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Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive

HMS O-We-Ra
ex-USS Owera (SP 167)



Civilian call sign (1915):
Love - Fox - George - Pup

Call sign (1933):
King - Love - King - Jig
Patrol Yacht:

  • Built in 1906 as O-We-Ra by Ramage and Ferguson, Leith, Scotland for Frederick H. Stevens of Buffalo, NY
  • Launched 2 November 1906
  • Although ordered by Stevens, she was temporarily under United Kingdom flag, until 1908
  • Acquired in 1915 by Senator Peter G. Gerry of Providence, RI and renamed Owera
  • Commissioned USS Owera (SP 167), 15 June 1917
  • Delivered to the Navy 18 June 1917
  • Decommissioned 6 January 1919
  • Returned to her owner 8 January 1919
  • Acquired in 1926 by George W. C. Drexel of Philadelphia, PA and renamed Alcedo
  • Acquired in 1928 by James Playfair of Midland, Ontario, Canada and renamed Josephine
  • Acquired in 1929 by Edmund S. Burke, Jr. of New York and renamed O-We-Ra
  • Acquired in 1933 by the South Wind Corp. of New York and renamed South Wind
  • Acquired in 1936 by the Straits Shipping and Contracting Co., Ltd. of Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada and renamed O-We-Ra and converted for use as a passenger/freight service between Canso, Mulgrave
    and Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
  • Requisitioned by the Admiralty 10 May 1940, as an auxiliary patrol yacht, HMS O-We-Ra for examination service at Trinidad, Lesser Antilles
  • Returned to her owners in 1946
  • Acquired in 1950 by the Canso Shipping, Fishing and Industries Ltd. of Sydney, Nova Scotia
  • Laid up at Sydney after failing her safety examination in 1952 and later sank at her berth
  • In 1967, during the clearing of wrecks from Sydney harbor, the remains of O-We-Ra were raised and then scrapped.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 426 t.
    1936 - 429 t.
  • Length 194' 8"
    1933 - 173.8'
    1936 - 168.2'
  • Beam 25'
    1936 - 25.2'
  • Draft 12' 11½"
    1933 - 14'
    1936 - 13.9'
  • Speed 12 kts.
  • Complement 34
    1933 - 28
  • Armament: Two 3"/50 mounts and two machine guns
  • Propulsion: One single ended boiler, one 600hp Ramage and Ferguson vertical triple expansion steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Yacht Owera
    Owera 101k Photographed prior to World War I
    U.S. Navy photo NH 102083    		 Naval Historical Center
    USS Owera (SP 167)
    Owera 78k National Archives photo Aryeh Wetherhorn
    Owera 154k In a U.S. East Coast port, circa 1918, with USS Prairie on the other side of the pier
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 42431    		 Robert Hurst
    Commanding Officer USS Owera (SP 167)
    01LTJG E. C. Billings, USN15 June 1917
    Commanding Officers HMS O-We-Ra
    01A/S LT Albert Roland "Buey" Geofroy, TRNVRDecember 1942
    02S/LT Aubrey Derek Winslow, TRNVRJune 1942
    03T/LT C. C. O'Neill, RNRJuly 1943
    Courtesy Joe Radigan
    View the Owera (SP 167)
    DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command website
    Back to the Main Photo Index Back to the Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Ship Index Back to the Section Patrol Craft (SP) Photo Index
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    This page created by Joseph M. Radigan and maintained by David Wright
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