Sialia SP-543

Sialia
(SP-543: t. 558; 1. 207', b. 27'; dr. 11'3"; s. 14.5 k.;
cpl. 61; a. 2 3", 2 mg.)

Sialia (SP-543), a steam yacht built in 1914 by Pusey and Jones, Wilmington, Del., was acquired by the Navy on 10 June 1917 from her owner, Henry Ford, and commissioned on 30 June 1917. For her first nine months of naval service, she was assigned to the section patrol force in the 4th Naval District but spent most of her time pierside at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. From 15 April 1918 to 5 May 1919, she served as flagship in Hampton Roads for Commander Division Four, Cruiser Force, and Newport News Division, Transport Force. Sialia was transferred to the Coast and Geodetic Survey on 6 October 1919, returned to the Navy on 6 February 1920, and sold on 13 April to her former owner, Henry Ford.