USS Aloha ( SP - 317 ) USS " Aloha " ( SP - 317 ) was a United States Navy patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1919 . Construction , acquisition , and commissioning . " Aloha " was built as a private steel - hulled , single - screw , bark - rigged steam yacht in 1910 by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company at Quincy , Massachusetts , for " Commodore " Arthur Curtiss James ( 1867 – 1941 ) , an industrialist , railroad magnate , and yachtsman . She was the second yacht of the name built for James , was designed for ocean cruising , and had a large crew of 39 . For her maiden voyage in 1910 , James took her to England and Scotland . In 1911 he sailed her to Panama and Ireland , and to Egypt and the Near East in 1912 and 1913 . The outbreak of World War I in Europe in July 1914 curtailed his voyages . On 22 April 1917 , after the United States had entered the war earlier that month , the U . S . Navy acquired " Aloha " from James under a free lease for use as a patrol vessel during the war . She was commissioned on 5 June 1917 as USS " Aloha " ( SP - 317 ) . Career . Soon after commissioning , " Aloha " was assigned to serve as flagship for Rear Admiral Cameron McRae Winslow ( 1854 – 1932 ) , Inspector of Naval Districts , East Coast . No record of " Aloha " s activities during 1917 has survived . On the morning of 1 January 1918 , while " Aloha " lay moored at the Norfolk Navy Yard at Portsmouth , Virginia , a fire broke out in downtown Norfolk , Virginia , which quickly spread to engulf almost two city block s . The city ' s civil authorities soon requested help from the Navy , which dispatched men from Norfolk Naval Base and ships nearby . " Aloha " contributed 12 men under a Chief Boatswain ' s Mate Whalton to the efforts that ultimately succeeded in bringing the stubborn blaze under control , although not before it did $ 2 , 000 , 000 ( USD ) in damage . The civil government , fearing " incendiaries , " or German agents , suggested that naval guards were required as well . " Aloha " sent a detachment of 15 sailor s under an Ensign Hall , USNRF , on the morning of 2 January 1918 as the Navy placed Norfolk briefly under martial law in the wake of the blaze . They remained ashore only a short time before returning to their ship shortly before noon on 2 January . " Aloha " remained at Norfolk until 23 February 1918 , when she got underway with Rear Admiral Winslow embarked . She reached Key West , Florida , on 28 February 1918 . Over the next few months , " Aloha " touched at ports along the southeastern United States East Coast and on the United States Gulf Coast , ranging from Key West and Pensacola , Florida , to Galveston , Texas , and New Orleans , Louisiana . Rear Admiral Winslow , usually accompanied by his aide , an Ensign Ackert , USNRF , and a Chief Yeoman Timmermann , conducted inspections of Coastal Air Station Miami and Naval Reserve Training Camp Miami at Miami , Florida ; Naval Station New Orleans ; the naval defenses of Tampa , Florida ; Naval Station Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Navy Yard at Jacksonville , Florida ; and the training camp at Charleston , South Carolina . " Aloha " then underwent voyage repairs at Charleston from 15 April to 17 May 1918 . " Aloha " shifted to Hampton Roads , Virginia , on 20 May 1918 , where Rear Admiral Winslow inspected the training camp at Naval Base Hampton Roads . On 22 May 1918 , while " Aloha " lay anchored in Hampton Roads , a lighthouse tender hailed her and asked if she could care for an aviator she had picked up who had met with an accident . Fortunately , the pilot proved to be uninjured , so he was sent to Naval Aviation Base Norfolk by motor launch . " Aloha " spent the remainder of May 1918 in the Tidewater area of Virginia before she departed for points north . She transferred Rear Admiral Winslow to patrol vessel USS " Edorea " ( SP - 549 ) on 1 June 1918 so he could inspect Naval Base Lewes at Lewes , Delaware , but he returned on board that afternoon . " Aloha " then coaled at the Philadelphia Navy Yard at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , on 3 June 1918 before returning to Hampton Roads , via Lewes , on 8 June 1918 . She then cruised in the Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay area for the balance of June 1918 before heading north for New York City , where , on 6 July 1918 , Captain H . D . Hinckley of the United States Coast Guard relieved Lieutenant Swift as commanding officer . " Aloha " spent much of the summer of 1918 in waters off the northeastern United States , at Port Jefferson , New York ; New London , Connecticut ; Newport , Rhode Island ; Machias and Boothbay , Maine ; Portsmouth , New Hampshire ; and Gloucester , Massachusetts , before arriving at the Boston Navy Yard in Boston , Massachusetts , for a major refit on 27 August 1918 . During this period of repairs and alterations , which lasted through September and October 1918 , she received additional armament in the form of two 4 - inch ( 102 - millimeter ) guns . After departing the Boston Navy Yard on 5 November 1918 , " Aloha " spent much of the ensuing passage to Shelburne , Nova Scotia , Canada , under sail and arrived at Shelburne on 7 November 1918 . Returning to Boston on 10 November 1918 , " Aloha " was lying moored there when the armistice with Germany ending hostilities was signed on 11 November 1918 . The remainder of " Aloha " s Navy career was spent alternately at Newport , Rhode Island , and at New London and New Haven , Connecticut , before she arrived back at New York City on 14 December 1918 , shifting her berth to a point off Pier 72 , East 25th Street , New York City , on 15 December 1918 . She remained there until 10 January 1919 . Decommissioning . " Aloha " entered the New York Navy Yard at Brooklyn , New York , on 10 January 1919 . Shipyard workmen removed her guns on 11 January 1918 . Returning to her anchorage off Pier 72 , Aloha spent the next few days undergoing the initial stage of the transformation from warship to yacht in anticipation of her return to Arthur Curtiss James ; her crew cleaned the ship , shined brightwork , and landed such paraphernalia as flag mess gear , chairs , and an oval table from the admiral ' s cabin at pier 72 . Her conversion back into a yacht was almost complete when on 29 January 1919 her crew mustered aft and Captain Hinckley read the orders from the Commandant , 3rd Naval District , decommissioning " Aloha " . Down came the admiral ' s flag — Rear Admiral Winslow had maintained " Aloha " as his flagship to the very last moment — and the national colors , and a representative of James signed a receipt for the yacht . Later career . Over the ensuing months , James had " Aloha " converted back to her full , pre - war splendor . During 1921 and 1922 , he took her around the world ; in 1925 she cruised the Mediterranean ; in 1927 she went to England , the Baltic Sea , and the Netherlands ; and in 1930 , she again went to the Mediterranean . " Aloha " appeared at New York City during the Presidential Review of 31 May 1934 . Famous in her time and the only bark - rigged yacht of her size afloat , " Aloha " was scrapped in 1938 .