USS YP-17

Sister ship YP-29 (ex CG-116) in 1941
United States Coast Guard
Name	CG-275
Ordered	1924
Builder	Lake Union Dry Dock and Machine Works, Seattle
Commissioned	1925
Identification	code letters: NAMM[1]
Fate	Transferred to United States Navy, 21 June 1933
United States Navy
Name	YP-17
Acquired	21 June 1933
Reclassified	YP-17
Stricken	24 July 1942
Homeport	Agana, Guam
Identification	code letters: NEJC[2]
Honours and awards	1 Battle Star  American Defense Service Medal [3]  Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal[3]  World War II Victory Medal[3]
Fate	captured, 10 December 1941
General characteristics
Tonnage	37.5 GRT[3]
Length	74.9 ft (22.8 m) o/a[3]
Beam	13.6 ft (4.1 m)
Draught	3.75 ft (1.14 m)
Installed power	500 SHP[3]
Propulsion	two Sterling 6-cylinder gasoline engines, two propellers[3]
Complement	8
Armament	1 x 1-pounder gun forward

USS YP-17 was a wooden-hulled patrol vessel in commission in the fleet of the United States Coast Guard as CG-275 from 1925 to 1933, and in the fleet of the United States Navy as YP-17 from 1933 until 1941. She was captured by Japanese forces during the Japanese attack on Guam.

History

She was laid down at the Seattle shipyard of the Lake Union Dry Dock and Machine Works, Seattle, one of 203 "Six-Bitters" ordered by the United States Coast Guard.^[3] She was designed for long-range picket and patrol duty during Prohibition for postings 20 to 30 miles from shore.^[4] The date of her launching and completion is uncertain although the class design was finalized in April 1924 and all of the Six-Bitters were commissioned by 1925.^[4] She was commissioned in 1925 as CG-275.^[3]

On 21 June 1933, she was transferred to the United States Navy and designated as a Yard Patrol Craft (YP).^[3] She was assigned to the 13th Naval District where she trained reservists.^[3] On 22 October 1940, she along with her sister ship YP-16, were delivered to Guam aboard the replenishment oiler USS Ramapo for duty as a patrol boat and for island defense.^[3]

On 10 December 1941, during the Japanese attack on Guam, she was attacked and damaged by Japanese aircraft.^[3][5] Her crew was unable to set her ablaze (the fate of her sister ship, YP-16) before she was captured by the Japanese.^[6] She was struck from the Naval List on 24 July 1942.^[3] Her crew was sent to Japanese internment camps.^[3] Her ultimate fate is unknown.^[6]

She was awarded one battle star.^[3]

References

1. Commercial and Government Radio Stations of the U.S. - Government Ship Radio Stations. United States Department of Commerce. 22 April 1944. p. 101.
2. U.S. Navy Radio Call Sign Book -ENCODE - Section 18 - U. S. NAVY SHIPS BY CLASSES. United States Navy. 22 April 1944.
3. Priolo, Gary P.; Wright, David L. "YP-17 ex CG-275 (1925 - 1934)". NavSource - Naval Source History. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
4. Canney, Donald L. (1989). "Rum War: The U.S. Coast Guard and Prohibition (Coast Guard Bicentennial Series)" (PDF). U.S. Coast Guard. Retrieved 17 March 2020. The final plans were available in April 2014 and the first of the class, CG-100, was commission October 21, 1924. CG-302, the last completed, was commissioned July 18, 1925. An average of five completed each week.
5. Flynn, Jr., James T. (23 June 2014). Vessels of less than 100-feet in Length (PDF). U.S. Coast Guard Small Cutters and Patrol Boats 1915 - 2012.
6. "USS YP-17 - Captured December 10, 1945 Fate Unknown". Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum.