USS Wheeling ( PG - 14 ) USS " Wheeling " ( PG - 14 ) was a " Wheeling " - class gunboat acquired by the U . S . Navy in 1897 . She served as a gunboat during the Spanish - American War as well as a convoy escort during World War I . As " IX - 28 " she also served as a schoolship for the training of Naval Reservists , and , at the end of World War II , just before being struck from the Navy records , she was temporarily assigned as a barracks ship for torpedo boat crews . Constructed in California . The first ship to be so named by the U . S . Navy , " Wheeling " ( Gunboat No . 14 ) was laid down on 11 April 1896 at San Francisco , California , by the Union Iron Works ; launched on 18 March 1897 ; sponsored by Miss Lucie S . Brown ; and commissioned on 10 August 1897 , Comdr . Uriel Sebree in command . Spanish - American War service . Following a cruise to the Hawaiian Islands in the fall of 1897 , " Wheeling " reported for duty in the northern Pacific Ocean and spent the entire period of the Spanish - American War patrolling the Alaskan coast and the Aleutian Islands . The vessel sustained major hull damage during patrols off the coast of Alaska . Far East operations . In the spring of 1899 , the gunboat was ordered to the Far East to reinforce the American fleet supporting operations to suppress the Philippine – American War . Until the spring of 1900 , the gunboat patrolled the islands , enforced the blockade , convoyed troop transports , and helped the U . S . Army maintain communications between its units operating on various islands of the archipelago . When the Boxer Rebellion broke out in March 1900 , " Wheeling " departed the Philippine Islands to patrol the northern coast of China . From 23 March to 9 May , she cruised the Chinese coast observing conditions in that strife - torn nation as she attempted to persuade Chinese officials to respect and protect foreigners resident in China . She and ships of European navies with similar missions spent most of their time at Taku , essentially the port city for Tientsin and Peking . On 9 May , she departed Taku and headed home , via Yokohama , Japan . The gunboat laid over at Yokohama from the 13th to the 22d and then headed back across the Pacific to North America . From early June to late August , she operated in the Aleutian Islands out of Dutch Harbor . On 25 August , she departed Dutch Harbor for a leisurely cruise south . Along the way , she visited a number of Alaskan ports and did not reach Bremerton , Washington , until 11 December . By 19 December , " Wheeling " was at Mare Island , California , conducting oceanographic surveys in that vicinity . Assigned as Samoan station ship . The gunboat operated at Mare Island until the beginning of 1902 , at which time she received orders to American Samoa for duty as station ship . After a cruise to Hawaii and the Philippines , " Wheeling " arrived in Samoa late in May . From that time until midyear 1904 , the gunboat cruised the Samoan group — erecting signal installations , performing survey work , and transporting passengers between the islands . On one occasion in January 1903 , she transported Dr . Wilhelm Solf — then governor of German Samoa and later foreign minister of Germany in Prince Max von Baden ' s interim government at the end of World War I — and his staff from Pago Pago to Apia . The warship continued her duties in the Samoan islands until 15 June 1904 at which time she set course for the United States . On 1 July , she was decommissioned at Bremerton , Washington , and was berthed at the Puget Sound Navy Yard . Reassigned to the Atlantic Ocean . After almost six years of inactivity , " Wheeling " was recommissioned at Puget Sound on 3 May 1910 , Comdr . Edward W . Eberle in command . In June , she made a brief cruise in Alaskan waters before starting on a voyage to Portsmouth , New Hampshire , in company with " Petrel " . During that voyage , she nearly circumnavigated the globe . Departing the west coast on 17 June , " Wheeling " sailed via Yokohama , Japan , and Singapore to the southern terminus of the Suez Canal . After transiting the canal , she steamed westward across the Mediterranean Sea , stopping at Genoa , Italy , and at the British colony at Gibraltar . On her way across the Atlantic , " Wheeling " made one stop — at Hamilton , Bermuda — before arriving in Portsmouth , New Hampshire , on 22 November . Caribbean operations . Following voyage repairs , the gunboat embarked upon almost six years of duty patrolling the troubled waters of the West Indies and the Gulf of Mexico . By mid - January 1911 , she was operating along the Central American coast . During 1911 and 1912 , she made numerous port visits in the Caribbean Sea while engaging in training operations . On 15 July 1913 , the gunboat anchored in the vicinity of Vera Cruz and Tampico , Mexico , to investigate reports of violence against Americans living there and remained to protect American property . From 15 February to 7 March 1914 , she plied waters off the Republic of Haiti to protect American citizens against guerrilla terrorists fighting the government , and from 7 to 13 March she was at Puerto Plata , Santo Domingo , with the President of Santo Domingo on board . When the threat of violence against Americans loomed at Vera Cruz once again in mid - 1914 , " Wheeling " sailed to that port and landed a force to protect Americans during the period 25 April to 30 June . Upon being detached from duty in Mexico , " Wheeling " proceeded to Portsmouth , New Hampshire , for repairs . She returned to the West Indies in mid - October 1914 and took station off the Republic of Haiti . During 1915 , " Wheeling " cruised between Haiti , Cuba , and Mexico showing the American flag for the benefit of various political groups in each country which were attempting to terrorize resident Americans . She patrolled the Mexican coast near Vera Cruz from 23 March to 16 June 1916 to aid Americans in case of any disturbances , and put in at Puerto Mexico , Mexico , on 17 June to embark American refugees driven from their homes by bandits . " Wheeling " remained in port six days and then sailed to Carmen , Mexico , where she anchored from 25 to 29 June and took on board more displaced Americans . The gunboat joined United States Army transport " Sumner " at Vera Cruz on 29 June 1916 and transferred her passengers to that ship . Between 9 October and 16 December 1916 , " Wheeling " returned to the waters off Vera Cruz to provide naval gunfire support to Army units operating ashore against Mexican bandits . World War I service . The beginning of 1917 found the warship still cruising the Mexican coast . When the United States entered World War I on 6 April , she rode at anchor at Vera Cruz . Later that month , she moved to Tampico , continuing her service with the Mexican patrol force until early in July . On the 10th , she headed for New Orleans , Louisiana , where she arrived on the 13th . After two weeks of extensive preparations for overseas service , the gunboat stood out of New Orleans on 31 July . After a stop at Key West , Florida , on 2 August , she continued her voyage to Hampton Roads , Virginia , where she arrived on the 6th . European operations . " Wheeling " cleared Hampton Roads on the 8th and shaped a course for Ponta Delgada in the Azores . Two days out to sea , she suffered a severe battering while trying to ride out a hurricane . The damage forced her return to the United States for repairs , and she entered the New York Navy Yard on 11 August . Following 18 days of repairs , she put to sea again , bound for Lewes , Delaware . " Wheeling " rendezvoused with destroyers " Truxtun " ( Destroyer No . 14 ) and " Whipple " ( Destroyer No . 15 ) there , and together , the three warships headed east on the 31st . The little group of ships stopped at Bermuda from 3 to 8 September then continued their voyage to Ponta Delgada where they arrived on the 16th . For the next seven months , the gunboat operated out of Ponta Delgada with the Patrol Force Azores Detachment . For the most part , she conducted uneventful patrols and convoyed Allied shipping between the Azores Islands and the Madeira Islands . On 15 April 1918 , she stood out of Ponta Delgada bound for Gibraltar . After a brief stop in the Canary Islands on the 19th , " Wheeling " arrived at the great British naval base on 22 April . Antisubmarine operations . For the remainder of the war , she operated out of Gibraltar escorting convoys between that place , Bizerte in North Africa , and Genoa in Italy . On 11 May , the convoy she was escorting lost one ship , " SS Susette Fraisinette " , to a torpedo fired by " UB - 52 " , which , in turn , was later sunk by the British submarine " H - 4 " while attempting to return to her base at Cattaro . Six days later on 17 May , another of her convoy ' s ships was lost to the combined efforts of " U - 39 " and " UB - 50 " . The first hint of trouble came at about 1848 that evening when " SS Sculptor " exploded , the victim of a torpedo from " U - 39 " . " Wheeling " went to general quarters immediately and rang up full speed . Initially , she concentrated on collecting the ships of the convoy , all of which had scattered in panic . At about 1915 , a lookout reported a submarine