Yacht Corsair II J

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The black and white molded plastic kit contains two, black, molded hull halves,
all other parts are white. Paint, glue and thread for rigging not included.
Dozens of detailed parts including an attractive display stand, deck, lifeboats, davits,
cabin superstructure, masts, wheel and binnacle, flag decals, etc. all the necessary parts,
wonderfully reproduced with meticulous detail of the hand craftsmanship of the era.
Illustrated and numbered instructions for easy assembly with suggested painting instructions.

Corsair, a 1600-ton (displacement) steam yacht, was built in 1899 at Hoboken, New Jersey, for New York financier J.P. Morgan, who once commented (in effect, and presumably based in close personal experience with the subject) that if somebody had to ask what it cost to keep a steam yacht, they could not afford it. Morgan was clearly not a member of that class. In any case, the Navy could afford it, at least in time of war, and in May 1917 chartered the yacht for World War I service. Commissioned at that time as USS Corsair (SP-159), she crossed the Atlantic in June and soon began anti-submarine patrol and escort operations off western France. During the conflict's remaining sixteen months she rescued survivors of two sinking ships, the U.S. Army transport Antilles in October 1917 and USS Californian in June 1918. She also helped a disabled neutral (Norwegian) freighter to reach port in September 1918.

Soon after the "Great War" fighting ended in November 1918, Corsair steamed to the British Isles, where she occasionally served as flagship for the Commander, U.S. Naval Forces in European Waters. In May 1919 she carried Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels from England to France. Returning to the U.S. later in that month, USS Corsair was decommissioned and, in June 1919, returned to Mr. Morgan. After many more years as a private yacht, Corsair passed into the custody of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, which renamed her Oceanographer and employed her as a scientific research ship during the 1930s and early 1940s.

The Navy reacquired the former yacht in April 1942. Following brief classification as a gunboat, with the name Natchez (PG-85), she was placed in commission as USS Oceanographer (AGS-3) in August 1942. Later in the year she went to Alaskan waters to perform surveys, but proved unsuitable for the harsh conditions there and in March 1943 was sent to the south Pacific. Oceanographer conducted extensive surveys in that part of the World until June 1944, when she left for repairs. Soon after arriving at San Pedro, California, the now very elderly ship was found to be beyond fixing. USS Oceanographer was decommissioned in September 1944 and subsequently scrapped.