The vessel known as Argonaut originally began her life as the yacht Orion, built in 1929 by Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel, Germany. Constructed with a steel hull, she was initially a pleasure craft before being purchased by Julius Forstmann, a German-American woollen manufacturer, in 1940. The U.S. Navy acquired her on 13 November 1940 and converted her into a gunboat at Brooklyn, New York, by the Sullivan Drydock and Repair Corporation. Following her conversion, she was renamed USS Vixen (PG-53) and commissioned on 25 February 1941. As a gunboat, Vixen served prominently during World War II, primarily functioning as a flagship for the commanders of the Atlantic Fleet. Her shakedown cruise took her to the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, before heading to Norfolk, Virginia, and then to New London, Connecticut, where she became the flagship for Commander, Submarines, Atlantic Fleet (ComSubLant), Rear Admiral Richard S. Edwards. Throughout 1941, Vixen participated in various operations, including ceremonies honoring a sunken submarine crew, fleet maneuvers, and cruises to Bermuda, Newfoundland, and Casco Bay. In December 1941, just before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Vixen transported Admiral King’s papers to Washington, D.C., and served as his flagship at the Washington Navy Yard until June 1942. Afterward, she was reassigned to Admiral Royal E. Ingersoll, conducting extensive patrols along the eastern seaboard, the Caribbean, and South America, actively monitoring German U-boat activity and supporting Atlantic Fleet operations. In November 1944, she became the flagship for Admiral Jonas H. Ingram, continuing her service until decommissioning on 24 May 1946. Post-war, Vixen was struck from the Navy List and sold in 1947. She reverted to her original name Orion and became a cruise ship operating in Panama. In 1965, Greek company Epirotiki Lines acquired her, transforming her into the luxury cruise ship Argonaut, touring the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Norwegian fjords. Later, she was sold to Memnon Tours, renamed Regina Maris, and operated cruises in the Red Sea and Mediterranean. Ultimately laid up in Egypt, she was used as a floating hotel during the 2004 Athens Olympics before being scrapped in Turkey in 2005.

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