The first USS Volador (IX-59), was a wooden-hulled schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 of 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 II.

The schooner was designed by William Gardiner and built in 1926 at Wilmington, California, by William Müller and Company. The vessel was acquired for the Navy by the Port Director, San Pedro, California, from W. L. Valentine, on 2 February 1942. Delivered to the Section Base, San Pedro, on that day, Volador was classified as a miscellaneous auxiliary, unclassified, IX-59, and was placed "in service" on 19 February 1942.

Service history

Homeported at San Pedro, Volador operated locally under the aegis of the 11th Naval District into 1943. In July of that year, she was temporarily transferred to the Coast Guard

United States Coast Guard

The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...

 for operational training duties for Coast Guard district personnel. On 17 August 1943, Volador was delivered to the War Shipping Administration

War Shipping Administration

The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....

 which transferred the schooner to the War Department

United States Department of War

The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...

 for operation by the U.S. Army. Volador was struck from the Navy List

Naval 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...

on 3 September 1943.