Sultana (S. P. 134)
1917-1919
The Navy retained the name carried by this vessel at the time she was acquired.
(S. P. 134: tonnage 390; length186'0"; beam 27'0"; draft 13'0"; speed 12.0 knots; complement 62; armament 4 3-inch, 2 machine guns)
Sultana was built in 1889 at Erie Basin, N. Y., by Henderson & Robbins On 4 May 1917, Mrs. E. H. Harriman of New York City loaned the steam yacht to the United States Navy under a free lease. Given the identification number S. P. 134, she was commissioned on 27 May 1917, Lt. Ezra G. Allen in command.
Sultana was fitted out at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y., and she joined a special patrol force at Tompkinsville, Staten Island, N.Y., on 6 June. The force sailed for France on 9 June. On 4 July, Independence Day, she rescued 45 survivors of the U.S. merchantman Orleans, which had been en route from New York to Bordeaux with general cargo. The freighter had been torpedoed and sunk, carrying four men to the bottom with her, the day before [3 July] by the German submarine UC-71 (Oberleutnant zur See Reinhold Saltzwedel, commanding); and landed them at Brest, France, that evening.
From 4 July 1917 to 5 December 1918, Sultana was attached to the United States Patrol Squadron based at Brest. During that period, the ship performed escort and patrol duty. After the fighting ended, she headed for home on 5 December; proceeded via the Azores and Bermuda; and reached New York three days after Christmas, on 28 December 1918.
Sultana was returned to Mrs. Harriman on 17 February 1919 and stricken from the Navy Register simultaneously.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
6 March 2024
