USS Vixen (PY-4)

USS Vixen, photographed in 1898, with sails hoisted on both masts.
History
United States
NameVixen
NamesakeVixen
Owner
BuilderLewis Nixon, Elizabethport, New Jersey
Laid downOctober 1895
Launched4 March 1896
Sponsored byEleanor Widner (granddaughter of owner)
Acquired9 April 1898
Commissioned11 April 1898 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard
Recommissioned2 April 1917
Decommissioned15 November 1922
Stricken9 January 1923
FateSold on 22 June 1923
General characteristics
Typeschooner-rigged, steam yacht
Displacement806 long tons (819 t)
Length182 ft 3 in
Beam28 ft 0 in
Draft12 ft 8 in (mean)
Propulsionsteam engine and schooner sail
Speed16.0 knots
Complement5 officers and 74 enlisted
Armament
Armorsteel-hulled
Notes[1]

USS Vixen (PY-4) was a yacht acquired by the U.S. Navy for operations in the Spanish–American War, where she served with distinction during the Battle of Santiago. She was commissioned again for duty during World War I when she was assigned to patrol the U.S. East Coast.

  1. ^ Jester, David Jr. (1970). "The Sixth Vixen". Proceedings. 96 (6). United States Naval Institute: 94&95.