25 October 2011.

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