USS Zahma (IX-63), an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be given that name. A wooden-hulled ketch with an auxiliary engine, she was designed by Bowdoin B. Crowninshield and completed in 1915 at Neponset, Massachusetts, by George Lawley & Son, for John H. Cromwell of Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York. Inspected by the Navy at the entry of the United States into World War I for possible service as a patrol craft, the vessel was rejected as "unsuitable for naval use."

History
United States
NameUSS Zahma
BuilderGeorge Lawley & Son, Neponset, Massachusetts
Launched1915
In service26 February 1942
Out of service13 April 1943
Stricken18 July 1944
FateUnknown
General characteristics
TypeKetch
Displacement75 tons
Length93 ft (28 m)
Beam20 ft 7 in (6.27 m)
Draft7 ft 9 in (2.36 m)
Depth of hold9 ft 10 in (3.00 m)
Speed8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph)
Complement6 officers and men

A quarter of a century later, the exigencies of war changed the Navy's evaluation of the graceful craft, as she was again inspected, this time at the 11th Naval District, in early 1942. Acquired by the Port Director of San Diego, California, from R. J. Rheem on 13 February, Zahma was placed in service on 26 February 1942. Classified as an unclassified miscellaneous vessel and designated IX-63, Zahma was based at San Diego and operated as a local patrol craft into the spring of 1943. Placed out of service on 13 April 1943, her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 18 July 1944.

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