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USS Helena I

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History
United States
NameUSS Helena I
NamesakePrevious name retained
BuilderVan Sant Brothers, Port Republic, New Jersey
Completed1906
AcquiredMay 1917
Commissioned7 September 1917
Decommissioned27 August 1919
Stricken4 October 1919
Fate
  • Sold, 27 August 1919
  • Wrecked prior to delivery to new owner, 11 September 1919
NotesOperated as private motor yacht Helena I 1906-1917
General characteristics
TypePatrol vessel
Displacement9 long tons (9 t)
Length43 ft (13 m)
Beam10 ft (3.0 m)
Draft3 ft (0.91 m) (mean)
Speed10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h)
Armament1 × machine gun

USS Helena I (SP-24) was an armed yacht that served the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919.

Helena I was built in 1906 by the Van Sant Brothers, Port Republic, New Jersey, as a private motor yacht. The U.S. Navy acquired her from Dr. W. G. Hall of Trenton, New Jersey, in May 1917 for World War I service. Assigned to the 7th Naval District, she was taken to Key West, Florida, and commissioned as the USS Helena I (SP-24) on 7 September 1917.

Helena I operated as a harbor and coastal patrol boat in the vicinity of Key West, until decommissioned and sold on 27 August 1919. Before she could be delivered to her new owner, however, Helena I was among eight former SP boats wrecked on 11 September by the 1919 Florida Keys Hurricane, while anchored in the North Beach Basin, Key West. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 4 October 1919

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