USS Wakiva II ( SP - 160 ) USS " Wakiva II " ( SP - 160 ) , often referred to as USS " Wakiva , was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy from 1917 to 1918 and saw combat in World War I . She was originally the yacht SS " Wakiva II built for Lamon V . Harkness in Scotland . " Wakiva II " served as a convoy escort out of Brest , France , and had several encounters with German submarines . The ship received credit for a " probably seriously damaged " submarine in November 1917 . While escorting a convoy in May 1918 in fog , " Wakiva II " was accidentally rammed and sunk by . Two men aboard " Wakiva II " were lost in the collision and sinking . Navy career . " Wakiva II " was a steel - hulled steam yacht built in the United Kingdom at Leith , Scotland , by Ramage and Ferguson for Lamon V . Harkness . She was launched on 3 February 1907 , and served first Lamon Harkness and then his son Harry in the days before World War I . While owned by the Harkness family , " Wakiva II " ranged from the North Sea to the Netherlands East Indies . After the United States entered World War I , the United States Navy acquired " Wakiva II " on 20 July 1917 and commissioned her as USS " Wakiva II " on 6 August 1917 at the Boston Navy Yard in Boston , Massachusetts , Lieutenant Commander Thomas R . Kurtz in command . While shipwright s were still laboring to complete the conversion of the erstwhile pleasure craft to a man - of - war for " distant service , " Captain Thomas P . Magruder made " Wakiva II " his flagship as Commander , Squadron Four , Patrol Force , on 18 August 1917 . Necessary alterations complete , " Wakiva II " departed Boston on 25 August 1917 bound for Provincetown , Massachusetts , in company with six French submarine chaser s and the remainder of the squadron — a collection of converted fishing vessel s and patrol boat s . The ships departed Provincetown 26 August 1917 for France . " Wakiva II " paused at Ponta Delgada in the Azores from 6 September 1917 to 11 September 1917 , towing part of the distance from the United States , due to a breakdown in " P . K . Bauman " s propulsion system , and arrived at Brest , France , on 18 September 1917 . On 27 September 1917 , Captain Magruder hauled down his pennant to establish headquarters ashore . Released from flagship duty , " Wakiva II " soon commenced her convoy watchdog duties on the high seas on 28 September 1917 , putting to sea to meet a convoy west of Ushant , France . " Wakiva II " operated on patrol and escort duty out of Brest from the autumn of 1917 . On 28 October 1917 , when transport was torpedoed , " Wakiva II " and armed yacht teamed to pick up survivors , standing towards the damaged ship soon after she was hit . " Wakiva II " lowered two boats and manned one of the transport ' s lifeboats , eventually rescuing 126 men before setting course for Brest . On 23 November 1917 , the yacht ' s lookouts sighted an object distant which looked initially like a submarine ' s conning tower . Going to general quarters , the yacht sped towards the contact and commenced fire with her forward guns . After the warship had loosed seven shots , a closer investigation disclosed that the object of their attack — which resulted in the destruction of the object — was a convincingly painted target . " Wakiva II " had her first actual head - to - head encounter with the enemy within a week . She sailed from Saint - Nazaire , France , on 28 November 1917 to join up with a westbound convoy . The passage proceeded uneventfully until oiler fired off two Very pistol stars and sounded a loud blast on her siren . Thus alerted , " Wakiva II " sounded general quarters and rang down for full speed ahead . While armed yacht also closed to screen the vulnerable and valuable " Kanawha " on the starboard side , " Wakiva II " took up station on the port beam . Thirty minutes of painstaking search revealed nothing to the hunters , however , and the three ships returned to the van of the convoy . No sooner had the search been discontinued when " Noma " suddenly sounded another alarm and dropped a depth charge on what her lookouts felt was a submarine . Her crew at general quarters , " Wakiva II " sped to the scene to assist in the hunt and , at 19 : 02 hours , while still from " Noma " , sighted a periscope away . Putting over hard - a - port , " Wakiva II " commenced fire with her after guns . Her third salvo was thought to have sheared the periscope . As the yacht passed over the suspected submarine the second time , she dropped a depth charge barrage , all of which exploded and sent fuel oil and debris to the surface , indicating that they had heavily hit the enemy submersible . Two hits on the wreckage , fired from number one gun , added the " coup de grace " to what