USS Despatch, a 287 gross ton patrol vessel, was built in 1913 at Morris Heights, New York, as the civilian steam yacht Vixen. She was purchased by the Navy in early August 1917 and placed in commission as USS Vixen (SP-68), but was soon renamed Despatch. During the rest of World War I, and for some months thereafter, she was employed as a tender for the Atlantic Fleet. Among her duties was the transportation of senior officers and Government officials, a role for which her yacht origins made her especially suitable. In March-June 1919 Despatch was used as a battleship division flagship at Hampton Roads, Virginia.
After being inactive from July 1919 to April 1920, Despatch was put back into commission and, in June 1920, sent to Santo Domingo to serve as flagship and tender for the Military Governor there. In July of that year she was redesignated PY-8. Her work in the Caribbean lasted about a year. She returned to U.S. waters in August 1921 and was again used as a tender for the Atlantic Fleet. USS Despatch was decommissioned in December 1921 and was laid up for more than six years. She was transferred to the State of Florida in May 1928.
This page features the only views we have concerning USS Despatch (SP-68, later PY-8) and the civilian steam yacht Vixen.
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 5 June 2004