HMCS Tuna
HMCS "Tuna was a commissioned torpedo boat of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) that served during the First World War. Built as the high-speed civilian yacht Tarantula", the vessel was one of several converted yachts the RCN used during the war. Following the war, the ship was discarded and stripped. Design and description. Originally constructed as a civilian yacht, "Tarantula" was among the first turbine-powered private yachts. The hull was similar to the torpedo boats that Yarrow Shipbuilders had constructed for the Royal Navy. The ship was modeled on , the first turbine-powered ship. The yacht  had a gross register tonnage (GRT) of 124 and was long with a beam of and a draught of . The ship had a maximum speed of thanks to her turbine engines. Construction and career. Built by Yarrow Shipbuilders in the United Kingdom, "Tarantula" was ordered by W.K. Vanderbilt, Jr. and launched in 1902. Vanderbilt used the yacht for commuting in and around New York City. In August 1914, Jack Ross, a Canadian industrialist and millionaire, purchased "Tarantula" from Vanderbilt. At the time the United States had forbidden the sale of any vessel capable of being used by those nations fighting  in World War I at the time. Ross arranged for her to be fitted out in the United States in secret and arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia on 10 September after sailing with her civilian crew. Ross sold the ship for $1 to the RCN and offered to re-purchase the ship if the ship was still functional at war's end. She was designated as a torpedo boat after the installation of two torpedo tubes and a gun. The ship was commissioned on 5 December 1914 as HMCS "Tuna", with Ross in command. The ship was assigned to  patrol duties based out of Halifax, she was a common sight in Bedford Basin. In July 1916, "Tuna" underwent an overhaul at Sorel, Quebec. On 10 May 1917 "Tuna" was paid off due to an irreparable engine mount fracture. She was sold for salvage in June 1918, and stripped. Her hull remained in Halifax's Northwest Arm until the 1930s.