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USS Artemis (SP-593)
Encyclopedia
USS Artemis (SP-593), later known as USS Arcturus (SP 593) was a yacht
acquired by the United States Navy
during World War I
. Artemis was armed with guns and depth charge
s, and was sent to Europe
as a patrol craft to protect Allied ships from German submarines and other dangers. Post-war she was returned to the United States
and turned over to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. Later, back in civilian operation, she was burned and sank in 1927.
, by Pusey and Jones Co., for Frederick C. Fletcher of Boston, Massachusetts; and launched in 1912. In 1916 or 1917 the Cleveland philanthropist John Long Severance (1863–1936) acquired the yacht and renamed her Artemis.
On 9 October 1917, Captain
Newton A. McCully
assumed command of Squadron 5, Patrol Force, and, over the ensuing days, inspected the vessels tentatively assigned to his command. After visiting Artemis at Shewan's Shipyard, Brooklyn, New York, he reported her to be a "good, well-built, apparently seaworthy boat ..." and recommended that her conversion work be expedited. Accordingly, on 17 October 1917, Artemis (SP-593) was placed in commission, Lt. Comdr. Stanton L. H. Hazard in command.
Over the next week, Artemis remained at the Shewan yard, undergoing the modifications necessary to convert her from a peacetime cruising yacht to a diminutive man-of-war — such alterations as the installation of gun mounts and magazines, the fitting-out quarters for officers and men, and the overhauling of her boilers and machinery. During that time, Capt. McCully twice visited the ship (on 18 and 24 October) to check personally the progress of the work. On 1 November, Artemis shifted to the New York Navy Yard where she received her main battery of two 3 in (76.2 mm) guns. Two days later, she stood out of New York harbor
with the French subchaser SC-S5 in tow, bound for Bermuda
.
to Leixoes
, Portugal
. Each chaser was assigned to a converted yacht which would tow and maintain her. Artemis towed her 70 LT (71.1 t) charge — SC-65 — to Bermuda
where she arrived on 9 November to coal ship and provision.
Artemis stood out of Grassy Bay on 18 November, and, three hours out picked up a towline from Hannibal that would pull her for over three days. The plans had called for the chasers to depart after the converted yachts had left, overhauling the latter at their best economical speed. After effecting a rendezvous, the yachts were to tow the chasers as far as the Azores
. Unfortunately, bad weather interfered.
Hannibal undertook towing a veritable train of ships and craft on 1 December, as she took Artemis in tow for the second time, the yacht towing, in turn, SC-315 and SC-65. Upon arrival off the port of Fayal, Horta
, in the Azores, on 7 December, Artemis proceeded under her own power, releasing SC-315 but retaining SC-65 — the latter disabled by a defective fuel pump — and took her into Fayal.
Artemis got underway once more on the morning of the 9th with SC-65 tethered astern. Hannibal, , and also accompanied her — with the latter two each towing a subchaser, SC-315 and SC-347, respectively. Both of these vessels, like SC-65, had been disabled by defective fuel pumps.
, Azores
, the next day, Artemis served as guardship for the harbor on 14 December and conducted target practice beyond the 3 mi (4.8 km) limit on the 17th-18th before leaving the Azores on the final leg of the voyage to Leixoes, with SC-65 astern once more.
During the passage, the ship ran into foul weather on the 21st. Artemis rolled deeply in the heavy seas; and the towline parted, leaving SC-65 to her own devices. Fortunately, repairs enabled her to resume the voyage under her own power. Two days later, Capt. McCully, the squadron commander, embarked in May, directed Artemis — battered by the storm — to put into Gibraltar
for repairs, and she arrived there on 26 December 1917.
, Tunisia
. The next day at 14:50, while Artemis was steaming on the left wing of the formation, an enemy submarine
torpedo
ed the convoy
guide, SS Maizar, striking the merchantman's port side, forward of her bridge. Artemis and the other escorts immediately went to general quarters
. As the hunt proceeded fruitlessly, Maizar settled, forward, and her crew abandoned her. Artemis took on board 16 of the ship's survivors; and at 15:50, the convoy's screen gave up the hunt and secured from general quarters.
