Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

YAG-7

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Alpha - Oscar - Mike
 NAOM
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Self-propelled Steel-hulled Miscellaneous Auxiliary Service Craft:
  • Built by Burmeister & Wain, Copenhagen, Denmark (YN 332)
  • Completed for Frederick W. Vanderbilt, New York, NY, as the yacht Vedette (ON 225349), July 1924
  • Sold on Vanderbilt's death by his niece, Margaret Louise Van Allen, to the Association of Maryland Pilots, 27 March 1939
  • Converted to a pilot boat by Baltimore Marine Repair Works, renamed Baltimore
  • Placed in service, June 1939
  • Acquisition by Navy directed, 21 November 1941
  • Pilots refused Navy's offer to buy vessel, 04 December 1941
  • Requistioned by Maritime Commission and delivered to Navy, 27 December 1941
  • Placed in service as YAG-7, 01 January 1942
  • Converted for Naval service by Norfolk Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company
  • Entered service, 06 February 1942
  • Operated as station and patrol vessel, Little Creek, Virginia 1942-46
  • Placed out of service at Frontier Base, Little Creek, 17 July 1945
  • Struck from Naval Register, 13 August 1945
  • Sold to W.B. Hamilton, Tampa, FL, converted to banana boat, renamed Susan J. Hamilton, 11 March 1946
  • Sold to Intercontinental Shipping Co., Puerto Cortes, Honduras, renamed Insco Trader, February 1947
  • Final Disposition, struck an underwater object and foundered 50 miles NW of Barranquilla, Columbia, 29 December 1954,
         while enroute from Tampa to Barranquilla while carrying a cargo of explosives. All 15 crew rescued by Norwegian SS Avenir after 31 hours in boats and taken to Barranquilla.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 458 gross tons
    Length 158' 5"
    Beam 26' 2"
    Draft 12' 0"
    Speed 14 knots
    Complement unknown
    Armament
    one single 3 pounder (later 6 pounder) forward
    two depth charge tracks aft
    Propulsion
    two Burmeister & Wain diesel engines
    twin propellers, 1,000shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    MY Vedette
    YAG-7
    14200701    		 61k Motor yacht Vedette underway, date and location unknown. David Wright
    YAG-7
    14200702    		 109k Vedette moored off the Royal Danish Yacht Club at Copenhagen, circa the 1930s.
    National Archives Photo # none, RG-19 -LCM    		 Robert Hurst, courtesy Shipscribe.com
    YAG-7
    14200708    		 689k Another view of motor yacht Vedette underway, date and location unknown. David Wright
    Association of Maryland Pilots - Pilot Boat - MV Baltimore
    YAG-7
    142007013    		 84k Pilot boat Baltimore in Baltimore harobr, circa 1939.
    National Archives Photo # none, RG-19 -LCM    		 Robert Hurst, courtesy Shipscribe.com
    YAG-7
    YAG-7
    14200704    		 163k YAG-7, probably in Hampton Roads. She appears to be bringing a pilot to a merchant ship, which has stopped and has put a jacob's ladder over the side. The Navy conversion included small depth charge racks on the stern.
    National Archives photo 19-N-42502    		 Robert Hurst, courtesy Shipscribe.com
    YAG-7
    14200706    		 589k YAG-7, moored at the Tampa city docks, 28 March 1946. She had just been sold to Hamilton Brothers of Tampa for conversion to a banana boat.
    Photo from Tampa Tribune, 29 March 1946.    		 Dave Wright
    Postwar Commercial Service
    YAG-7
    14200705    		 678k Susan J. Hamilton moored at Tampa, shortly after her sale to Honduran owners.
    Photo from Tampa Times, 13 February 1947.     		David Wright
    YAG-7
    14200707    		 654k Undated photo of Insco Trader moored at Tampa, date unknown. The description of her as a former "Danish royal yacht" is just a bit inaccurate.
    Photo from Tampa Tribune, 31 December 1954.    		 David Wright
    There is no DANFS history available for YAG-7 at NavSource
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Craft Index Back To The Miscellaneous Auxiliary Service Craft (YAG) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page wass created by Gary P. Priolo and is maintained by David L. Wright
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 12 November 2021