USS YP-422 was a 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...

 yard patrol (YP) boat that served 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...

 in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 from 1942 to 1943. Built in 1941 as the fishing trawler Mist, it was acquired by the US Navy in June 1942 and was converted for naval use by George Lawley & Son

George Lawley & Son

George Lawley & Son was a shipbuilding firm operating in Massachusetts from 1866 to 1945. It began in Scituate, then moved to Boston. After founder George Lawley retired in 1890, his son, grandson and great-grandson upheld the business, which continued until 1945...

 of Neponset, Massachusetts

Neponset, Massachusetts

Neponset, Massachusetts is a district in the southeast corner of Dorchester, Massachusetts which is the most populous neighborhood of Boston....

. It was commissioned on July 28, 1942 and was put into service to patrol the waters around the Boston Navy Yard

Boston Navy Yard

The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...

. The vessel was lightly armed with a 3-inch gun and two .30 caliber machine guns.

Service history

YP-422 was briefly commanded by L. Ron Hubbard

L. Ron Hubbard

Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...

, the controversial founder of Scientology

Scientology

Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...

, who was supervising the conversion in his capacity as a US Navy lieutenant. He was relieved of his command a few weeks after YP-422 underwent a 27-hour training exercise in August 1942. A despatch sent by the Commandant of the Boston Navy Yard described Hubbard as "not temperamentally fitted for independent command" and he was removed from command on October 1, 1942.

In 1943 YP-422 was dispatched to the Pacific theater of operations to support the Solomon Islands campaign

Solomon Islands campaign

The Solomon Islands campaign was a major campaign of the Pacific War of World War II. The campaign began with Japanese landings and occupation of several areas in the British Solomon Islands and Bougainville, in the Territory of New Guinea, during the first six months of 1942...

. However, she was lost on April 23, 1943, after foundering on Tumbo Reef, three miles south-east of the entrance to North Bulari Passage, New Caledonia

New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

.