USS May (SP-164) at Bermuda in November 1917.
History
United States
Name	USS May
Namesake	A former name retained
Owner	J. R. De Lamar
Builder	Ailsa Shipbuilding Co., Troon, Scotland
Laid down	date unknown
Completed	1891
Acquired	by the Navy, 11 August 1917
Commissioned	7 October 1917
Decommissioned	28 February 1920 (wrecked and abandoned)
Stricken	1920 (est.)
Homeport	New London, Connecticut
Honors and awards	Medal of Honor issued to Tedford H. Cann
Fate	Abandoned, 28 February 1920; no buyers found for the hulk
General characteristics
Type	Yacht
Displacement	100 long tons (102 t)
Length	239 ft 1 in (72.87 m)
Beam	27 ft 10 in (8.48 m)
Draft	15 ft (4.6 m)
Propulsion	Steam engine
Speed	13 kn (15 mph; 24 km/h)
Complement	77 officers and enlisted
Armament	2 × 3 in (76 mm) guns, 2 × .30 in (7.6 mm) machine guns

USS May (SP-164) was a yacht purchased by the United States Navy during World War I. She was outfitted with two 3 in (76 mm) guns and two machine guns, and was assigned to patrol the Atlantic Ocean coast and Caribbean and to protect Allied ships from German submarines. After over two years of patrol work, she ran aground off Cape Engano on the Dominican Republic and had to be abandoned.

May — a 1,100 long tons (1,118 t) steam yacht built in 1891 by Ailsa Shipbuilding Co., Troon, Scotland — was originally brought to the United States by E.D. Morgan III as private yacht, and later was purchased by the U.S. Navy from J. R. De Lamar on 11 August 1917; and commissioned on 7 October 1917.

Operating out of New London, Connecticut, May patrolled along the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean during World War I, protecting vital Allied shipping from German U-boats.

As of March 1919, she was intended for eventual service as a flagship, but she ran aground on a reef off Cape Engano, Santo Domingo on 27 July 1919; after efforts to refloat her failed she was declared abandoned on 28 February 1920.

After unfruitful attempts to refloat her, May's wreck was offered for sale. However, no purchasers appeared, and she was abandoned as unsalable in June 1923.

Ensign Tedford H. Cann, USNRF was awarded the Medal of Honor for "courageous conduct" onboard May in November 1917. His citation reads:

For courageous conduct while serving on board the U.S.S. May, 5 November 1917. Cann found a leak in a flooded compartment and closed it at the peril of his life, thereby unquestionably saving the ship.

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.

• USS May (SP-164), 1917-1919