Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp., Whitestone NY

The Wheeler Yacht Company was founded at the turn of the 19th century by Howard E. Wheeler, in Brooklyn NY.  During WWI, like other yacht builders, the yard built sub chasers.  When WWII came, the Brooklyn yard, which has its own table here, was dedicated first to minesweepers and then to an astonishing series of 230 patrol craft for the Coast Guard.  The company built a second yard at Whitestone NY, which also started out building minesweepers but went on to build tugs and coastal freighters.  After the war, the yard returned to pleasure craft construction but closed in 1948.  If anyone can provide any more information about these yards or the ships they built, please e-mail it to me at tim@coltoncompany.com.

Hull # Customer Type Navy Type Pennant # Tons Feet Delivery Disposition
US Navy Minesweeper YMS 42 278   25-Apr-42 To the USSR 1945 as T-592
US Navy Minesweeper YMS 43 278   11-May-42 To France 1944 as Lotus (D 324), decommissioned in the 1960s
US Navy Minesweeper YMS 44 278   25-May-42 Struck 1946
US Navy Minesweeper YMS 45 278   5-Jun-42 Reclassified 1947 as Barbet (AMS 41), disposition unknown
US Navy Minesweeper YMS 46 278   20-Jun-42 Struck 1947 
US Navy Minesweeper YMS 47 278   2-Jul-42 Struck 1945, disposition unknown 
US Navy Minesweeper YMS 48 278   14-Jul-42 Damaged by gunfire at Corregidor and scuttled 1945
US Navy Minesweeper YMS 49 278   24-Jul-42 Struck 1946
US Navy Minesweeper YMS 50 278   3-Aug-42 Mined off Borneo and lost 1945 
US Navy Minesweeper YMS 51 278   12-Aug-42 Struck 1947 
US Navy Minesweeper YMS 52 278   21-Aug-42 Struck 1946
US Navy Minesweeper YMS 53 278   31-Aug-42 Struck 1946, later sold as Myrnalyn
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 5 278   14-Sep-42 To South Korea 1947 as Kil Chu, scrapped 1956
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 6 278   28-Sep-42 To South Korea 1947 as Kong City, sunk 1950
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 7 278   8-Oct-42 Sold 1947
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 8 278   19-Oct-42 To South Korea 1948 as Yong Kung, scrapped 1955
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 65 278   22-Jan-43 To Greece 1946 as Karteria, struck 1973
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 66 278   8-Feb-43 To Greece 1946 as Papalos, struck 1973
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 67 278   23-Feb-43 To Greece 1946 as Salaminia, struck 1960
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 68 278   16-Mar-43 To Greece 1946 as Lefkas, struck 1966
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 69 278   30-Mar-43 To Egypt 1949 as Naharia, discarded 1970
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 70 278   15-Apr-43 Scrapped 1948
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 71 278   4-May-43 To Greece 1947 as Kafalinnia, returned 1947 and discarded
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 72 278   13-May-43 Captured off Kalymnos 1943, disposition unknown 
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 73 278   31-May-43 To Italy 1957 as Begonia, later Marsciallo Oltramonte
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 74 278   8-Jun-43 To Greece 1944 as Kassos, sunk off Piraeus 1944 
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 75 278   18-Jun-43 To Egypt 1949 as Kaisaria, discarded 1970
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 76 278   29-Jun-43 To Greece 1946 as Prokyon, struck 1968
US Navy Minesweeper BYMS 77 278   6-Jul-43 Mined in the Gulf of Corinth and lost 1944
US Navy Minesweeper