The convoy arrived at Bizerte on 3 February, without further mishap. The following day, after having coaled at Sidi Abdullah, Artemis stood out of Bizerte harbor with the Gibraltar-bound convoy, GB-12. No enemy submarines molested the Allied ships during the passage, and they all reached "Gib" safely during the predawn darkness of 9 February.
Artemis continued to escort convoys between Gibraltar
and North Africa
into mid-March: convoys BG-12 (20–24 February), GB-16 (2–6 March), and BG-17 (12–17 March) before Lt. Comdr. Hazard — relieved by 1st Lt. C. F. Howell, USCG, on 29 March — left the ship for duty in Birmingham. Artemis soon went to sea under her new commanding officer
with a convoy to Bizerte
(3–7 April) and commenced the return voyage with a Gibraltar-bound convoy on 8 April. However, fresh westerly breezes soon began breaking up the "good formation" enjoyed since the voyage had begun. Artemis, playing a shepherd to her straying flock, managed to prod SS North Pacific and SS Jason back in line before the yacht's engineers noted a recurrence of her chronic condenser trouble.
for repairs. At 09:52 on the 11th, her engines ceased throbbing, the steam exhausted. The tug Alger arrived on the scene shortly before noon and, together with a French tug, towed the ailing yacht into Algiers harbor. After a brief drydocking (13–17 April), the converted yacht got underway on 23 April to return to Gibraltar
and arrived there on the 25th.
off Cartagena, Spain
, she spotted two suspicious-looking submarines—escorted by a torpedo boat—operating on the surface within Spanish territorial waters. The former yacht went to general quarters. She arrived at her designated rendezvous point off Escombrera Island at 15:20 and then stood in towards the coast, carefully plotting her course so that it did not take her within the 3 mi (4.8 km) limit. Soon thereafter, the torpedo boat commenced making "an immense smoke screen" that effectively concealed the entrance into Cartagena
of the strange submersibles.
About three hours later, SS Don Neal — Artemis assigned charge — stood out of Cartagena Harbor. The yacht took her into convoy at 18:50 and set a course for Oran
, French Morocco
. As Don Neal plodded along at 7 kn (8.5 mph; 13.7 km/h), her escort zig-zagged watchfully, on each side of the base course and made a complete circle of her consort every half-hour. Twice, the latter appeared to have been rather casual about "darkening ship." Fortunately, enemy submarines were not afoot, and the little convoy reached Oran safely on 2 May.
to port over bubbles and the slick water that apparently marked the submarine's path beneath the waves. After the resultant explosion, Artemis cautiously claimed possible destruction of the undersea craft, but postwar accounting revealed the loss of no submarine on that day.
She subsequently sighted the wreckage of a large schooner (possibly an earlier submarine victim) "evidently damaged by gunfire" lying on her beam ends. Several ships of the convoy, apparently thinking that the low shape of the wreck might be a surfaced submarine
, fired at it.
Soon after the hunt, Artemis rejoined the convoy
and shepherded it into Gibraltar's harbor on 5 May. The next day, the ship received on board and fitted two racks for her depth charges and nine American Mark II, mod. 1 charges to go with them.
, Algiers
, and Oran
through mid-May, visiting Oran for the second time during that period, embarking five survivors of the torpedoed British merchantman SS Mavisbrook for passage to Gibraltar. Evidently, the return passage was of an urgent nature, for at 18:00 on 26 May, Artemis received orders to round up her liberty party and get underway in two hours. For those next two hours, five petty officer
s from the ship scoured the Oran waterfront looking for Artemis sailors and returned at 20:15 with all but three. Weighing anchor at 20:27, almost a half-hour behind schedule, the yacht proceeded out to sea but soon encountered her old gremlin—boiler trouble. She arrived back at Oran on the morning of the 27th, where the three missing men rejoined the ship.
Repaired, Artemis put to sea again on 28 May, but the chronic condenser casualties aborted her mission of escorting merchantman SS Ixion to Gibraltar
; and the yacht returned to anchorage the next day. Underway again on the last day of May with a convoy of six merchantmen and five tugs, Artemis finally reached Gibraltar on 2 June.
