1930: A Major Milestone for a Yacht that Made Noteworthy Contributions as Both a Pleasure Yacht and U.S. Navy Vessel

June 14, 1930

The twin-screw diesel yacht Lotosland was formally delivered by her manufacturer Pusey & Jones, a Delaware-based shipbuilder, to renowned industrialist and electrical engineer Edward A. Deeds. On that date, this newly completed vessel was registered with U.S. Official Number 229875 and signal MHWN.

The handover of Lotosland to Deeds took place nearly seven months after she had been launched. Those attending that ceremony included Deeds’ friend Orville Wright, one of history’s most pivotal aviation pioneers.

O.R. Pilat, reporting for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, wrote about this vessel in effusive terms. He noted, “A visit to the Lotusland revealed that, like the place for which she is named in the Odyssey, where Ulysses’ men were beguiled. The new yacht has attractions strong enough to make an ordinary man forget cares and responsibilities.”

F.L. Iverson, described by Pilat as a “famous Brooklyn skipper,” initially served as the captain of Lotosland.  Just a few weeks after acquiring the yacht, Deeds arranged to have her taken to the vicinity of Long Island Sound that runs along the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut. It was there that Lotosland made history as the first pleasure craft to carry an aircraft. The aircraft that ultimately ended up on board the yacht for this achievement was a Sikorsky S-39-A “flying boat.”

Along with being specially equipped to handle aircraft, Lotosland was outfitted with several other distinctive features. These included a dining room, library, and two staterooms. In addition, there was a deck — measuring 40 feet (12.2 meters) in length and 20 feet (6.1 meters) in width — that could be used for dances. As confirmed by the Evening Journal (a Delaware newspaper), Lotosland also had on board “a pipe organ for the pleasure of Mrs. Deeds.” The Evening Journal further stated, “The organ has nearly 600 pipes and is similar to the one that is now in Mrs. Deeds’ apartment in the Savoy-Plaza in New York.”

On October 16, 1940, Edward A. Deeds sold Lotosland to the U.S. Navy for use as a coastal minesweeper. She was renamed USS Siren (CMc-1). When was commissioned into naval service the following month, however, Siren was reclassified a patrol vessel with the designation PY-13). Siren was based in Boston and, starting in March 1941, she helped patrol the section of the New England coast between Eastport, Maine, and Block Island, Rhode Island. After the United States’ entry in World War II in December 1941, these patrols took on the character of defending that shoreline against enemy attacks instead.

On February 10, 1942, Siren was reassigned to the Eastern Sea Frontier. This Navy operational command during the war was primarily responsible for safeguarding coastal waters between Canada and Jacksonville, Florida. During this assignment and the one with the Atlantic Fleet that followed, Siren’s duties included not only patrolling the southeastern coast of the United States but also helping to escort convoys between that region and various islands in the Caribbean. At one point, the crew of the Siren rescued survivors of a U-boat that had been sunk by a Navy Catalina PBY patrol plane. (The accompanying photo of Siren was taken during this period of her wartime service.)

In April 1944, Siren was transferred to New York City for a tour of duty at the Naval Training School (Salvage). She was decommissioned the following month. After being struck from the Navy list on November 13, 1945, Siren was handed over to the War Shipping Administration. She was sold on August 13, 1946. The subsequent fate of this yacht is unknown.

Photo Credit: Public Domain

For more information on the yacht originally known as Lotosland and later renamed USS Siren (CMc-1/PY-13), please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Siren_(PY-13)