appeared to be a shattered submarine . " Wakiva II " made a third pass and sighted three men clinging to wreckage , but by the time the yacht had come full circle , all that remained was the heavy smell of fuel oil and bits and pieces of wreckage on the surface of the sea . The commanding officer of " Wakiva II " glowingly praised his crew ' s performance in the subsequent after - action report , noting their work as a " perfect fighting unit . " He wrote that his men showed " admirable coolness and courage , " and did not manifest any nervousness or inefficiency . " Wakiva II " , while receiving credit for only a " probably seriously damaged " submarine , by the British Admiralty , nonetheless was commended by Vice Admiral Henry B . Wilson , commanding naval forces on the coast of France , and Admiral William S . Sims , commanding United States Naval Forces in European waters . On 12 February 1918 , " Wakiva II " , while in company with armed yachts and , sighted a submarine running on the surface dead astern . Signalling the report of the sighting to the three ships in the small convoy , U . S . Navy cargo ship , and merchant ships , and — " Wakiva II " commenced fire with number two and four guns , checking fire momentarily to avoid hitting " Florence H . " , which was steaming just beyond where the enemy submarine had suddenly appeared . The U - boat quickly submerged , and the yacht remained at the scene for 90 minutes before abandoning the search . " Wakiva II " maintained a schedule of patrol and escort out of Brest through the late winter . Sinking . On 21 May 1918 , " Wakiva II " steamed in convoy with a group of eight ships on the port flank , heading eastward from the French coast . As fog set in shortly after sunset , speed was reduced . The ships crept along with " Wakiva II " taking station on the freighter . Zigzagging ceased with the onset of the murky weather , and " Noma " sent a message to the convoy commodore , in the U . S . Army transport , to this effect . By 03 : 00 hours on the 22 May , visibility improved — but only briefly — before the convoy slipped into another fog bank . The sounds of whistles from the loosely assembled shipping could be heard aboard " Wakiva II " and , at 03 : 10 hours , those on watch in " Wakiva II " distinctly heard " Wabash " s whistle but could not see the ship . As another blast from the cargo vessel sounded even closer soon thereafter , Lieutenant Commander E . G . Allen , commanding the yacht , ordered the helm put over to port one point ( 11 . 25 degrees ) , and the whistle sounded . Ten seconds later , " Wabash " loosed another blast , even closer . Suddenly , the shape of the cargo vessel loomed out of the mist and bore down on " Wakiva II " . Ringing down full speed ahead , Allen ordered a turn to port , but before the helm could be put over , " Wabash " s bow tore into the yacht ' s starboard quarter , just abaft the mainmast and forward of the after guns , and ripped a mortal gash in the " Wakiva II " s side from the main deck down to the propeller shaft . On board " Wakiva II " , there had been barely enough time to reach the general alarm . The collision threw both ships briefly on parallel courses , carrying away " Wabash " s starboard boats . Both ships also hung together briefly before parting , with the cargo vessel slowly going astern . While two men were lost on board " Wakiva II " , individual acts of heroism occurred simultaneously . Upon feeling the shock of the collision and hearing the general alarm , Chief Gunner ' s Mate Oliver P . Cooper , USNRF , ran aft to the fantail where the depth charges were secured , withdrew the bursting pins from the British naval mine s stored there , and set the American depth charges on " safe ; " he reported that all was " secure " within five minutes of the collision . Electrician Second Class Charles E . Kirkpatrick , USNRF , on watch in the ship ' s radio room , remained at his post and sent out the SOS , remaining on board until abandoning at the last possible moment . Chief Boatswain ' s Mate Thomas Olson , USNRF , rigged out the motor whaleboat and rousted out men from below decks , and then , along with the captain , inspected and cleared the ship . Below , as the engine room filled with water , Machinist Mate First Class Charles A . A . Smith began to start the pumps before realizing that at the rate at which the water was cascading in through the rent in the ship ' s side , the pumps could not hold their own . As " Wakiva II " sank by the stern , the captain and his crew pulled clear in the ship ' s boats at 03 : 30 hours . " Wakiva II " disappeared beneath the waves at 03 : 36 hours , as " Wabash " simultaneously lowered her undamaged boats and assisted in picking up survivors from the yacht .