Although her name was now different, her duties remained the same. Still based on Gibraltar, Arcturus, over the next two months, thrice escorted the cable ship Amber to Lagos Bay, Portugal
, the latter apparently laboring on undersea lines of communication along the Portuguese coast. Interspersed with this duty was a stint escorting the French transport Souirah (6–9 July) and missions transporting high-ranking passengers, such as Rear Admiral Albert P. Niblack, General Sir Herbert Guthrie-Smith
, and the Episcopal Dean of Gibraltar to Tangier
, Morocco
, and back (10 July) as well as taking on board 32 survivors of the Italian merchantman SS Silvia from the Spanish bark Suarez II (10 July) for passage back to Gibraltar
.
and back, transporting Moors from Gibraltar to Morocco (10–11 September). She rounded out September with escorting the British merchantman SS Wethersfield to Hornillo, Spain
(23–24 September), and another period of operations with the cable ship Amber.
She operated with Amber again from 1–5 October before joining Druid escorting a convoy of seven (ultimately, eight) merchantmen along the Spanish coastal route to Port Vendres, France
from 8–13 October. Returning to Gibraltar on the 16th, Arcturus weighed anchor 11 days later and headed for Lagos Bay, Portugal
, in company with Amber and the tug Crucis. Following the three ships' arrival at that port, Arcturus operated there and at Sines Bay
, Portugal before steaming to Lisbon
for coal and provisions.
With the water in the engineering spaces rising rapidly, Maennle ordered the engines stopped and the sea anchor
launched. These efforts, however, proved unequal to the task of making Arcturus ride the seas head-to. Instead, the yacht's comparatively large top-hamper acted as a veritable sail which the wind used to swing the ship around broadside. At 15:25, Arcturus began broadcasting S.O.S. signals — answered swiftly by her old consort Amber and the tugs Oporto and Monsanta.
In the meantime, with the engineers laboring in the sloshing, rising waters below, Arcturus put over "oil bags" on the weather side to minimize the effect of the heavy seas. Despite this, however, the yacht rolled "dangerously" in the trough of the sea. In view of the critical situation, Lt. Maennle mustered all hands — except those detailed to the sea anchor, radio, oil bags, and locating the leak in the engine room — at their abandon ship stations, with their life preservers on. Prepared for the worst, Arcturus men hung on.
Then, shortly after Amber came close aboard at 15:55 to be told to stand by to leeward. Ens. Powers reported at 16:00 that he and his persevering (and wet) engineers had located the leak — the main injection pump had carried away — and efforts were being made to stop it and pump out the water which had risen to a height of 5 ft (1.5 m) in the engine and fire rooms. The situation then looked much better for all concerned, so Arcturus annulled her S. 0. S. signals at 16:08, with Amber and Crucis sticking faithfully near. At 16:25, temporary repairs completed, Arcturus was ready to get underway and proceed to Lisbon. Accompanied initially by her two consorts (which she lost sight of at 00:45 on the 7th), the converted yacht reached her destination at 09:35 on 7 November.
, ending hostilities, and the admonition to naval vessels to maintain "all precautions against attack from submarines." Those enemy men-of-war were to be treated as "friendly unless hostilities are obvious."
, Druid and Wenonah. One day out of Ponta Delgada, Arcturus suffered the now-familiar problem with her condensers; and, while the other ships proceeded on, Surveyor stood by the ailing Arcturus on 11 December.
Subsequently encountering more condenser troubles occasioned by the pounding the ship was taking in the December gales, Arcturus had to be taken in tow by Surveyor on Christmas Day. Casting off on the 27th, Arcturus arrived at Grassy Bay under her own power the following day. On the last day of 1918, the yacht sailed for New London, Connecticut
on the last leg of her homeward-bound voyage.
Reaching New London on 3 January 1919, Arcturus spent over two months (with the exception of a trip to Melville, Rhode Island
and back on 4–5 January 1919, for coal) at the District Base, New London, assigned to the Atlantic Fleet's Reserve Squadron. Underway for New York City
on 25 March, the yacht moored at pier 72, East River
, that evening. She moved to the navy yard two days later, for coal, and ultimately arrived at Ulmer Park Marine Basin, Brooklyn, New York, on 30 March.
