Volador, 1942
IX-59
One of several varieties of flying or sailing fishes named for a Spanish term meaning flying.
History:
Volador was a wooden-hulled, 110-foot schooner. She was designed by William Gardiner and built in 1926 at Wilmington, California, by William Muller. The vessel was acquired for the Navy by the Port Director, San Pedro, from W. L. Valentine on 2 February 1942. Delivered to the Section Base, San Pedro, on that day, Volador was classified as a miscellaneous auxiliary, unclassified, IX-59, and was placed "in service" on 19 February 1942. In July of that year, she was temporarily transferred homeported at San Pedro, Volador operated locally under the aegis of the 11th Naval District into 1943. On 1 July 1943 she was transferred to the Coast Guard for operational training duties for Coast Guard district personnel. On 17 August 1943, Volador was delivered to the War Shipping Administration which transferred the schooner to the War Department for operation by the Army.
Volador (IX-59) was struck from the Navy list on 3 September 1943.
Sources:
Cutter History File. USCG Historian's Office, USCG HQ, Washington, D.C.
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Washington, DC: USGPO.
Robert Scheina. U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1982.