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USS TANGUINGUI (SP-126)MOTOR YACHT & NAVAL PATROL VESSEL

USS TANGUINGUI (SP-126)MOTOR YACHT & NAVAL PATROL VESSEL

By AI ChatGPT4-T.Chr.-Human Synthesis-23 January 2026

The Tanguingui wasn’t a modern luxury yacht, but rather a private motor yacht built in 1915 that the United States Navy used as a patrol vessel during World War I. Before and after its naval service it was a civilian yacht.

Key facts:

  • Built in 1915 by the New York Yacht Launch and Engine Company in New York.
  • Originally a private motor yacht used for pleasure cruising.
  • Acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1917 and commissioned as USS Tanguingui (SP-126) for patrol work during World War I.
  • After the war (in 1919) she was returned to her owner and resumed civilian use.
  • About 19 m (63 ft) long with a small crew and outfitted for coastal patrol rather than luxury cruising.

Tanguingui isn’t a modern superyacht like those you might see today in charter fleets — it’s a historic early-20th-century motor yacht that briefly served as a naval patrol vessel.