, and turned over to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.
on 4 October, she resumed her prewar name, Artemis, and retained it for the rest of her days.
Sometime during 1924 or 1925, J. W. Hunter, a British subject, acquired Artemis, but passed ownership to another Briton, R. Rose, about a year later. Subsequently acquired by the Tropical Fruit and Steamship Co., a Honduran
firm, Artemis burned and sank in February 1927
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
acquired by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Artemis was armed with guns and depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s, and was sent to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
as a patrol craft to protect Allied ships from German submarines and other dangers. Post-war she was returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and turned over to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey. Later, back in civilian operation, she was burned and sank in 1927.
Constructed in Delaware
Cristina — a steel-hulled yacht designed by Gielow and Orr, naval architects — was built at Wilmington, DelawareWilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, by Pusey and Jones Co., for Frederick C. Fletcher of Boston, Massachusetts; and launched in 1912. In 1916 or 1917 the Cleveland philanthropist John Long Severance (1863–1936) acquired the yacht and renamed her Artemis.
Conversion to a warship
After the U.S. entered World War I in the spring of 1917, the Navy, in its wide-ranging search for ships suitable to serve as patrol craft, acquired Artemis early that summer. Delivered on 4 July 1917, the yacht was earmarked for "distant service" 10 days later, and assigned the identification number "SP-593".On 9 October 1917, Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Newton A. McCully
Newton A. McCully
Vice Admiral Newton Alexander McCully was an officer in the United States Navy.McCully, the son of Newton A. and Caroline Fretwell McCully, was born on 19 June 1867 in Anderson, South Carolina and attended the United States Naval Academy .As a Lieutenant Commander, McCully traveled to Russia...
assumed command of Squadron 5, Patrol Force, and, over the ensuing days, inspected the vessels tentatively assigned to his command. After visiting Artemis at Shewan's Shipyard, Brooklyn, New York, he reported her to be a "good, well-built, apparently seaworthy boat ..." and recommended that her conversion work be expedited. Accordingly, on 17 October 1917, Artemis (SP-593) was placed in commission, Lt. Comdr. Stanton L. H. Hazard in command.
Over the next week, Artemis remained at the Shewan yard, undergoing the modifications necessary to convert her from a peacetime cruising yacht to a diminutive man-of-war — such alterations as the installation of gun mounts and magazines, the fitting-out quarters for officers and men, and the overhauling of her boilers and machinery. During that time, Capt. McCully twice visited the ship (on 18 and 24 October) to check personally the progress of the work. On 1 November, Artemis shifted to the New York Navy Yard where she received her main battery of two 3 in (76.2 mm) guns. Two days later, she stood out of New York harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
with the French subchaser SC-S5 in tow, bound for Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
.
Proceeding to Europe
Artemis initial mission was a part in the operation of towing ten 110 ft (33.5 m) subchasers — built in American boatyards for the French government — from New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to Leixoes
Leixões
Leixões is located 4 km to the north of Douro River mouth, in Matosinhos municipality, near the city of Porto. Leixões is one of Portugal's major seaports. Leixões Sport Club, commonly knows simply as Leixões, is Matosinhos' sports club....
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. Each chaser was assigned to a converted yacht which would tow and maintain her. Artemis towed her 70 LT (71.1 t) charge — SC-65 — to Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
where she arrived on 9 November to coal ship and provision.
Artemis stood out of Grassy Bay on 18 November, and, three hours out picked up a towline from Hannibal that would pull her for over three days. The plans had called for the chasers to depart after the converted yachts had left, overhauling the latter at their best economical speed. After effecting a rendezvous, the yachts were to tow the chasers as far as the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
. Unfortunately, bad weather interfered.
Encountering bad weather
and Wenonah left the column on 21 November to search for and the French subchasers; and, the following day, Artemis cast off from Hannibal and took under tow her former charge, SC-65. A week later, after standing by as SC-65 provisioned at sea from Hannibal, she cast off the one chaser and picked up another, SC-66.Hannibal undertook towing a veritable train of ships and craft on 1 December, as she took Artemis in tow for the second time, the yacht towing, in turn, SC-315 and SC-65. Upon arrival off the port of Fayal, Horta
Horta (Azores)
Horta is a single municipality and city in the western part of the Archipealgo of the Azores, encompassing the island of Faial. Horta has a population of about approximately 15,038 people and an area of 173.1 square kilometers. The population density is about 88 persons per square kilometer...
