USS Bath (AK-4)

Last updated
History
Flag of the Netherlands.svgNetherlands
NameAndromeda
Namesake Andromeda (mythology)
OwnerArgo Steamship Co., Holland
Builder Oderwerke, Stettin, German Empire
Laid down1913
Completed1913
FateSeized at New Orleans, Louisiana, 6 April 1917
USS Bath (AK-4).jpg
USS Bath (AK-4) At anchor and dressed with flags, circa 1920.
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameBath
Namesake Bath, Maine
Acquired6 April 1917
Commissioned30 July 1917, as USS Bath (ID-1997)
Decommissioned9 May 1922
Reclassified17 July 1920, as AK-4
Stricken30 September 1925
Identification
FateSold to S. R. Paterno of Manila, 2 January 1926, wrecked 1955
General characteristics [1]
Displacement
  • 2,250 t (2,210 long tons) (standard)
  • 6,782 t (6,675 long tons) (full load)
Length344 ft (105 m)
Beam46 ft 2 in (14.07 m)
Draught20 ft 2 in (6.15 m)
Speed10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement99
Armament

USS Bath (OD-1997/AK-4) was a cargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy for service in World War I.

Contents

Construction and career

Early career and seizure

The ship was launched in 1913 by Oderwerke Stettiner of Stettin, Germany, as the Dutch freighter SS Andromeda. The vessel was seized by United States customs officials at New Orleans, Louisiana on 6 April 1917 and transferred to the United States Navy in May. The Navy renamed the ship Bath on 6 June 1917 and was given the hull number ID-1997. Bath was commissioned on 30 July 1917.

United States naval service

Bath left New Orleans on 2 August 1917 to join a convoy at Boston, Massachusetts for a transatlantic crossing, and arrived at Brest, France on 18 September 1917. She was placed in Special Service with Train, Atlantic Fleet, and carried cargo between England and France until February 1918 when she returned to the United States. Bath was assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service in March 1918 and carried cargo between the United States and Europe. Between February 1919 and July 1921 she carried cargo between the east and west coasts of the United States and to the Caribbean. In 1920, the vessel received a new hull number, AK-4.

On 14 July 1921 Bath was assigned to the Asiatic Fleet and arrived at Cavite, Philippines, on 6 January 1922. She remained with the Asiatic Fleet until decommissioned at Cavite on 9 May 1922. She was sold on 2 January 1926. She was wrecked in 1955.

Military awards and honors

Her crew members were eligible for the following medal:

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References

  1. "USS Bath (AK-4)". Navsource.org. Retrieved May 22, 2015.