USS League Island (YFB-20) was a 166-foot-long commercial craft acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. It was primarily used as a ferryboat on the Delaware River

Delaware River

The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...

, transporting military personnel between the Philadelphia Navy Yard, located on League Island

League Island

League Island was an island in the Delaware River, part of the city of Philadelphia, just upstream from the mouth of the Schuylkill River, which was the site of the Philadelphia shipyard, which eventually became the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, now known as the Philadelphia Naval Business...

, and military activities and contractors on the New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 side of the river.

Built in Philadelphia

Block Island (ex-Hook Mountain, ex-Machigonne) was built in April 1907 by Neafie & Levy

Neafie & Levy

Neafie, Levy & Co., commonly known as Neafie & Levy, was a Philadelphia shipbuilding and engineering firm that existed from the middle of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century...

 S. and E. B. Co., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

; purchased by the Navy 24 February 1941 from H. Reynolds Palmer and Raymond H. Abell, Gales Ferry, Connecticut; classified YFB-20 27 February 1941; renamed League Island and placed in service 7 March 1941.

World War II service

League Island (YFB-20) was assigned to the 4th Naval District 17 March 1941 for ferrying service between the Philadelphia Naval Yard, and National Park, New Jersey

National Park, New Jersey

National Park is a Borough in Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, there were 3,205 residents. Despite its name, National Park is neither a national park nor associated with one.-History:...

, which she carried out efficiently throughout the war.

Post-war decommissioning

League Island was placed out of service 6 June 1946 and returned to the War Shipping Administration

War Shipping Administration

The War Shipping Administration was a World War II emergency war agency of the US Government, tasked to purchase and operate the civilian shipping tonnage the US needed for fighting the war....

(WSA) 9 January 1947.