The USS Christabel (SP-162) was originally a civilian steam yacht constructed in 1893 by D and W Henderson at their Meadowside shipyard in Glasgow, Scotland. Launched on August 10, 1893, she measured 150 feet in length, with a beam of 22 feet and a depth of 12.5 feet. Her tonnage was recorded as 248 gross register tons (GRT) and 103 net register tons (NRT). Powered by a three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine rated at 53 nominal horsepower (NHP), Christabel was initially owned by Arthur Kennard of the Falkirk Iron Works and registered in Glasgow. By 1910, her ownership transferred to Walton Ferguson and was registered in New York, and by 1917, Irving T. Bush owned her. During World War I, the U.S. Navy acquired Christabel on April 30, 1917, and commissioned her on May 31, 1917, at the New York Navy Yard. She was fitted out as a patrol vessel, armed with two 3-inch (76 mm) guns, and tasked with patrol duties in the North Atlantic. She departed New York on June 9, 1917, crossing the Atlantic to Brest, France, arriving in early July. Throughout the war, Christabel served in escort and patrol roles off western France, participating in at least two notable engagements against German U-boats. On May 21, 1918, she was credited with sinking a U-boat off Spain, although the vessel was later determined to have only been damaged and subsequently interned by Spain. After the war, Christabel returned to the United States in December 1918, serving briefly as an anti-submarine training ship at New London, Connecticut. Her crew included decorated officers such as Ensign Daniel Augustus Joseph Sullivan, who received the Medal of Honor for heroism during combat, and Lieutenant JG Howard Rutherford Shaw, awarded the Navy Cross for his actions during the engagement with the U-boat. Decommissioned on May 19, 1919, Christabel was sold on June 30, 1919, to the Savannah Bar Pilots Association of Savannah, Georgia. Her service history highlights her role as a versatile patrol vessel during World War I and her transition from civilian yacht to military service, exemplifying the adaptability of early 20th-century steam yachts in wartime maritime operations.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.