off the starboard bow , and " Wheeling " charged to the attack . She circled to the spot at which the supposed U - boat had last been seen and marked the location with a calcium light . From there , she circled outward dropping a total of six depth charge s — two of which failed to detonate . While " Wheeling " had been engaged in hunting " U - 39 " and in collecting the scattered convoy , " UB - 50 " joined the fracas . At about 2016 , the American warship witnessed a flash , then heard a report , to her port side , as " UB - 50 " ' s torpedo slammed into " SS Mavisbrook " . The gunboat stopped her engines and began rescue operations . Over the side went two Franklin life buoy s , two balsam rafts , and a dozen life belts . Just as she prepared to lower one of her boats to continue rescue duty , " Surveyor " appeared on the scene , assumed rescue duty , and released " Wheeling " to resume protection and collection of the convoy . For the remainder of the night , " Wheeling " listened to shots being fired sporadically but did not leave station . Unknown to the gunboat , " UB - 50 " also scored a hit on " SS Elswick Grange " , but the English steamer succeeded in making port under her own power . The convoy continued its voyage to Bizerte unmolested and reached port on 21 May . Upon arrival , " Wheeling " learned that severe damage had forced one of the two submarines which had attacked the convoy , " U - 39 " , to intern herself at Cartagena , Spain . Originally , the gunboat claimed that her depth charges had caused the damage , but that conclusion seems unlikely . German reports of the action make no mention of a depth charge attack and attribute all the damage to an attack by two British planes which occurred the following day . " Wheeling " spent the month of June at Gibraltar undergoing repairs . On Independence Day 1918 , she stood out of the harbor in the escort of a Bizerte - bound convoy which arrived safely on the 9th . She arrived back at Gibraltar with a return convoy on 14 July . Six days later , the gunboat started out on another escort mission which she completed uneventfully at Bizerte on the 24th . On the return voyage , her convoy once more ran afoul of " UB - 50 " when the U - boat sank " SS Magellan " early in the evening of the 25th . End - of - war operations . Compared to the events of May and July , the remainder of her wartime service proved tame and routine . On 5 August , she left Gibraltar with 21 merchantmen and three other escorts for Genoa . Six days later , the group arrived in port ; and , on 12 August , she put to sea with 12 steamers bound for Gibraltar . She made three voyages to Genoa during August , September , and October , followed by a final voyage to Bizerte before the war ended . Wheeling was in Gibraltar on 11 November when the armistice was signed ; and , 19 days later , she left that port and headed for Lisbon , Portugal , where she anchored on 2 December . Assigned as a training ship . Leaving Lisbon the following day , " Wheeling " returned to Gibraltar on 5 December and , two days later , sailed for the United States . She stopped at Ponta Delgada , Azores , between 12 and 17 December and spent the night of 27 and 28 December coaling at St . George in the British West Indies . Operating once again in the Caribbean Sea , " Wheeling " received orders in mid - 1919 to proceed to New Orleans , Louisiana , where she was decommissioned on 18 October 1919 . On 31 December of the same year , she was assigned to the 8th Naval District for the training of naval reservists . Wheeling received the designation PG - 14 on 17 July 1920 ; and , on the 17th , she was commissioned in the reserve fleet . Her classification was changed on 1 July 1921 to " IX - 28 " ; and , on 21 January 1923 , she received orders to the 3d Naval District to be used as the training vessel for the 6th Naval Reserve Battalion . " Wheeling " reached her new home port , New York City , on 14 July 1923 and remained there until after World War II . World War II service . The warship was assigned to the Secretary of the Navy on 17 February 1941 for disposition , and the Navy solicited bids on her scrapping . However , on 28 December 1942 , the order allowing her disposition was temporarily suspended , and the ship was ordered to be used as a berthing barge for motor torpedo boat crews manning newly built PT ' s in the New York area . Final decommissioning . On 13 February 1946 , " Wheeling " was placed out of service ; and on 8 March , she was declared ready for sale . Her name was struck from the Navy list on 28 March 1946 ; and , on 5 October 1946 , she was sold for scrap