SS Delphine off the French Riviera, July 2008.
History
NameDelphine
OwnerJacques Bruynooghe[1]
BuilderGreat Lakes Engineering Works
Cost$2 million (building cost in 1921)
Launched2 April 1921
Identification
FateRequisitioned by the US Navy 1942
United States
NameUSS Dauntless (PG-61)
Acquired21 January 1942
Commissioned11 May 1942
Decommissioned11 May 1946
Stricken5 June 1946
United States
NameSS Delphine
Acquired1946
United States
NameSS Dauntless
Acquired1967
 France, Singapore
NameSS Dauntless
Acquired1989
Monaco
NameSS Delphine
Acquired1997
General characteristics
Tonnage1961 (gross)
Length257.8 ft (78.6 m)
Beam35.5 ft (10.8 m)
Draft14.6 ft (4.5 m)
Installed powerSteam
PropulsionPropeller
Speed12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) max
Capacity26 passengers
Crew24-30
SS Delphine launched April 1921. Caption from Popular Mechanics magazine

SS Delphine is a yacht commissioned by Horace Dodge, co-founder of Dodge Brothers. The yacht was launched on 2 April 1921 Captained by Arthur A. Archer.[2] Power was originally supplied from three Babcock & Wilcox boilers[3] powering two 1,500-horsepower (1,100 kW) quadruple-expansion engines.[1]

In her 2003 refit Delphine was re-equipped with two modern water-tube boilers operating at 20 bars (290 psi), the larger of which has an evaporation capacity of 14 metric tons (31,000 lb) of steam per hour while the smaller can evaporate 4 metric tons (8,800 lb) per hour;[4] these new boilers supply the original quadruple-expansion engines. "Of all the large American-built steam yachts built between 1893 and 1930, the Delphine is the only one left in her original condition with her original steam engines still in service."[1]

The Delphine caught fire and sank in New York in 1926, only to be recovered and restored. She suffered further damage in 1940 when she ran aground in the Great Lakes, and was repaired. She was acquired by the United States Navy in January 1942 and rechristened USS Dauntless (PG-61), to serve as the flagship for Admiral Ernest King, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations. She was sold back to Anna Dodge (Horace Dodge's wife) after the conclusion of World War II and restored to civilian standards and service, including her original name.[3]

Purportedly, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt used the yacht and the Yalta accords were drafted while he was on board.[5]

Delphine was sold in 1967 and again in 1968, changing names again to Dauntless, only to be sold again in 1986, 1989, and in 1997 – at scrap metal prices to her next owner, Jacques Bruynooghe, who proceeded to restore her for $60 million to the original 1921 condition including interior decor and the original steam engines.[1] She was rechristened Delphine by Princess Stéphanie of Monaco on 10 September 2003. In 2007, the ship was used as part of the setting for the Rian Johnson film The Brothers Bloom.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Levine, Joshua (21 April 2008). "Vaporous Lady". Forbes. Vol. 181, no. 8. pp. 236–238.
  2. ↑ Pamphlet "Launching of the Delphine" Published - April 2nd 1921
  3. 1 2 "Horace Dodge's Steam Yacht DELPHINE". SS Delphine. Archived from the original on 2006-12-13. Retrieved 23 November 2006.
  4. ↑ "SS Delphine Charter Brochure" (PDF). SS Delphine Official Website. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-12. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  5. ↑ 258'/78m U.S.-Built Dodge Family Mega-Yacht is 100 Years-Old and Steam-Driven Yacht Delphine Video Xplorer Yachts via YouTube
  6. ↑ "Ships of the past: Delphine". Nautilus International. 16 July 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
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