, in the Azores, on 7 December, Artemis proceeded under her own power, releasing SC-315 but retaining SC-65 — the latter disabled by a defective fuel pump — and took her into Fayal.
Artemis got underway once more on the morning of the 9th with SC-65 tethered astern. Hannibal, , and also accompanied her — with the latter two each towing a subchaser, SC-315 and SC-347, respectively. Both of these vessels, like SC-65, had been disabled by defective fuel pumps.
Arrival in the Azores
After reaching Ponta DelgadaPonta Delgada
Ponta Delgada is a city and municipality on the island of São Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. It includes 44,403 residents in the urban area, and approximately 20,113 inhabitants in the three central parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro,...
, Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
, the next day, Artemis served as guardship for the harbor on 14 December and conducted target practice beyond the 3 mi (4.8 km) limit on the 17th-18th before leaving the Azores on the final leg of the voyage to Leixoes, with SC-65 astern once more.
During the passage, the ship ran into foul weather on the 21st. Artemis rolled deeply in the heavy seas; and the towline parted, leaving SC-65 to her own devices. Fortunately, repairs enabled her to resume the voyage under her own power. Two days later, Capt. McCully, the squadron commander, embarked in May, directed Artemis — battered by the storm — to put into Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
for repairs, and she arrived there on 26 December 1917.
Rescuing survivors of a U-boat attack
Over the next month, Artemis underwent voyage repairs before she again stood out to sea on 28 January 1918 to serve as part of the escort for a convoy then forming up for BizerteBizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
. The next day at 14:50, while Artemis was steaming on the left wing of the formation, an enemy submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
ed the convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
guide, SS Maizar, striking the merchantman's port side, forward of her bridge. Artemis and the other escorts immediately went to general quarters
General quarters
General Quarters or Battle Stations is an announcement made aboard a naval warship to signal the crew to prepare for battle or imminent damage....
. As the hunt proceeded fruitlessly, Maizar settled, forward, and her crew abandoned her. Artemis took on board 16 of the ship's survivors; and at 15:50, the convoy's screen gave up the hunt and secured from general quarters.
The convoy arrived at Bizerte on 3 February, without further mishap. The following day, after having coaled at Sidi Abdullah, Artemis stood out of Bizerte harbor with the Gibraltar-bound convoy, GB-12. No enemy submarines molested the Allied ships during the passage, and they all reached "Gib" safely during the predawn darkness of 9 February.
Another U-boat alarm
However, for Artemis, there was no resting from her labors. Underway again for Bizerte on February 14, the yacht saw an explosion on board SS Vidar and called all hands to stations, but, even as she surged forward, she determined the explosion to be internal — not caused by a submarine torpedo — and stood down from battle stations. The next afternoon, another merchantman, SS Tenterton, sounded the submarine alarm; and Artemis spent almost an hour at general quarters, searching for the supposed submersible before securing at 15:10, empty-handed. Two hours later, fired one shell which sent Artemis to battle stations again and put her on a zig-zag course off the port quarter of the formation. When her lookouts sighted no sign of an enemy, the ship stood down again.Artemis continued to escort convoys between Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
into mid-March: convoys BG-12 (20–24 February), GB-16 (2–6 March), and BG-17 (12–17 March) before Lt. Comdr. Hazard — relieved by 1st Lt. C. F. Howell, USCG, on 29 March — left the ship for duty in Birmingham. Artemis soon went to sea under her new commanding officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
with a convoy to Bizerte
Bizerte
Bizerte or Benzert , is the capital city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia and the northernmost city in Africa. It has a population of 230,879 .-History:...
(3–7 April) and commenced the return voyage with a Gibraltar-bound convoy on 8 April. However, fresh westerly breezes soon began breaking up the "good formation" enjoyed since the voyage had begun. Artemis, playing a shepherd to her straying flock, managed to prod SS North Pacific and SS Jason back in line before the yacht's engineers noted a recurrence of her chronic condenser trouble.
