1917-1919 - A photographic record J. P. Morgan's yacht, which was leased by the Navy during World War One to serve as the USS Corsair, an escort and patrol ship

"Taking survivors aboard. . .."
This large album measures 12" x 9.5" and contains well over 250 glued-in photographs, most measuring about 4" x 2.5". The photographs are captioned in white ink on 46 of the album's 48 pages. Ten additional photographs are laid-in including a 10" x 8" official group photograph of the crew (with a two-inch closed tear) and two smaller portrait photos of Chambron in uniform (one is full length). Everything is in nice shape.
The well-composed photos picture all members of the ship (quarterdeck, bow, guns, lifeboats, etc.), the ship's crew (many identified), dirigibles, other U.S. Navy vessels, dirigibles, airplanes, (truncated) depth charges, prisoners, torpedoed and burning ships, rescue operations with survivors including mascots, and much more.
The Corsair III, a luxury yacht, was built by T. S. Marvel Shipbuilding for J. P. Morgan and launched in December 1898. After Morgan died, it was inherited by his son, J. P. Morgan Jr.
With the outbreak of World War One, the yacht was leased by the United States Navy, rechristened as the U.S.S. Corsair, and assigned to the Atlantic Fleet. The ship sailed from New York in June of 1917 as an escort for the first contingent of the American Expeditionary Force to depart for France. Her war record was exceptional. After arriving in Saint-Nazaire, the Corsair joined the U.S. Patrol Squadrons, hunting German submarines, escorting vessels, and patrolling the coast of France. She escorted a number of convoys and rescued survivors from several torpedoed or mined vessels including the USS Finland, the USAT Antilles, and the USS California. The Corsair also rescued survivors from a French ship and towed a disabled Norwegian steamer into a French port.
Following the Armistice, the Corsair served for a time as the Flagship for the Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in European waters and transported the Secretary of the Navy from Plymouth, England to Brest, France, after which she returned to New York via the Azores and Bermuda.
Upon her arrival, the ship, once more, became the private yacht, Corsair III. In 1930, J P Morgan, Jr., donated the ship to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey for use in oceanographic survey work, and at that time, the ship was renamed the USC&GS Oceanographer.
During World War Two, the Oceanographer supported the U. S. advance across the Pacific and created 15 charts that were crucial to establishing the logistics base at New Caledonia and instrumental in the success of amphibious landings at New Georgia and the Solomon Islands. The ship returned to Pearl Harbor in June of 1944 for desperately needed repairs, however, the work required was so extensive that she was decommissioned and scrapped instead.
(For more information about the Corsair/Oceanographer, see the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.)
An exceptionally detailed and scarce first-person visual record of life aboard one of the most renowned patrol/escort ships of World War One.
At the time of listing, there is nothing similar for sale in the trade nor held by institutions per OCLC. Neither have there been any auctions of a similar photograph album recorded by the Rare Book Hub. (Inventory #: 009722)