1917: The U.S. Navy Acquires an Express Cruiser from a Philadelphia-Area Businessman

July 23, 1917

The U.S. Navy, as part of its efforts to acquire enough vessels for military service during World War I, purchased the express cruiser Ameera from machine manufacturer Alexander Sellers (1875-1957) for $31,000. This vessel was constructed earlier that year for Sellers by the Mathis Yacht Building Company in Camden, New Jersey. (Sellers, a resident of the Philadelphia suburb of Ardmore, was a member of the Corinthian Yacht Club in that region of Pennsylvania.)

On August 11, 1917, this express cruiser was commissioned into the Navy as USS Ameera (SP-453). Ameera was assigned to the 4^th Naval District, headquartered at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. She performed patrol duties in the area throughout the remainder of World War I. After the armistice ending the war went into effect on November 11, 1918, Ameera was initially used for delivering military dispatches and also for carrying out various port duties in the immediate vicinity of Philadelphia. Ultimately, however, this vessel was placed in reduced commission at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in June 1919. Ameera was decommissioned in September of that year.

Ameera was sold at auction to Thomas E. Mitten (1864-1929), president of the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company, on August 27, 1920. Just a little over a month later, though, Ameera became one of several vessels destroyed in a widespread fire in the Philadelphia-area community of Essington. In reporting on what specifically happened to Ameera as a result of that conflagration, the Philadelphia Inquirer stated that “nothing was left but a few bits of twisted metal and a line of ashes marking its frame.” This newspaper further noted, “Even the bronze steel propeller shaft was melted, so intense was the heat.”

Photo Credit: Public Domain

For more information on USS Ameera (SP-453), please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Ameera