Ship repairs in Algiers
At 20:20 on 10 April, Artemis received permission from the escort commander to leave the convoy and headed toward AlgiersAlgiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
for repairs. At 09:52 on the 11th, her engines ceased throbbing, the steam exhausted. The tug Alger arrived on the scene shortly before noon and, together with a French tug, towed the ailing yacht into Algiers harbor. After a brief drydocking (13–17 April), the converted yacht got underway on 23 April to return to Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
and arrived there on the 25th.
Continued convoy operations
Five days later, she sailed to carry out a special escort mission. On 1 May, as Artemis was proceeding toward rendezvous with an American merchantmanCargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
off Cartagena, Spain
Cartagena, Spain
Cartagena is a Spanish city and a major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2011, it has a population of 218,210 inhabitants being the Region’s second largest municipality and the country’s 6th non-Province capital...
, she spotted two suspicious-looking submarines—escorted by a torpedo boat—operating on the surface within Spanish territorial waters. The former yacht went to general quarters. She arrived at her designated rendezvous point off Escombrera Island at 15:20 and then stood in towards the coast, carefully plotting her course so that it did not take her within the 3 mi (4.8 km) limit. Soon thereafter, the torpedo boat commenced making "an immense smoke screen" that effectively concealed the entrance into Cartagena
Cartagena, Spain
Cartagena is a Spanish city and a major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2011, it has a population of 218,210 inhabitants being the Region’s second largest municipality and the country’s 6th non-Province capital...
of the strange submersibles.
About three hours later, SS Don Neal — Artemis assigned charge — stood out of Cartagena Harbor. The yacht took her into convoy at 18:50 and set a course for Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
, French Morocco
French Morocco
French Protectorate of Morocco was a French protectorate in Morocco, established by the Treaty of Fez. French Morocco did not include the north of the country, which was a Spanish protectorate...
. As Don Neal plodded along at 7 kn (8.5 mph; 13.7 km/h), her escort zig-zagged watchfully, on each side of the base course and made a complete circle of her consort every half-hour. Twice, the latter appeared to have been rather casual about "darkening ship." Fortunately, enemy submarines were not afoot, and the little convoy reached Oran safely on 2 May.
Dropping depth charges on a U-boat
As before, though, the respite afforded the yacht was slight. She weighed anchor again on 3 May, bound for Gibraltar. Daybreak the following day found the ship steaming on the right wing of the formation, gun watches and lookouts posted as usual. At 07:25, Artemis sighted "what was undoubtedly the wake of a submerged submarine," and went to general quarters. Two minutes later, the convoy guide sounded the alarm by whistle and flag hoist. Then, six minutes after the initial sighting, Artemis dropped a depth chargeDepth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
to port over bubbles and the slick water that apparently marked the submarine's path beneath the waves. After the resultant explosion, Artemis cautiously claimed possible destruction of the undersea craft, but postwar accounting revealed the loss of no submarine on that day.
She subsequently sighted the wreckage of a large schooner (possibly an earlier submarine victim) "evidently damaged by gunfire" lying on her beam ends. Several ships of the convoy, apparently thinking that the low shape of the wreck might be a surfaced submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
, fired at it.
Soon after the hunt, Artemis rejoined the convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
and shepherded it into Gibraltar's harbor on 5 May. The next day, the ship received on board and fitted two racks for her depth charges and nine American Mark II, mod. 1 charges to go with them.
Hurried departure from Oran
Artemis then operated between GibraltarGibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, and Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
through mid-May, visiting Oran for the second time during that period, embarking five survivors of the torpedoed British merchantman SS Mavisbrook for passage to Gibraltar. Evidently, the return passage was of an urgent nature, for at 18:00 on 26 May, Artemis received orders to round up her liberty party and get underway in two hours. For those next two hours, five petty officer
Petty Officer
A petty officer is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotion OR-6. They are equal in rank to sergeant, British Army and Royal Air Force. A Petty Officer is superior in rank to Leading Rate and subordinate to Chief Petty Officer, in the case of the British Armed...
s from the ship scoured the Oran waterfront looking for Artemis sailors and returned at 20:15 with all but three. Weighing anchor at 20:27, almost a half-hour behind schedule, the yacht proceeded out to sea but soon encountered her old gremlin—boiler trouble. She arrived back at Oran on the morning of the 27th, where the three missing men rejoined the ship.
