USS Oneida (SP-432)

The Oneida, in the July 1916 issue of the yachting journal The Rudder
History
Name	Oneida
Builder	Harlan and Hollingsworth Company, Wilmington, Delaware
Completed	1897
Out of service	1940
Fate	Scrapped 1940
General characteristics
Length	200 ft (61 m)

USS Oneida (SP-432) was the proposed name and designation of an American steam yacht considered for use as a section patrol craft during World War I. In July 1917 the seagoing yacht was ordered taken by the U.S. Navy for service in international waters, but the yacht was never acquired and instead remained in private hands.

It was the second of two yachts named Oneida by owner Elias Cornelius Benedict, a prominent New York City banker and one of the world's leading yachtsmen. In 1922, after Benedict's death, the Oneida was purchased by publisher William Randolph Hearst. In November 1924 the yacht was associated with the mysterious death of American film producer Thomas H. Ince, a scandal that became part of early Hollywood lore.

The Oneida was sold by Hearst sometime after 1927. In 1932 the yacht was in use as a ferry vessel on Lake Champlain, based at Burlington, Vermont. In 1940, the rusty hull of the Oneida was purchased as scrap by Canada, for conversion into munitions for World War II.