SS Delphine (1921)

History
Name	Delphine
Owner	Jacques Bruynooghe[1]
Builder	Great Lakes Engineering Works
Cost	$2 million (building cost in 1921)
Launched	2 April 1921
Identification	IMO number: 8971815 MMSI number: 255986000 Callsign: CQTJ
Fate	Requisitioned by the US Navy 1942
United States
Name	USS Dauntless (PG-61)
Acquired	21 January 1942
Commissioned	11 May 1942
Decommissioned	11 May 1946
Stricken	5 June 1946
United States
Name	SS Delphine
Acquired	1946
United States
Name	SS Dauntless
Acquired	1967
France, Singapore
Name	SS Dauntless
Acquired	1989
Monaco
Name	SS Delphine
Acquired	1997
General characteristics
Tonnage	1961 (gross)
Length	257.8 ft (78.6 m)
Beam	35.5 ft (10.8 m)
Draft	14.6 ft (4.5 m)
Installed power	Steam
Propulsion	Propeller
Speed	12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) max
Capacity	26 passengers
Crew	24-30

SS Delphine is a yacht commissioned by Horace Dodge, co-founder of Dodge Brothers. The yacht was launched on 2 April 1921 Captained by Arthur A. Archer.^[2] Power was originally supplied from three Babcock & Wilcox boilers^[3] powering two 1,500-horsepower (1,100 kW) quadruple-expansion engines.^[1]

In her 2003 refit Delphine was re-equipped with two modern water-tube boilers operating at 20 bars (290 psi), the larger of which has an evaporation capacity of 14 metric tons (31,000 lb) of steam per hour while the smaller can evaporate 4 metric tons (8,800 lb) per hour;^[4] these new boilers supply the original quadruple-expansion engines. "Of all the large American-built steam yachts built between 1893 and 1930, the Delphine is the only one left in her original condition with her original steam engines still in service."^[1]

The Delphine caught fire and sank in New York in 1926, only to be recovered and restored. She suffered further damage in 1940 when she ran aground in the Great Lakes, and was repaired. She was acquired by the United States Navy in January 1942 and rechristened USS Dauntless (PG-61), to serve as the flagship for Admiral Ernest King, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations. She was sold back to Anna Dodge (Horace Dodge's wife) after the conclusion of World War II and restored to civilian standards and service, including her original name.^[3]

Purportedly, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt used the yacht and the Yalta accords were drafted while he was on board.^[5]

Delphine was sold in 1967 and again in 1968, changing names again to Dauntless, only to be sold again in 1986, 1989, and in 1997 – at scrap metal prices to her next owner, Jacques Bruynooghe, who proceeded to restore her for $60 million to the original 1921 condition including interior decor and the original steam engines.^[1] She was rechristened Delphine by Princess Stéphanie of Monaco on 10 September 2003. In 2007, the ship was used as part of the setting for the Rian Johnson film The Brothers Bloom.^[6]

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Photo gallery of USS Dauntless (PG-61) at NavSource Naval History

External links

• 360 degree Panoramas of The SS Delphine
• Steamy superyacht has impressive pedigree, Melbourne Age 23 Jun 2010
• 258'/78m U.S.-Built Dodge Family Mega-Yacht is 100 Years-Old and Steam-Driven Yacht Delphine Video Xplorer Yachts via YouTube

Wikimedia Commons has media related to SS Delphine (ship, 1921).

This page was last edited on 27 May 2024, at 22:44