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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

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  • World War I 1917-1918
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Narada (S.P. 161)

1917-1919

The Navy retained the name carried by this vessel at the time of her acquisition.

(S.P. 161: tonnage 505 (gross registered); length 224'0" (overall); beam 27'0"; draft 15'9" (mean); speed 12.0 knots (maximum), 10.0 knots (cruising); complement 70)

The steel-hulled, single-screw yacht Semiramis was built at Victoria Shipyard, Leith, Scotland, by Ramsey & Ferguson, for John Lysaght of Bristol, Leith, and launched on 30 May 1889. Anthony Joseph Drexel., Jr., of Philadelphia, Pa., acquired the vessel in 1894 and renamed her Margarita. Five years later (1899), Henry D. Walters of Baltimore, Md., purchased her and renamed her Narada.

The unprecedented expansion of the U.S. Navy when the United States entered the Great War [World War I] led that service to acquire a wide variety of ships and craft. Narada was acquired by the Navy on 30 June 1917 and commissioned on 12 October 1917, Lt. Charles Rodstrom, USNRF, in command.

During her entire period of service, Narada operated from New London, Conn. carrying out experimental submarine signal work. Narada sailed for New York, arriving on 13 January 1919. She was decommissioned the same day and returned to her pre-war owner, Henry D. Walters, on 4 February 1919.

Robert J. Cressman

Updated, 5 April 2022

Published: Mon May 16 22:56:38 EDT 2022