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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
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WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Photo # NH 99684:  Steam yacht Rambler, which was USS Rambler (SP-211) in 1917-1919

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

USS Rambler (SP-211), 1917-1919.
Previously the civilian steam yacht Rambler (1900)

USS Rambler, a 288 gross ton patrol vessel, was built in 1900 at Elizabethport, New Jersey, as a civilian steam yacht. Acquired by the Navy for World War I service in August 1917, she was converted for warlike purposes and placed in commission in mid-October of that year. In November she steamed to the Azores, by way of Bermuda, and operated in that area for a few months. Transferred to Brest, France, in February 1918 Rambler was employed on convoy escort and patrol work until the 11 November 1918 Armistice ended the fighting. Further service as a dispatch vessel between Great Britain and France occupied the ship until May 1919, when she began the long voyage back across the Atlantic to the U.S. East Coast. USS Rambler was decommissioned in July and sold in September 1919.

This page features all the views we have concerning USS Rambler (SP-211) and the civilian steam yacht Rambler.

For photographs related to USS Rambler's November 1917 trip from Newport, Rhode Island, to the Azores, see:

  • USS Margaret (SP-527) -- Voyage from the U.S. to the Azores, November 1917.


    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.

    Photo #: NH 99684

    Rambler
    (American Steam Yacht, 1900)

    In a harbor, prior to World War I.
    This yacht served as USS Rambler (SP-211) in 1917-1919.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 51KB; 740 x 410 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 103058

    USS Rambler
    (SP-211)

    Crewmen in action with the ship's forward 3"/50 gun, while she was serving in French waters during 1918.
    Note that the image's inscription incorrectly identifies the ship as USS "Rumpler".
    The original photograph was taken by Robert W. Neeser.

    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2005.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 105KB; 740 x 540 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 41865

    USS Rambler
    (SP-211)

    Ship's forward 3"/50 gun in action, while she was operating off Brest at Pallice, France, on convoy escort duty, 1918.
    The original photograph was taken by Robert W. Neeser.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 80KB; 740 x 530 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 41866

    USS Rambler
    (SP-211)

    Ship's forward 3"/50 gun in action, while she was operating off Brest at Pallice, France, on convoy escort duty, 1918.
    The original photograph was taken by Robert W. Neeser.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 80KB; 740 x 535 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 73255

    USS Rambler (SP-211)


    View on the ship's fantail, showing her after 3"/50 gun and depth charges on racks and a "Y-gun" thrower, taken at Brest, France, 1918.
    USS Bridgeport (ID # 3009) is in the background, with two destroyers tied up to starboard.

    Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1970.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 92KB; 740 x 565 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 53070

    USS Rambler
    (SP-211)

    Crew posed on deck, off Brest, France, in 1918.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 112KB; 740 x 540 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 41983

    USS Rambler
    (SP-211)

    The postman leaves for shore, off Brest at La Pallice, before Rambler sails on a convoy escort mission, 30 September 1918.
    Photographed by Robert W. Neeser.
    Note engine and fuel tank on the mailman's motor boat.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 101KB; 740 x 525 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 158

    Twenty-five Ship Convoy


    Nearing Brest, France, on 1 November 1918.
    Photographed from USS Rambler (SP-211), a yacht converted to a convoy escort.
    Photographed by Robert W. Neeser.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 94KB; 740 x 540 pixels

     

    For photographs related to USS Rambler's November 1917 trip from Newport, Rhode Island, to the Azores, see:

  • USS Margaret (SP-527) -- Voyage from the U.S. to the Azores, November 1917.


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


    Return to Naval Historical Center home page.

    Page made 6 November 2004
    New images added 11 October 2005