Kajeruna (S.P. 389)
1917-1919
The Navy retained the name carried by this vessel at the time of her acquisition.
(S.P. 389: tonnage 147 (gross register); length 153'7" (overall); beam 17'6"; draft 7'9" (mean); speed 14.0 knots (maximum), 12.0 knots (cruising); complement 38; armament 2 6-pounders, 1 machine gun)
Kajeruna , a single-screw steel-hulled yacht built in 1902 for Frank M. Smith of Shelter Island, N.Y., by John N. Robins & Son, Erie Basin, N.Y., had operated under the name Seminole and Hauoli before being acquired by the Navy under a free lease from her owner, Alfred W. Gieske of Baltimore, Md. in May 1917 and commissioned on 18 May 1917, Lt. J. R. Hudgins, USNRF, in command.
Given the identification number S.P. 389 and assigned to the Fifth Naval District based at Norfolk, Virginia, Kajeruna acted as flagship for Patrol Squadron 3. She operated in the waters of Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay until being returned to her owner on 16 January 1919.
Updated and corrected, Robert J. Cressman
23 May 2022
