USS Scorpion ( PY - 3 ) The fourth USS " Scorpion " was a steam yacht in commission in the United States Navy from 1898 to 1899 , 1899 to 1901 , and 1902 to 1927 . Construction and acquisition . " Scorpion " was built in 1896 as " Sovereign " , a two - masted schooner - rigged , 775 - ton , steel steam yacht , for M . C . D . Borden by John N . Robins , South Brooklyn , New York . The U . S . Navy purchased her on 7 April 1898 for service in the Spanish - American War . Renamed USS " Scorpion " , she was commissioned on 11 April 1898 with Lieutenant Commander Adolph Marix in command . Service history . Spanish - American War . Following commissioning , " Scorpion " proceeded to Hampton Roads , Virginia , where she joined the Flying Squadron on 1 May 1898 and prepared for duty in the Caribbean . On 22 May , she arrived with the squadron off Cienfuegos , Cuba , then continued on to the Santiago de Cuba area with dispatches for ships scouting off that port . On 25 May , she returned to Cienfuegos , patrolled there on blockade duty until the next day , then departed for Key West , Florida , for coal and water . On 7 June , " Scorpion " headed south , escorted a provisions ship and an ammunition ship to Santiago de Cuba , then , until 22 June , performed blockade duties off the harbor there . On 22 June , she assisted in clearing the beach at Daiquirí in preparation for a United States Army landing and , on 23 June , carried out a similar mission at Siboney . On 24 June , she resumed blockade duties off Santiago de Cuba . On 30 June , she shifted to Cape Cruz , and on 1 July she joined the armed tug in an unsuccessful attack on Spanish gunboat s in Manzanillo harbor . After the attack , she retired to waters off the entrance , captured a provisions lighter , and patrolled there until 5 July . " Scorpion " then proceeded to Guantanamo Bay for water , coal , provisions , and ammunition . She returned to Manzanillo on 11 July , and , on 18 July , participated in another attack that destroyed all Spanish Government vessels then in the harbor . After the second attack on Manzanillo , " Scorpion " resumed blockade duties , continued them until 3 August , then returned to Guantanamo Bay , whence she carried dispatches for the remainder of the war , which ended on 13 August . Pre World War I . On 27 November , " Scorpion " departed Cuban waters . A month later , she arrived at New York and , on 14 January 1899 , she was decommissioned in preparation for conversion to a gunboat . Recommissioned on 22 August 1899 , " Scorpion " was assigned to the Isthmian Canal Commission and ordered to Central America . Into the spring of 1900 , she remained in the Caribbean as the Commission investigated the proposed canal routes . In June 1900 , she returned to the United States , operated off the northeast coast into the autumn of 1900 , then resumed operations in the Caribbean . From November 1900 - May 1901 , she cruised off Hispaniola . In June 1901 , she arrived at Boston , Massachusetts , and , on 24 July , she was again decommissioned . On 1 July 1902 , " Scorpion " was recommissioned and assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron . For the next six years , she carried dispatches and personnel , conducted hydrographic surveys , and participated in exercises along the United States East Coast and in the Caribbean , operating primarily off Santo Domingo during 1906 and 1907 . Ordered to the Mediterranean in 1908 , " Scorpion " sailed from Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , on 22 October 1908 . On 4 December 1908 , she arrived at Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire to take up duties as station ship , but she was ordered to Messina , Italy to assist in relief efforts for the survivors of an earthquake there . She supported International Medical Service efforts from 3 – 8 January 1909 , then steamed back to the Ottoman Empire . From 10 February - 15 July , she was at Naples , Italy , for repairs . She returned to Constantinople on 20 July and assumed station ship duties , which included work for the U . S . Embassy . From 27 November 1910 – 28 January 1912 , she was at Trieste in Austria - Hungary for extensive repairs , and in February 1912 she returned to Constantinople . In August 1912 , she assisted earthquake victims in the Ottoman Empire and , in October 1912 , as the First Balkan War broke out , she commenced operations to assist Americans caught in disputed areas . On 18 November , the Diplomatic Corps resident in Constantinople decided to land 2 , 500 men and 26 guns to protect foreign residents and their interests from rioting . In addition to detachments from British , French , German , Italian , and Russian warships , " Scorpion " landed a small detail to guard the U . S . Legation . The men from " Scorpion " reembarked on 3 December . Throughout the First Balkan War , which lasted six months , and the Second Balkan War , which followed in the summer of 1913 , " Scorpion " continued to protect American interests . After the two wars , she assisted the international commissions which gave aid to refugees and displaced person s . World War I . World War I began in August 1914 , and in November 1914 the Ottoman Empire entered it on the side of the Central Powers . During the first years of the war , the Ottoman government held the " Scorpion " at Constantinople . The U . S . entered the war on the side of the Allies on 6 April 1917 , and , on 11 April , the government interned " Scorpion " . Under Ottoman Turkish guard from 15 November , she was allowed to assist British personnel released from prisoner - of - war camps in the interior of the Ottoman Empire during late October 1918 . The armistice that ended the participation of the Ottoman Empire in World War I went into force on 28 October 1918 , and on 9 November , the Ottoman Empire allowed " Scorpion " to resume her previous activities and soon thereafter she began assisting the many refugees in the area . Post - war . With the arrival at Constantinople of Rear Admiral Mark L . Bristol , U . S . High Commissioner to the Ottoman Empire and Senior U . S . Naval Officer in Turkish Waters , " Scorpion " assumed duties as flagship and dispatch vessel , continuing , at the same time , her station ship and relief work . Redesignated PY - 3 in 1920 when the U . S . Navy instituted its alphanumeric hull classification system , she shifted to Phaleron Bay , Greece , in November 1923 and took up duties as station ship in the eastern Mediterranean . In late 1926 , Commander Moses B . Byington took command . On 16 June 1927 , she departed the Mediterranean under Commander Byington and steamed west to return to the U . S . On 11 July , she arrived at Philadelphia . Final decommissioning and disposal . " Scorpion " was decommissioned at Philadelphia on 27 October 1927 , and was struck from the Navy List on 23 March 1929 . Following this , she was sold to the Boston Iron and Metal Company of Baltimore , Maryland on 25 June .