HMS Warrior (1917)
From April 1918 to January 1919 she was moored in Washington, D.C., where she hosted social events to support UK – US diplomatic and naval relations.George L Watson designed the yacht;[1] the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company of Troon built her as yard number 121;[2] and she was launched on 4 February 1904 as Warrior.She was painted white, and her bow was decorated with a figurehead of "a warrior with drawn sword held at an aggressive angle".The yacht's crew chose to remain aboard Warrior to await the arrival of a salvage tug from Kingston, Jamaica.Almirante continued to stand by, and the tug arrived about 18:00 hrs on 29 January, but by then the wind and sea were too heavy to allow a line to be thrown aboard Warrior.Almirante, having perishable cargo aboard, resumed her voyage on 31 January, leaving the Merritt and Chapman salvage tug Relief to continue to stand by Warrior.[19] Also by 6 February, all but ten of Warrior's crew had been rescued, and were aboard the Tropical Fruit Company steamship Metapan, which would bring them back to the US.[22] By 13 February another seven members of the yacht's crew had abandoned ship, leaving only the captain and two crewmen aboard Warrior.On 30 January 1915, the family left New York aboard the yacht for a cruise to Los Angeles via the Panama Canal,[36] which had opened only a few months previously.By 25 March, AG Vanderbilt was aboard Wayfarer in Havana, Cuba, to see the World Heavyweight boxing championship fight between Jess Willard and Jack Johnson.By 16 April 1916, Alexander Smith Cochran had bought the yacht from AG Vanderbilt's estate, and restored her name to Warrior.[45] After the war, the New York Tribune reported that Cochran had "presented" Warrior to the UK government, and that he had been commissioned into the Royal Navy to command her.Wreaths, including ones from First Lady Edith Wilson, and from Cunard Line, were laid from Warrior and Wicomico at the confluence of the Anacostia and Potomac rivers.Four members of Warrior's company died between 16 October and 21 December: one deck hand; one "writer" (clerk); and two Royal Marines.[48] Breaking with naval tradition, the Admiralty allowed Lady Grant to live aboard Warrior with her husband.On 9 October the couple hosted a reception aboard Warrior to introduce Eric Geddes, First Lord of the Admiralty, to Washington society.Guests included US Navy Secretary Josephus Daniels, the Brazilian and Italian ambassadors, and senior members of the staff of the British and French embassies.Senior members of Government including Frank Polk, Franklin Knight Lane, and Josephus Daniels were among the guests, along with the staffs of the British, French, and Italian embassies.[61] However, by May 1920 the industrialist and Basque nationalist Ramon de la Sota y Llano had bought her, renamed her Goizeko-Izarra, and registered her in Bilbao in Spain.[65] Early in May 1937, it was reported that the Compañía Transatlántica Española ocean liner Habana and a vessel called Goizeko-Izarra had sailed from the Republican-held Basque port of Santurtzi, carrying more than 2,000 child refugees between them to La Pallice in France.[68][69] Republican sources denied reports that on this second voyage Goizeko-Izarra carried treasure sent abroad for safe keeping by the Basque government.[74] In the Second World War the Admiralty requisitioned the yacht, had her converted for anti-submarine warfare, and commissioned her as HMS Warrior II.
HMS WarriorBasqueMorning StarFrederick W VanderbiltHP WhitneyAlfred G VanderbiltAlexander Smith CochranRamon de la SotaMarwell Shipping CoHarry Payne WhitneyRoyal NavyNew YorkBilbaoSouthamptonAilsa Shipbuilding Cocode letterscall signpennant numberofficial numbersteam yachtoverallscrewssea trialsubmarine signalling12-pounder gunsScotlandFrederick William VanderbiltAlfred Gwynne Vanderbiltsinking of RMS LusitaniacommissionedRepublicanSpanish Civil Wararmed yachtBermudaCaribbeanflagshipNorth America and West Indies StationWashington, D.C.socialSecond World Waranti-submarine warfareEnglish Channelwreck diversAilsa Shipbuilding Companybetween perpendicularstonnagesA. & J. InglisGlasgowsteam launchmotor launchMrs FW Vanderbiltsea trialsParisianhistoricistLouis XV styleboudoirdrawing roomLouis XIV styleengine roomLouis XVI stylemedical doctorpersonal secretaryfigureheadRaymond P. R. Neilsonregisteredwireless telegraphyThe Washington Timeshigh societyStuyvesant FishSt. Lawrence RiverLászló SzéchenyiGladys VanderbiltNathalie Schenck CollinsWilliam Montagu, 9th Duke of ManchesterDuke and Duchess of ManchesterLord FalconerCharlestonPalm BeachColombianCuraçaoColónMagdalena Riverdistress signalMarconi CompanySanta MartacharterUnited Fruit Companysalvage tugKingston, JamaicaMerritt and ChapmanReliefwindlassSavanillacaptainHamburg America LineMerritt & Chapmanhorse breederGertrude VanderbiltNewport, Rhode Islandcharteredunderwritersrailroad carLos AngelesPanama CanalHavanaHeavyweightJess WillardJack JohnsonFishers Island, New YorkNew London, ConnecticutlightersRiverside, ConnecticutSan FranciscoVice-AdmiralWilliam GrantAdmiraltyNew York TribuneSaint LuciaSaint KittsAntiguaBarbadosTrinidadGrenadaDominicaBelizeHalifax