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NavSource Online:
Gunboat Photo Archive

Gunboat No. 9 / PG-9 Helena


Wilmington Class Gunboat: Laid down in 1896 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, VA; Launched 30 January 1896; Commissioned USS Helena (Gunboat No. 9), 8 July 1897 at the New York Navy Yard; Decommissioned 19 April 1905 at Cavite, Philippine Islands; Recommissioned 16 July 1906; Designated PG-9, 7 July 1920; Placed in reduced commission 29 June 1929; Decommissioned 27 May 1932 and struck from the Navy list; Sold 7 July 1934 for scrapping.

Specifications: Displacement 1,390 t; Length 250' 9"; Beam 40' 11"; Draft 9'; Speed 13 kts; Complement 175; Armament four 4" gun mounts, four 11-pounders, one 3" rifle.


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Size Image Description Source
Helena 76k Photographed in Far Eastern waters sometime after 1899, while dressed with flags for a holiday.
U S Navy photo NH 53500
Naval Historical Center
Helena 109k c. 1903
At winter quarters in a mud dock at Newchwang, China
Courtesy U.S. Warships of World War I
Mike Green
Helena 107k Painted by the Chinese artist Qikit, 1905.
Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC.
Donation of Mrs. A.W. Lott. Navy Art Accession #: 76-301-A.
U S Navy photo NH 85566-KN
Naval Historical Center

View Helena (PG-9) Library of Congress Images
View the Helena (PG 9)
DANFS history entry located on the Naval Historical Center web site
Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Yangtze River Patrol Memorial
The Yangtze Patrol
Back To The Main Photo Index Back To the Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Ship Type Index Back to the Patrol Gunboat (PG) Photo Index

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© 2004 Joseph M. Radigan © 1996 - 2004 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.