Repaired, Artemis put to sea again on 28 May, but the chronic condenser casualties aborted her mission of escorting merchantman SS Ixion to Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
; and the yacht returned to anchorage the next day. Underway again on the last day of May with a convoy of six merchantmen and five tugs, Artemis finally reached Gibraltar on 2 June.
Change of name to Arcturus
Artemis log carries the interesting notation on 2 June: "Received notice from Commander, U. S. Patrol Squadrons based on Gibraltar [of] change of name of vessel from Artemis to Arcturus in accordance with General Order No. 371 . . ." Interestingly, that order had been signed on 20 February 1918. The ship had operated for over three months before the official change caught up with her.Although her name was now different, her duties remained the same. Still based on Gibraltar, Arcturus, over the next two months, thrice escorted the cable ship Amber to Lagos Bay, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, the latter apparently laboring on undersea lines of communication along the Portuguese coast. Interspersed with this duty was a stint escorting the French transport Souirah (6–9 July) and missions transporting high-ranking passengers, such as Rear Admiral Albert P. Niblack, General Sir Herbert Guthrie-Smith
Herbert Guthrie-Smith
William Herbert Guthrie-Smith was a New Zealand farmer, author and conservationist.His book, Tutira: the story of a New Zealand sheep station, published in 1921, documented the impact of humans on New Zealand's environment in an easy reading, non-scientific yet accurate manner.He documented the...
, and the Episcopal Dean of Gibraltar to Tangier
Tangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, and back (10 July) as well as taking on board 32 survivors of the Italian merchantman SS Silvia from the Spanish bark Suarez II (10 July) for passage back to Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
.
Return to Gibraltar operations
Arcturus spent August 1918 at Lisbon, Portugal, for repairs before she resumed operations on Gibraltar after escorting the French submarine Astree to "The Rock" on 6–7 September. As a further variation on her regular theme of escort duty, Arcturus twice voyaged to TangierTangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
and back, transporting Moors from Gibraltar to Morocco (10–11 September). She rounded out September with escorting the British merchantman SS Wethersfield to Hornillo, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(23–24 September), and another period of operations with the cable ship Amber.
She operated with Amber again from 1–5 October before joining Druid escorting a convoy of seven (ultimately, eight) merchantmen along the Spanish coastal route to Port Vendres, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
from 8–13 October. Returning to Gibraltar on the 16th, Arcturus weighed anchor 11 days later and headed for Lagos Bay, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, in company with Amber and the tug Crucis. Following the three ships' arrival at that port, Arcturus operated there and at Sines Bay
Port of Sines
The Port of Sines is an open deep-water sea port with excellent maritime access, with no restrictions, leading the Portuguese port sector in the volume of cargo handled, and offering unique natural characteristics able to receive any type of vessels...
, Portugal before steaming to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
for coal and provisions.
Arcturus sends out a SOS
She returned to Lagos Bay on 5 November and rejoined Amber and Crucis. The next day, Arcturus met Neptune's fury at its fullest. Shortly after noon, the ship became increasingly unmanageable due to heavy seas, and steering was shifted to the engines. At 15:20, Ens. J. J. Powers, USNRF, the engineer officer, reported to the captain, Lt. F. William Maennle, USNRF, that there was a leak in the engine room which the pumps could not control.With the water in the engineering spaces rising rapidly, Maennle ordered the engines stopped and the sea anchor
Sea anchor
A sea anchor, is a device external to the boat, attached to the bow used to stabilize a boat in heavy weather. It anchors not to the sea floor but to the water itself, as a kind of brake. Sea anchors are known by a number of names, such as drift anchor, drift sock, para-anchor, and boat brakes...
launched. These efforts, however, proved unequal to the task of making Arcturus ride the seas head-to. Instead, the yacht's comparatively large top-hamper acted as a veritable sail which the wind used to swing the ship around broadside. At 15:25, Arcturus began broadcasting S.O.S. signals — answered swiftly by her old consort Amber and the tugs Oporto and Monsanta.
