| Career (United States) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Helena I |
| Namesake: | Previous name retained |
| Builder: | Van Sant Brothers, Port Republic, New Jersey |
| Completed: | 1906 |
| Acquired: | May 1917 |
| Commissioned: | 7 September 1917 |
| Decommissioned: | 27 August 1919 |
| Struck: | 4 October 1919 |
| Fate: | Sold, 27 August 1919 Wrecked prior to delivery to new owner, 11 September 1919 |
| Notes: | Operated as private motor yacht Helena I 1906-1917 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Patrol vessel |
| Displacement: | 9 long tons (9.1 t) |
| Length: | 43 ft (13 m) |
| Beam: | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
| Draft: | 3 ft (0.91 m) (mean) |
| Speed: | 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h) |
| Armament: | 1 × machine gun |
USS Helena I (SP-24) was an armed yacht that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917-1919.
Helena I was built as a private motor yacht of the same name in 1906 by Van Sant Brothers at Port Republic, New Jersey. The U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner, Dr. W. G. Hall of Trenton, New Jersey in May 1917 for World War I service. Assigned to the 7th Naval District, she was taken to Key West, Florida, and commissioned there as USS Helena I (SP-24) on 7 September 1917 with Quartermaster 2nd Class Otis Curry in command.
Helena I operated as a harbor and coastal patrol boat in the vicinity of Key West until being decommissioned and sold on 27 August 1919. Before she could be delivered to her new owner, however, she was among eight former SP boats wrecked on 11 September by the 1919 Florida Keys Hurricane while anchored in North Beach Basin at Key West. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 4 October.