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NavSource Online: Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Photo Archive

Amber (PYc 6)

Call sign:
Nan - Baker - Fox - Love

Infanta call sign (1932):
Mike - Hypo - Roger - Preparatory
Polaris call sign (1946):
King - George - Oboe - Uncle

Coastal Patrol Yacht:

Built in 1930 as the yacht Infanta by Craig Shipbuilding, Long Beach, CA for actor John Barrymore

Registered in 1932 to John Barrymore of Beverly Hills, CA as the yacht Infanta out of Los Angeles, CA

Acquired by Edward and Kathryn Lowe of San Francisco, CA, renamed Polaris and home-ported at Juneau, Alaska

Purchased by the Navy 23 December 1940

Renamed Amber and designated a Coastal Patrol Yacht, PYc-6, 10 January 1941

Commissioned USS Amber (PYc-6), 3 March 1941 at Seattle

Decommissioned 18 October 1944

Struck from the Naval Register 13 November 1944

Transferred to the War Shipping Administration 13 June 1945 and sold back to her former owners

Registered in 1946 to the Macco Construction Co. of Clearwater, CA as the freighter Polaris out of Los Angeles

Registered in 1951 to the Foss Launch and Tug Co. of Seattle, WA as the yacht Thea Foss out of Tacoma, WA

As of 2003 she was still operating out of Seattle.

Specifications:

Displacement 260 t.

1932 - 253 t.

Length 120'

1932 - 110.5'

Beam 21' 5"

Draft 10' 6"

1932 - 13.6'

Complement: Eight

1946 - Nine

Speed 12.5 kts.

Armament: One 3"/23 dual purpose gun mount and two depth charge tracks

Propulsion: Two 275bhp Atlas Imperial diesel engines, two shafts.

Click on thumbnail for full size image	Size	Image Description	Source
MY Infanta
	126k	Photo from Classic Yacht Register - Yachts of the Classic Yacht Association	Robert Hurst Photos added 17 March 2022
	130k	c. 1931 Juneau, AK Photo from Alaska Digital Archives	Robert Hurst Photos added 17 March 2022
MY Polaris
	305k	c. 1940/1941 Yacht Polaris prior to conversion into a Naval ship Photo by the Bainbridge Studio, Port Blakely, Washington National Archives photos 19-N-24223 and 19-N-24224 from the Naval History and Heritage Command website	Robert Hurst
	185k		Robert Hurst
USS Amber (PY 6)
	94k	Namesake: *Amber* - A hard, translucent fossil resin which is normally yellowish to brownish in color. Since it can be highly polished, amber is used as a gem	Tommy Trampp
	282k	Off Seattle, WA in No. 5 "Navy gray" in 1941. Passing the Bell Street Terminal Pier. Amber had been built originally for actor John Barrymore. Note her 3-inch gun forward, and two depth charge tracks aft, as well as her designation PYc 6, at the bow National Archives photo 80-G-456631 from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships	Original photo: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Replacement photo: Robert Hurst Second replacement photo: Naval History and Heritage Command Photo replaced 17 March 2022
	137k	Photographed circa March 1941, by the Bainbridge Studio, Port Blakely, Washington National Archives photos 19-N-24225 and 19-N-24227	Mike Green
	194k		Mike Green
MY Thea Foss
	223k		Photo from Classic Yacht Register - Yachts of the Classic Yacht Association	Robert Hurst Photos added 17 March 2022
	92k
	178k	11 August 2019 Seattle, WA Photo by Godsfriendchuck
	74k	c. 2003 In West Sound, off San Juan Island, WA	Jim Rogers

View the Amber (PYc 6)
DANFS History entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command website

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This page created by Gary P. Priolo and maintained by Tom Bateman