Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online:
Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive

Aphrodite (SP 135)



Civilian call sign:
King - Nan - Watch - Fox
Patrol Yacht:

  • Built in 1898 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, ME
  • Acquired by the Navy 11 May 1917
  • Commissioned USS Aphrodite (SP 135), 5 June 1917 at New York
  • Decommissioned 12 July 1919 at Brooklyn, NY and returned to her owner
  • Renamed Aetos and Macedonia in 1933
  • Sunk by German aircraft 27 April 1941 in the Gulf of Corinth.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 1,500 t.
  • Length 302'
  • Beam 35' 6"
  • Draft 16' 6"
  • Speed 15 kts.
  • Complement 68
  • Armament: Four 3"/50 mounts and two machine guns
  • Propulsion: One 3,200ihp vertical triple-expansion engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Yacht Aphrodite
    Aphrodite 77k Photographed prior to World War I
    U.S. Navy photo NH 85133    		 Naval Historical Center
    Aphrodite 75k Photographed prior to World War I.
    Courtesy of Charles Sass, 1980.
    U.S. Navy photo NH 91435
    USS Aphrodite (SP 135)
    Aphrodite 89k Photographed from another converted yacht, while escorting a convoy during World War I
    U.S. Navy photo NH 57627    		 Naval Historical Center
    Aphrodite 59k Halftone reproduction of a photograph showing her at sea during World War I
    Courtesy of Alfred Cellier, 1977
    U.S. Navy photo NH 101998
    Aphrodite 78k Anchored off Harwich, England, while serving as station ship there, circa late 1918 or early 1919
    Taken by Coates, Harwich
    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2007
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 104493    		 Robert Hurst
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR Ralph Payne Craft, USN - USNA Class of 1902
    Awarded the Navy Cross (1918) - Retired as Captain    		5 June 1917
    02LCDR Thomas Baxter, USN - USNA Class of 1911
    Awarded the Navy Cross (1918) - Retired as Commander    		1918
    03CAPT Frederick C. Billard, USCG - School of Instruction of the Revenue Cutter Service Class of 1878
    Awarded the Navy Cross (1918) - Retired as Rear Admiral    		1918 - 1919
    Courtesy Joe Radigan
    View the Aphrodite (SP 135)
    DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command
    Back To The Main Photo Index Back to the Section Patrol Craft (SP) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster
    This page created by Joseph M. Radigan and maintained by David Wright
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History