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Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive

HMCS Wolf (Z 16)
ex-HMCS Wolf (S 16)



HMCS Wolf call sign:
Charlie - George - King - Jig



Blue Water call sign:
William - Tare - Xray - Mike

ex-USS Wenonah (PY 11)
ex-USC&GS Wenonah



Navy call sign (1921):
Nan - Jig - Jig

ex-USS Wenonah (SP 165)



Navy call sign (1919):
George - Sail - Mike - Pup



Winonah call sign (1931):
Love - Fox - Mike - Sail

Call sign (1933):
William - George - Easy - Love

Wenonah served both the U. S. Navy and the Coast and Geodetic Survey

Wenonah served the Navies of the United States and Canada

Patrol Yacht:

  • Built in 1915 by George Lawley and Sons, Neponset, MA
  • Acquired by the Navy 18 August 1917
  • Commissioned USS Wenonah (SP 165), 23 October 1917
  • Decommissioned 12 April 1919 at New York, transferred to the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey and commissioned USC&GS Wenonah
  • Returned to Navy custody in October 1922
  • Reclassified as a Patrol Yacht, PY-11, 22 September 1923
  • Struck from the Navy list 20 January 1928
  • Sold 15 May 1929 to H. W. Goodall of Santa Barbara, CA and renamed Stranger
  • Registered in 1931 to Edwina Maxine Goodell of San Francisco, CA as the yacht Wenonah
  • Registered in 1933 to Fred E. Lewis of Spadra, CA as the yacht Stranger
  • Sold in 1938 to Mrs. Marian Huntingdon of San Francisco and renamed Blue Water
  • Sold in 1939 to E. A. Riddell on behalf of the Royal Canadian Navy
  • Commissioned HMCS Wolf (S 16), 2 October 1940
  • Reclassified Z-16
  • Decommissioned 16 May 1945 and laid up at Indian Arm, Bedwell Bay, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • Sold 15 July 1946 to the Gulf Line of Vancouver and renamed Gulf Stream
  • Wrecked 11 October 1947 on Dinner Rock, Powell River, British Columbia.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 470 t.
    1931 - 290 t.
    1940 - 320 t.
  • Length 163'
    1931 - 143.4'
    1940 - 172'
  • Beam 22' 10"
    1931 - 22.8'
    1940 - 23'
  • Draft 10' 1"
    1931 - 12.6'
    1940 - 10'
  • Speed 10 kts.
  • Complement 65
    1931 - 14
    1940 - 43
  • Armament: Two 3"/50 mounts and two machine guns
    1940 - One 12-pounder and one 2-pounder
  • Propulsion: Two Almy boilers, one 500hp vertical triple expansion steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Yacht Wenonah
    Wenonah 65k Photographed prior to World War I
    U.S. Navy photo NH 48478    		 Naval Historical Center
    USS Wenonah (SP 165)
    Wenonah 83k Wenonah all rigged out for World War I service in her fashionable camouflage and with guns mounted on her fore and after decks
    Courtesy of Sea Magazine from "The Armed Yachts of Canada", by Fraser McKee    		 Robert Hurst
    Wenonah 105k En route from Bermuda to the Azores in November 1917. The converted yacht in the center appears to be Wenonah.
    Photographed from USS Margaret (SP-527) by Raymond D. Borden.
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 46599
    Wenonah 87k Wenonah steams through heavy seas while en route from Bermuda to the Azores in November 1917.
    Photographed from USS Margaret (SP-527) by Raymond D. Borden.
    U.S. Navy photo NH 48479    		 Naval Historical Center
    Wenonah 115k Seen from USS Margaret (SP-527) while steaming through heavy seas en route from Bermuda to the Azores, November 1917
    Photographed by Raymond D. Borden
    U.S. Navy photo NH 48482
    USC&GS Wenonah
    Wenonah 120k . NOAA Website
    Wenonah 106k 3 June 1919
    Yacht Blue Water
    Wenonah 98k Blue Water tied up pierside while owned by Marian Huntingdon of San Francisco
    Courtesy of the Public Archives of Canada from "The Armed Yachts of Canada", by Fraser McKee    		 Robert Hurst
    HMCS Wolf (Z 16)
    Wenonah 63k Joe Radigan
    Wenonah 73k HMCS Wolf at Nanoose Bay, Vancouver Island, September 1940
    Courtesy of D. L. Johnston from "The Armed Yachts of Canada", by Fraser McKee    		 Robert Hurst
    SS Gulf Stream
    Wenonah 92k Gulf Stream on her side on Dinner Rock, off Powell River, British Columbia, in October 1947
    Courtesy of A. C. Rogers from "The Armed Yachts of Canada", by Fraser McKee    		 Robert Hurst
    Commanding Officers - USS Wenonah (SP 165)
    01LT Henry Grafton Fuller, NNV/USN - USNA Class of 1906
    Awarded the Navy Cross (1918) - Retired as Lieutenant Commander    		22 October 1917
    02LCDR Warren Frederick Purdy, USN - Awarded the Navy Cross (1918)1918
    03LCDR Paul Earnest Speicher, USN - USNA Class of 1908
    Awarded the Navy Cross (1919) - Retired as Captain    		1918 - 1919
    04LT Samuel W. Fay, USNRF1919
    05LTJG(T) Foster M. Hampton, USN1919
    Commanding Officers - HMCS Wolf (Z 16)
    01LT John Alexander Gow, RCNR2 October 1940 - 21 April 1941
    02LT James McNeil Richardson, RCNR22 April 1941 - 18 September 1941
    03LT Walter Raymond Chaster, RCNR6 October 1941 - 21 April 1943
    04LT George Francis Cassidy, RCNR22 April 1943 - 22 May 1943
    05LT Walter Raymond Chaster, RCNR23 May 1943 - 16 May 1945
    Courtesy Joe Radigan
    View the Wenonah (PY 11)
    DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command website
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