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Patrol Yacht Photo Archive

Crystal (PY-25)



Call sign (1944):
Nan - Baker - Mike - Baker

Patrol Yacht:

  • Built by Pusey and Jones, Wilmington, DE (YN 1042)
  • Launched, 07 October 1929
  • Completed for W.O. Briggs, Detroit, MI, as yacht Cambronia (ON 229626), May 1930
  • Sold to Erle P. Halliburton and renamed Vida, 1938
  • Acquired by the Navy, 15 January 1942
  • Commissioned USS Crystal (PY-25), 21 February 1942
  • Decommissioned at San Francisco, CA, 06 March 1946
  • Transferred to the Maritime Commission for disposal, 02 April 1947
  • Sold to Cayman Islands Co., Ltd., George Town, Cayman Islands as Crystal (British ON 171281), 1947
  • Used as a freighter and passenger vessel in Central and South America waters
  • Stripped in jamaica, 1966
  • Final disposition, broken up at Pinto Island Metals Co., Mobile, AL, September 1969

    Specifications:

  • Length 225'
  • Beam 34'
  • Draft 13'
  • Speed 18 kts.
  • Armament: Two 3"/50 dual purpose gun mounts
  • Propulsion: Two 422bhp Winton diesel engines, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image
    Size Image Description Source
    Motor Yacht Vida
    Vida 118k
    Vida 118k
    Vida 118k
    Crystal
    12132506
    77k As Vida, location unknown, 1939.
    Photo from Lindell Dillon's Flickr
    John Spivey
    USS Crystal (PY 25)
    Crystal 24k Namesake: A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macroscopic single crystals are usually identifiable by their geometrical shape, consisting of flat faces with specific, characteristic orientations. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography. The process of crystal formation via mechanisms of crystal growth is called crystallization or solidification. The word crystal derives from the Ancient Greek word (krustallos), meaning both "ice" and "rock crystal", from (kruos), "icy cold, frost" Tommy Trampp>
    Crystal 101k c. 1942
    Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1975
    U.S. Navy photo NH 83297
    Naval History and Heritage Command

    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR Ottar B. Drotning, USNR, Ret.21 February 1942 - December 1944
    02LT John A. Merriman, USNRDecember 1944 - July 1945
    03LT John K. Cowperthwaite, USNRJuly 1945 - September 1945
    04LT Peter W. Leroux, USNRSeptember 1945 - 6 March 1946
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler

    View the Crystal (PY 25)
    DANFS History entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command Website
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    This page created by Gary P. Priolo and maintained by Dave Wright
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    Last Updated 09 June 2024