{{short description|Patrol vessel of the United States Navy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=USS Moonstone (PYc-9).JPG |image_caption= USS ''Moonstone'' (PYc-9) }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country=United States |flag={{USN flag|1942}} |name= ''Moonstone'' |ordered= |builder=Germaniawerft |laid_down= |launched= |acquired=10 February 1941 |commissioned=10 April 1941 |decommissioned= |in_service= |out_of_service= |struck=26 October 1943 |reinstated= |honours= |fate=Sunk in collision 16 October 1943 |notes= }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class=patrol boat |displacement=645 tons |length={{convert|171|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}} |beam={{convert|26|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}} |draught={{convert|10|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |draft= |propulsion= 800 bhp diesel engines, two shafts |speed=12 knots |range= |complement=50 officers and enlisted |sensors= |EW= |armament=*1 × 3"/50 gun mount *2 × .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine guns *2 × depth charge tracks |armour= |armor= |aircraft= |notes= }} }}
'''USS ''Moonstone'' (PYc-9)''' was a coastal patrol yacht in the service of the United States Navy. She was built in 1929 as ''Nancy Baker'' by Germaniawerft in Kiel, Germany, later renamed ''Mona'', and subsequently acquired by the Navy as the ''Lone Star'' on 10 February 1941. Renamed ''Moonstone'' and designated PYc-9, she was converted for U.S. Navy service in Jacksonville, Florida, and commissioned on 10 April 1941. She was named for the gemstone moonstone.
On 2 May 1941, ''Moonstone'' sailed for patrol duty with the Panamanian Sea Frontier. She later moved to Ecuador on 2 January 1943 to aid in training the Ecuadorian Navy. In March 1943 she sailed to Charleston, South Carolina, to prepare for permanent transfer to Ecuador. On her return at Balboa, Panama, in July 1943, cracks were discovered in the cylinder blocks of her engine, and she was sent north for repairs. On 16 October 1943, off the mouth of Delaware's Indian River she collided with the destroyer {{USS|Greer|DD-145}} and sank immediately. All but one of ''Moonstones'''s complement survived. She was struck from the Naval Register on 26 October 1943.
Her wreck lies 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Cape May, New Jersey, in {{convert|130|ft|m}} of water.
==References== ''This article includes text from the public domain'' Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships''.''
==External links== * [https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/moonstone.html history.navy.mil: USS ''Moonstone''] * {{navsource|12/1409}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070920203501/http://njscuba.net/sites/chart_deep_sea.html#Moonstone ''Moonstone'' wreck diving information]
{{coord|38.5008|-74.111|type:edu_globe:earth_region:US-NJ|display=title}} {{October 1943 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moonstone, Uss}} Category:Patrol boats of the United States Navy Category:Patrol boats of the United States Category:World War II patrol boats of the United States Category:Shipwrecks of the New Jersey coast Category:Ships built in Kiel Category:Maritime incidents in October 1943 Category:Ships sunk in collisions