Girish Mahajan (Editor)

USS Calypso (AG 35)

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Name
  
USS Calypso (AG-35)

Acquired
  
17 May 1941

Decommissioned
  
20 January 1942

Launched
  
6 January 1932

Weight
  
362.7 tons

Builder
  
Bath Iron Works

Namesake
  
Calypso

Commissioned
  
17 May 1941

Name
  
Circle Line XI

Length
  
50 m

Displacement
  
323,900 kg

USS Calypso (AG-35)

The third USS Calypso (AG-35) was launched 6 January 1932 for the United States Coast Guard by the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine and transferred from the Coast Guard to the US Navy on 17 May 1941 and commissioned the same day, Chief Boatswain J. H. Keevers in command.

Calypso was based at the Washington Navy Yard as a tender to her sister ship, the Presidential yacht Potomac. In this capacity, her operations were confined largely to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay until 22 July 1941, when she put out for a cruise to Nova Scotia. During a portion of this cruise she had on board President Franklin D. Roosevelt, bound for the famous Atlantic Conference in Argentia Bay, Newfoundland, with Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain. Her other movements were to provide cover for the President's travels. Returning to Washington 23 August, Calypso was decommissioned 20 January 1942 and returned to the Coast Guard, who subsequently decommissioned her in 1947.

In 1955, Calypso was acquired by Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises of Manhattan, New York and converted into a tour boat. She was renamed Circle Line XI and provided river-based tours of New York City for over 50 years before being retired in 2008, replaced by a new vessel named Circle Line Manhattan. Despite discussions around donating the ship to a museum or returning her to the Coast Guard for training use, her ultimate fate is unknown.

References

USS Calypso (AG-35) Wikipedia