USS Moonstone

USS Moonstone (PYc-9)
History
United States
Name	Moonstone
Builder	Germaniawerft
Acquired	10 February 1941
Commissioned	10 April 1941
Stricken	26 October 1943
Fate	Sunk in collision 16 October 1943
General characteristics
Class and type	patrol boat
Displacement	645 tons
Length	171 ft 9 in (52.35 m)
Beam	26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)
Draught	10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)
Propulsion	800 bhp diesel engines, two shafts
Speed	12 knots
Complement	50 officers and enlisted
Armament	1 × 3"/50 gun mount 2 × .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine guns 2 × depth charge tracks

USS Moonstone (PYc-9) was a coastal patrol yacht in the service of the United States Navy. She was built in 1929 as Nancy Baker by Germaniawerft in Kiel, Germany, later renamed Mona, and subsequently acquired by the Navy as the Lone Star on 10 February 1941. Renamed Moonstone and designated PYc-9, she was converted for U.S. Navy service in Jacksonville, Florida, and commissioned on 10 April 1941. She was named for the gemstone moonstone.

On 2 May 1941, Moonstone sailed for patrol duty with the Panamanian Sea Frontier. She later moved to Ecuador on 2 January 1943 to aid in training the Ecuadorian Navy. In March 1943 she sailed to Charleston, South Carolina, to prepare for permanent transfer to Ecuador. On her return at Balboa, Panama, in July 1943, cracks were discovered in the cylinder blocks of her engine, and she was sent north for repairs. On 16 October 1943, off the mouth of Delaware's Indian River she collided with the destroyer USS Greer (DD-145) and sank immediately. All but one of Moonstones's complement survived. She was struck from the Naval Register on 26 October 1943.

Her wreck lies 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Cape May, New Jersey, in 130 feet (40 m) of water.

This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

• history.navy.mil: USS Moonstone
• navsource.org: PYc-9 Moonstone
• Moonstone wreck diving information

38°30′03″N 74°06′40″W / 38.5008°N 74.111°W / 38.5008; -74.111