In the meantime, with the engineers laboring in the sloshing, rising waters below, Arcturus put over "oil bags" on the weather side to minimize the effect of the heavy seas. Despite this, however, the yacht rolled "dangerously" in the trough of the sea. In view of the critical situation, Lt. Maennle mustered all hands — except those detailed to the sea anchor, radio, oil bags, and locating the leak in the engine room — at their abandon ship stations, with their life preservers on. Prepared for the worst, Arcturus men hung on.
Then, shortly after Amber came close aboard at 15:55 to be told to stand by to leeward. Ens. Powers reported at 16:00 that he and his persevering (and wet) engineers had located the leak — the main injection pump had carried away — and efforts were being made to stop it and pump out the water which had risen to a height of 5 ft (1.5 m) in the engine and fire rooms. The situation then looked much better for all concerned, so Arcturus annulled her S. 0. S. signals at 16:08, with Amber and Crucis sticking faithfully near. At 16:25, temporary repairs completed, Arcturus was ready to get underway and proceed to Lisbon. Accompanied initially by her two consorts (which she lost sight of at 00:45 on the 7th), the converted yacht reached her destination at 09:35 on 7 November.
End-of-war operations
At 13:50 on 11 November, while still at Lisbon undergoing repairs, Arcturus received word of the armisticeArmistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
, ending hostilities, and the admonition to naval vessels to maintain "all precautions against attack from submarines." Those enemy men-of-war were to be treated as "friendly unless hostilities are obvious."
Return to America
On 6 December, Arcturus embarked six passengers for transportation back to the U.S., and at 07:00 on the 7th got underway for home in company with , Surveyor, the Coast Guard cutters YamacrawUSS Trapper (ACM-9)
USS Trapper was a in the United States Navy in World War II.Trapper was built 1942 for the United States Army as USAMP Maj. Gen. Arthur Murray at Point Pleasant, West Virginia, by the Marietta Manufacturing Co.; acquired by the U.S...
, Druid and Wenonah. One day out of Ponta Delgada, Arcturus suffered the now-familiar problem with her condensers; and, while the other ships proceeded on, Surveyor stood by the ailing Arcturus on 11 December.
Subsequently encountering more condenser troubles occasioned by the pounding the ship was taking in the December gales, Arcturus had to be taken in tow by Surveyor on Christmas Day. Casting off on the 27th, Arcturus arrived at Grassy Bay under her own power the following day. On the last day of 1918, the yacht sailed for New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
on the last leg of her homeward-bound voyage.
Reaching New London on 3 January 1919, Arcturus spent over two months (with the exception of a trip to Melville, Rhode Island
Melville, Rhode Island
Melville is a village in the town of Portsmouth in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The village is also the basis of a census-designated place , which extends south along the shore of Narragansett Bay into the town of Middletown to encompass the village of Lawtons and the port...
and back on 4–5 January 1919, for coal) at the District Base, New London, assigned to the Atlantic Fleet's Reserve Squadron. Underway for New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on 25 March, the yacht moored at pier 72, East River
East River
The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...
, that evening. She moved to the navy yard two days later, for coal, and ultimately arrived at Ulmer Park Marine Basin, Brooklyn, New York, on 30 March.
Post-war decommissioning
Shifting briefly to the Staten Island Shipbuilding Co. at Mariners' Harbor, she returned to the Ulmer Park basin at noon on 2 May. Soon thereafter, Arcturus was simultaneously decommissioned on 5 May, struck from the Naval Vessel RegisterNaval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
, and turned over to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey.
Subsequent maritime career
Arcturus service with that agency proved to be short, since she was returned to the Navy on 15 January 1920 and ordered "inspected for sale." Sold to J. M. Scott of New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on 4 October, she resumed her prewar name, Artemis, and retained it for the rest of her days.
Sometime during 1924 or 1925, J. W. Hunter, a British subject, acquired Artemis, but passed ownership to another Briton, R. Rose, about a year later. Subsequently acquired by the Tropical Fruit and Steamship Co., a Honduran
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
firm, Artemis burned and sank in February 1927