Aquamarine

Aquamarine

A blue to green, transparent, semiprecious stone which is a form of the mineral beryl.

(PYc-7: dp. 220; 1. 124'; b. 20'6"; dr. T'; s. 12 k.; cpl. 53; a. 2 .30-cal. mg.)

Sea Wolf-a yacht built in 1926 at Wilmington, Del., by Pusey & Jones Corp.-was acquired by the Navy from Mr. R. H. Wolfe, of Columbus, Ohio, on 13 January 1941 at Charleston, S.C.; placed in service at Charleston on 14 January 1941; arrived at the Washington Navy Yard on 19 January 1941; and placed in commission there on 9 April 1941, Lt. George A. Lange in command.

The following day, Aquamarine departed Washington and set a course for Charleston. She arrived at that port on 14 April and began conversion in the Charleston Navy Yard. She completed the yard work late in July and, on the 28th, once more got underway for Washington. Her arrival back at Washington over two weeks later-on 16 August-suggests an extended stop along the way, most probably at the Norfolk Navy Yard for repairs. In any event, upon her return to the nation's capital, Aquamarine was assigned to the Naval Research Laboratory. For the most part, she operated in the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac River conducting underwater sound experiments. She also performed a limited amount of experimental work with radar, mines, and underwater communications.

The coastal yacht broke that routine only twice in her Navy career. Between 16 October and 4 November 1943, she operated off the Connecticut coast near New London; and, from 24 January to 18 April 1944, she cruised the waters between Florida and the Bahama Islands. On both occasions, however, her assignment remained experimental work under the auspices of the Naval Research Laboratory. During the summer and fall of 1945, she also served as tender to the presidential yacht Potomac (AG-25). When Williamsburg (AGC-369) replaced Potomac as presidential yacht during the winter of 1945 and 1946, Aquamarine also served as her tender too. In June of 1946, she moved south to Norfolk to prepare for decommissioning. Aquamarine was placed out of commission on 21 June 1946, and her name was struck from the Navy list on 13 November 1946. On 31 January 1947, she was transferred to the Maritime Commission's War Shipping Administration for disposal.