The USS Corona (SP-813) was a steel-hulled steam yacht originally launched in Scotland in 1905 as Corona. Built by Hawthorns & Co of Leith, her yard number was 105. She measured 172 feet (52 meters) in overall length, with a registered length of 150.5 feet (45.9 meters). The vessel had a beam of 23.15 feet (7.06 meters) and a depth of 12.45 feet (3.79 meters). Her tonnage was 304 gross register tons (GRT) and 134 net register tons (NRT). Powered by a three-cylinder triple-expansion steam engine rated at 74 NHP (approximately 650 indicated horsepower), she was driven by a single screw propeller. Initially registered in Philadelphia and later re-registered in New York, Corona served as a private yacht owned by H. A. Laughlin of Pittsburgh. Her code letters were LBCW by 1910. In 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her for wartime service, converting her into an armed yacht. She was fitted with two 3-inch/50-caliber guns and commissioned on 20 July 1917 with the pennant number SP-813. Under the command of Lieutenant Lemuel M. Stevens, she departed New York on 30 July, sailing via St. John’s and the Azores to France. She arrived in Brest on 30 August, where she conducted convoy escort duties and patrolled the English Channel. Her commanding officer was later succeeded by Lieutenant Commander Howard H. J. Benson in August 1918. Following the end of World War I, Corona left Brest on 5 December 1918, arriving in New London, Connecticut, on 28 December. She was placed in reserve and struck from the Navy Directory on 4 April 1919. She was decommissioned on 17 May 1919. Post-military, Corona was listed as owned by the U.S. Navy until 1922 but was sold into civilian hands in early 1921. Her ownership changed several times, eventually being registered in Callao, Peru, in 1928, where she was re-registered as a merchant vessel. By 1930, Lloyd’s Register described her as an "ex yacht," indicating her commercial use. She met her end when she capsized and sank off the Peruvian coast near the Guañape Islands on 25 April 1941, about 20 nautical miles northwest of the islands.

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