Ability PYE-28
Ability I
(PYe-28: dp. 280; 1. 133', b. 21'6", dr. 8'; s. 13 k.; cpl. 43, a. 1
20mm., 2 dct.)
On 12 March 1942, Reomar IV—a yacht built in 1926 by the Defoe Boat and Motor Works, Bay City, Mich.—was purchased by the Navy from R. E. Olds and renamed Ability (PYe-28). The vessel was converted for naval service by the Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Sturgeon Bay, Wis., and commissioned on 28 September 1942, Lt. (jg.) Lloyd R. Walker in command.
After a brief period of shakedown training, Ability reported in November 1942 to Commander, Eastern Sea Frontier, and through the late autumn and winter performed patrol duty. Between March 1943 and September 1944, Ability was attached to the Fleet Sound School, Key West, Fla. There, she participated in antisubmarine warfare training exercises and carried out harbor guard duties.
The ship was decommissioned on 29 September 1944 and placed in an "in service" status for duty as a naval reserve training ship at Tompkinsville, N. Y. Ability was placed out of service on 19 September 1945 and was struck from the Navy list on 1 October 1945. She was turned over to the Maritime Commission for disposal on 18 May 1946.