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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --
U. S. Navy Ambulance Boat No. 1 (later YH-1), 1919-1939.
U. S. Navy Ambulance Boat No. 1, a 54-ton, 65-foot wooden-hulled
craft propelled by a four-cylinder gasoline engine, was built
at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California. In November 1918 the
Navy Department had placed an order with Mare Island for ten additional
54-ton motor tugs (six others had been ordered earlier in 1918
from Mare Island and Pearl Harbor), but soon decided to complete
three of the later hulls, Motor Tugs Nos. 97, 100, and
101 as Ambulance Boats Nos. 1-3 respectively. This
change took effect before the launching of the first unit, Ambulance
Boat No. 1 (ex-Motor Tug No. 97) on 24 July 1919. The
ambulance boats received their own hull type symbol, YH, when
the Navy implemented its standard hull classification system in
July 1920. Ambulance Boat No. 1 (later YH-1) entered service
on 18 August 1919 and served for her entire career in the San
Francisco Bay area (her two sisters were both transferred to Norfolk,
Virginia upon completion). She was stricken from the Naval Vessel
Register in December 1938 and sold in March 1939.
This page features all the views we have concerning U.S.
Navy Ambulance Boat No. 1 (later YH-1).
Click on the small photograph to prompt
a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 41600
U. S. Navy Ambulance Boat No. 1
Off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, probably soon after
18 August 1919, when she entered service.
This craft was converted before or during the early stages of
construction from Motor Tug No. 97 and was classified
YH-1 in July 1920.
Collection of Rear Admiral Ammen C. Farenholt, USN (Medical Corps).
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 64KB; 740 x 565 pixels |
![](../../images/h41000/h41600t.jpg) |
Photo #: NH 41601
U. S. Navy Ambulance Boat No. 1
Lowering a stretcher containing a patient through the starboard
side of the booby hatch aft of the pilot house. Photographed
at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, on 31 October 1919.
Note the stretchers already suspended under the port side of
the hatch.
Collection of Rear Admiral Ammen C. Farenholt, USN (Medical Corps).
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 65KB; 740 x 600 pixels |
![](../../images/h41000/h41601t.jpg) |
Photo #: NH 41799
U. S. Navy Ambulance Boat No. 1
Just before her launching at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California,
24 July 1919. Preparing to christen the vessel is the daughter
of Commander John L. Neilson, USN (Medical Corps). Commander
Neilson is also on the platform.
Collection of Rear Admiral Ammen C. Farenholt, USN (Medical Corps).
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 48KB; 740 x 565 pixels |
![](../../images/h41000/h41799t.jpg) |
Photo #: NH 41602
U. S. Navy Ambulance Boat No. 1
Launching at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, 24 July 1919.
Note that much of her ambulance boat deckhouse is already in
place.
This craft was converted before or during the early stages of
construction from Motor Tug No. 97 and was classified
YH-1 in July 1920.
Collection of Rear Admiral Ammen C. Farenholt, USN (Medical Corps).
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the
Naval Historical Center.
Online Image: 72KB; 740 x 565 pixels |
![](../../images/h41000/h41602t.jpg) |
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Page made 24 January 2007