| Career (US) | |
|---|---|
| Launched: | 1934 |
| Acquired: | 1 February 1942 |
| In service: | 19 February 1942 |
| Out of service: | turned over to the U.S. Coast Guard 2 July 1943, U.S. Army 3 September 1943, operated Southwest Pacific area as Geoanna TP-249. |
| Fate: | rumored to be undergoing restoration in the Philippines in the year 2000[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Length: | 111 ft 6 in (33.99 m) |
| Beam: | 22 ft 6 in (6.86 m) |
| Draft: | 14 ft 9 in (4.50 m) |
| Speed: | 8 knots |
Geoanna (IX-61) was an unclassified miscellaneous vessel that was never commissioned and thus never bore the USS designation.[2] Geoanna, the only ship of the United States Navy to be given that name, was a steel auxiliary schooner built in 1934 by Craig Shipbuilding Company in Long Beach, California. She was acquired by the Navy from the Maritime Commission on 1 February 1942. She was placed in service 19 February 1942.[3]
Assigned to the 11th Naval District, Geoanna performed miscellaneous duties for Port Director, San Pedro, until turned over to the United States Coast Guard on a temporary basis 2 July 1943. She served as a Coast Guard operational training ship until being redelivered to the Maritime Commission by the Navy 28 August 1943.[3] Acquired by the U.S. Army 3 September 1943 and designated TP-249.[1]
In late 1943 the Army operated radio communication sailing ships Geoanna and Volador joined the previously operating, Australian registered vessels, Harold and Argosy Lamal in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA). A crew of mixed Army, Navy and Australian civilian personnel operated these predecessors of the CP, or Command Post, ships in the Port Moresby, Woodlark and Laee-Salamau areas.[4] Geoanna was given the Army designation of TP-249.[5] The ship served as a communications relay during operations of the Western New Guinea campaign into the Moluccas through landings at Tacloban in the Philippines.[6]
