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Patrol Yacht Photo Archive

Jade (PY 17)



Call sign:
Nan - Baker - Fox - How


Jade served the Navies of the United States and Ecuador
Patrol Yacht:

  • Built in 1926 as Athero II by George Lawley and Sons, Neponset, MA
  • Renamed Caroline and Doctor Brinkley
  • Purchased by the Navy in December 1940
  • Commissioned USS Jade (PY 17), 16 March 1941 at Jacksonville, FL
  • Transferred to Ecuador 24 May 1943 at Salinas, Ecuador
  • Returned to U.S. custody 29 January 1944
  • Decommissioned and placed in service 6 April 1944 at San Francisco, CA
  • Placed out of service 30 December 1944 at Tiburon, CA
  • Transferred 12 January 1946 to the Maritime Commission for disposal
  • Renamed Santa Maria in 1947
  • Sank in 1948.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 582 t.
  • Length 171'
  • Beam 27' 6"
  • Draft 13'
  • Speed 14 kts.
  • Complement 26
  • Armament: One 3" mount, four .30 cal. machine guns and two depth charge tracks
  • Propulsion: Two 800hp Bessemer diesel engines, two shafts.

    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Motor Yacht Doctor Brinkley
    Jade 218k Photographed prior to World War II
    Courtesy of D. M. McPherson, 1974
    U.S. Navy photo NH 81386    		 Naval History and Heritage Command
    USS Jade (PY 17)
    Jade 19k
    Namesake:

    Jade refers to an ornamental mineral, mostly known for its green varieties. It can refer to either of two different minerals: nephrite, a silicate of calcium and magnesium, or jadeite, a silicate of sodium and aluminum. Photo is a Jade dragon, Western Han Dynasty (202 BC – 9 AD)

    		 Tommy Trampp
    Jade 140k 30 June 1941
    National Archives photo 80-G-466189    		 Original photo: Naval History and Heritage Command
    Replacement photo: John Chiquoine
    Photo added 7 October 2020
    View the Jade (PY 17)
    DANFS History entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command Website
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