Probably photographed in 1917 while still in the hands of her builders, Bethlehem Shipbuilding, Sparrows Point, Maryland. | |
History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | USS Hatteras |
Namesake | An inlet on the coast of North Carolina. |
Owner | Cunard Line |
Builder | Bethlehem Shipping Corp. of Sparrows Point, Maryland |
Launched | 20 November 1917 |
Commissioned | 23 October 1917 at Baltimore, Maryland |
Decommissioned | 8 April 1919 at New York City |
Fate | Returned to the United States Shipping Board 8 April 1919, retained until she was abandoned in 1938 |
General characteristics | |
Type | freighter |
Displacement | 10,505 tons |
Length | 377 ft (115 m) |
Beam | 52 ft (16 m) |
Draft | 23 ft 10 in (7.26 m) |
Propulsion | steam engine |
Speed | 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
The second USS Hatteras was a Cunard Line freighter acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War I and was used to transport men and war materials to France. Post-war she was returned to the U.S. Shipping Board as redundant to needs.
The second U.S. Navy ship to be named Hatteras was built in 1917 for the Cunard Line by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. of Sparrows Point, Maryland. Acquired by the U.S. Navy for the war effort, she commissioned 23 October 1917. After loading cargo, mainly iron, in Maryland, Hatteras joined a convoy at Norfolk, Virginia, and sailed for France on 26 January 1918. On 4 February the convoy ran into a severe North Atlantic Ocean storm, and Hatteras' steering gear broke down completely. The disabled ship headed back to Boston, Massachusetts, using a jury-rigged steering system arriving 11 days later.
On 6 March she sailed again for France via Halifax, Nova Scotia, but 11 days later ran into another severe storm, and, once again, broken steering gear forced her to turn back to Boston. On 9 April Hatteras sailed for France for the third time, this time through relatively calm seas, and arrived in Nantes on the 30th. Cargo successfully discharged, she returned to Baltimore on 23 May. Thereafter she made four more Atlantic crossings, one to Nantes and three to Bordeaux, finally returning to New York City 19 March 1919.
Hatteras decommissioned there on 8 April 1919 and the same day was returned to the United States Shipping Board (USSB), which retained her until she was abandoned at Shanghai in 1938. Taken into private ownership and renamed Hatterlock, she was subsequently seized by Japan in 1941 and operated by Miyachi Kisen KK of Kobe as Renzan Maru. It was under this name that she was torpedoed and sunk on 1 January 1943 by USS Porpoise (SS-172) off Yap.
USS Aeolus (ID-3005), sometimes also spelled Æolus, was a United States Navy transport ship during World War I. She was formerly the North German Lloyd liner SS Grosser Kurfürst, also spelled Großer Kurfürst, launched in 1899 that sailed regularly between Bremen and New York. At the outset of World War I the ship was interned by the United States and, when the U.S. entered the conflict in 1917, was seized and converted to a troop transport.
USS Bali was a large Dutch freighter seized in New York City by the U.S. Customs Service during World War I. She was assigned to the U.S. Navy and later the U.S. Army as a cargo ship to be used to carry military cargo to Allied forces in France. After a number of transatlantic voyages, she was returned to the Dutch government at war's end. She subsequently remained busy transporting cargo until World War II, when she was wrecked by Luftwaffe bombers in the Mediterranean. Her remains were reclaimed and disposed of by scrapping in 1951.
USS Margaret (ID-2510) – shortly thereafter known as USS Chatham (ID-2510) -- was a cargo ship acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War I. She was used to carry cargo to Allied troops in Europe until the war's end when she was returned to the U.S. Shipping Board for disposition.
USS Maartensdijk (ID-2497) was a freighter seized by U.S. Customs when the United States declared war against Germany in World War I. Maartensdijk – a Dutch-owned vessel—was used by the Navy to transport military cargo across the Atlantic Ocean in support of Allied troops in Europe.
USS West Alsek (ID-3119) was a cargo ship in the United States Navy during World War I. She had been built as SS West Alsek for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) as part of the West boats, cargo ships built on the West Coast of the United States. She sailed on two voyages for the U.S. Navy before she was decommissioned after the Armistice.
USS West Bridge (ID-2888) was a Design 1013 cargo ship in the United States Navy during World War I. She was begun as War Topaz for the British Government but was completed as West Bridge. After being decommissioned from the Navy, the ship returned to civilian service as West Bridge, but was renamed Barbara Cates, and Pan Gulf over the course of her commercial career under American registry.
USS West Carnifax (ID-3812) was a cargo ship in the United States Navy shortly after World War I. After she was decommissioned from the Navy, the ship was known as SS West Carnifax, SS Exford, and SS Pan Royal in civilian service under American registry.
SS West Nohno was a cargo ship of the United States Shipping Board (USSB) launched shortly after the end of World War I. The ship was inspected by the United States Navy for possible use as USS West Nohno (ID-4029) but was neither taken into the Navy nor ever commissioned under that name.
SS Empire Simba was a British steam-powered cargo ship. She was originally an American ship, launched in 1918 as SS West Cohas. During a stint in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919, she was called USS West Cohas (ID-3253).
USS Hisko (ID-1953) was a tanker that served in the United States Navy from 1917 to 1919.
USS Munalbro was a cargo ship that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919.
The second USS Wachusett (ID-1840) was a cargo ship that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919.
Note: This ship should not be confused with the first USS Lydia (SP-62), which was in commission during an overlapping period.
SS Edward Luckenbach was the first of five new cargo ships to be built for the Luckenbach Steamship Company by Fore River Shipbuilding Corporation. The ship was launched in September 1916, delivered in November and briefly operated as such before being requisitioned for World War I service. The ship was one of the cargo vessels in the first large convoy transporting U.S. Army forces to France. After that convoy the ship served as a U.S. Army Chartered Transport (USACT) until converted by the Army to a troop ship and turned over to the Navy a few months before the war's end. The Navy commissioned the ship as USS Edward Luckenbach assigning the miscellaneous identification number ID-1662 in August 1918. The transport made one wartime voyage with continued voyages returning the Army to the U.S. until August 1919.
USS Kermanshah (ID-1473) was a cargo ship that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919.
USS Walter D. Munson (ID-1510) was a United States Navy cargo ship in commission from 1918 to 1919.
USS Munsomo (ID-1607) was a cargo ship that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919.
SS West Gotomska was a steel–hulled cargo ship built in 1918 as part of the World War I emergency wartime shipbuilding program organized by the United States Shipping Board.
USS West Haven (ID-2159) was a steel–hulled freighter that saw service with the U.S. Navy during World War I, and which later saw convoy service during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II.
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This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.