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Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive

League Island (YFB 20)
ex-USS Machigonne (SP 1043)

Passenger Steamer:

  • Built in 1907 as Dida by Nealle, Levy & Co., Philadelphia, PA for the Casco Bay and Harpswell Line of Portland, ME
  • Sold in 1913 to the Nahant Steamship Line of Boston, Massachusetts
  • Acquired by the Navy 2 October 1917
  • Commissioned USS Machigonne (SP 1043), 15 May 1918
  • Sold 29 May 1919 to the Boston, Nahant and Pines Steamboat Co. of Boston
  • Sold in 1921 to John E. Moore and Co. of New York
  • Sold again in 1921 to the U.S. Immigration Service for service as an Ellis Island ferry
  • Sold in 1929 to Captain Daniel F. McAllister of New York and renamed Hook Mountain
  • Sold in 1929 to Captain Daniel F. McAllister of New York for use as tour boat and renamed Hook Mountain
  • Sold in 1939 and renamed Block Island
  • Acquired by the Navy 24 February 1941
  • Renamed League Island (YFB 20), 7 March 1941 and placed in service
  • Placed out of service 6 June 1946
  • Transferred 9 January 1947 to the War Shipping Administration for disposal
  • Renamed Yankee in 1947
  • Laid up in 1983 at Montville, CT
  • Sold in 1990 to Jim Gallagher of New York and began restoration
  • Sold in 2003 to Richard and Victoria MacKenzie-Childs
  • Moved to Pier 25, Hoboken, NJ to continue restoration
  • Restored and currently moored at South Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 425 t.
  • Length 136' 6"
  • Beam 29'
  • Draft 8'
    1941 - 8'9"
  • Speed 12 kts.
  • Complement 20 (1941)
  • Armament: Two 1-pounders
    1941 - None
  • Propulsion: One 450ihp triple-expansion steam engine, one shaft
    1947 - Steam engine replaced with one General Motors 12-567A diesel engine.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    SS Machigonne
    Machigonne 102k In port, prior to World War I
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 99581    		 Robert Hurst
    Machigonne 153k Postcard dated 4 August 1908, Portland, ME Tommy Trampp
    Machigonne 153k Back of card
    USS Machigonne (SP 1043)
    Agamemnon 91k Agamemnon (ID 3004) arrives in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts, circa late 1918 or the first part of 1919, while returning the U.S. Army's 102nd Infantry from Europe. She is being escorted by ships and craft of the First Naval District. A submarine chaser is in the center foreground, and Machigonne is at left, wearing a large welcoming sign.
    U.S. Navy photo NH 57481    		 Naval Historical Center
    Machigonne 153k c. 1919
    Welcoming the return of the 26th Infantry Division from France
    Courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones collection    		 Boston Public Library
    SS Machigonne
    Machigonne 153k At Ellis Island, NY
    Photo from Michael L. DeRosa and Franklin Ruttan, Real Estate Brokers website    		 Tommy Trampp
    SS Hook Mountain
    Machigonne 153k Postcard dated 3 June 1939, Farmingdale, NY Tommy Trampp
    Machigonne 153k Back of card
    MV Yankee
    Machigonne 153k Photo from Michael L. DeRosa and Franklin Ruttan, Real Estate Brokers website Tommy Trampp
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships History:

    Machigonne

    The second Machigonne (SP-1043), formerly passenger steamer Dida, was built by Nealle, Levy & Co., Philadelphia, in 1907; operated by the Casco Bay and Harpswell Line until chartered by the Navy 2 October 1917; and commissioned 15 May 1918.

    Machigonne transported men and supplies between Boston and Bumpkin Island Training Station, during World War I. She was sold to Boston, Nahant & Pines Steamboat Co. 29 May 1919. Renamed Hook Mountain in 1930, she continued in merchant service until 1941.

    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships History:

    League Island

    The site of the Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pa., at the junction of the Schlylkill and Delaware Rivers

    The first League Island, formerly Block Island (ex-Hook Mountain, ex-Machigonne) was built in April 1907 by Neafie & Levy S. and E. B. Co., Philadelphia, Pa.; purchased by the Navy 24 February 1941 from H. Reynolds Palmer and Raymond H. Abell, Gales Ferry, Conn.; classified YFB-20, 27 February 1941; renamed and placed in service 7 March 1941.

    League Island (YFB-20) was assigned to the 4th Naval District 17 March 1941 for ferrying service between the Naval Yard, Philadelphia, Pa., and National Park, N.J., which she carried out efficiently throughout the war. League Island was placed out of service 6 June 1946 and returned to WSA 9 January 1947

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