USS Lake Arthur

Last updated

S.S. Lake Arthur.jpg
S.S. Lake Arthur (American Freighter, 1918), S.S. Lake Weston (American Freighter, 1918), and S.S. Lake Stirling (American Freighter, 1918) -- listed from left to right
History
Name
  • 1918: War Plum [1]
  • 1918: Lake Arthur
  • 1923: Virginia Limited
  • 1930: Valentine
  • 1923: Sesotris
Namesake1918: Lake Arthur, Louisiana [2]
Owner
  • 1918: USSB
  • 1921: Richmond–New York Steamship Co.
  • 1925: Eastern Steamship Lines
  • 1930: Gordon C. Leitch
  • 1930: Helmsing and Grimm
  • 1931: Schiffahrts A.G. Nord Ost
  • 1932: Albert Klat
  • 1935: Hanseatischen Reederei Emil Offen & Co. [3]
Operator1918–1919: United States Navy as USS Lake Arthur (ID-2915) [2]
Port of registry
Builder
Yard number217 [1]
Launched16 February 1918 [1]
Commissioned17 September 1918 at Brest, France [2]
Decommissioned3 April 1919 [2]
FateScuttled in the North Sea with cargo of chemical weapons, 17 November 1945
General characteristics
Type Design 1020 ship [4]
Tonnage1,948  GRT [2]
Length261 ft (80 m) [2]
Beam43 ft 6 in (13.26 m) [2]
Draft17 ft 9 in (5.41 m) [2]
Propulsion1 x triple-expansion steam engine [1]
Speed9 knots (17 km/h) [2]
Complement52 (as USS Lake Arthur, 1918–19) [2]
Armament1 x 3 in (7.6 cm) gun (World War I) [2]

SS Lake Arthur (ID-2915) was a Design 1020 cargo ship that served in the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) of the United States Navy during World War I. Originally ordered and begun under the name SS War Plum, she was renamed SS Lake Arthur by the United States Shipping Board (USSB). After her naval service, she operated commercially under a variety of names, before being scuttled in the North Sea with a load of chemical weapons in November 1945.

Contents

Career

Ordered by the British government, the ship was laid down by the Detroit Shipbuilding Company of Wyandotte, Michigan, under the name War Plum. [1] When the USSB requisitioned all shipping under construction in the United States after the U.S. entered World War I in April 1917, she was renamed Lake Arthur, [3] after the southwestern Louisiana town of Lake Arthur. [2] The ship was launched on 16 February 1918, and completed in March. [2]

Under the auspices of the USSB, Lake Arthur sailed across the Atlantic and was employed in cargo duties. While at Brest, France, on 17 September 1918, she was transferred the United States Navy and commissioned the same day under the command of Lieutenant Commander Edwin T. Madden, USNRF. She was assigned to the NOTS and carried stores for the United States Army from ports in the United Kingdom to ports in France over the next five months. On 18 February 1919, loaded with U.S. Army cargo, Lake Arthur departed from Cardiff and arrived at Philadelphia on 11 March. There, she was decommissioned on 3 April and returned to the USSB the same day. [2]

The USSB sold Lake Arthur to the Richmond-New York Steamship Company of New York in 1921. The ship was renamed Virginia Limited in 1923, and sold to the Eastern Steamship Lines of Newport News, Virginia, in 1925. The ship was sold in 1930 to Gordon C. Leitch of Middlesbrough, and then, later the same year, to Helmsing and Grimm of Riga and renamed Valentine. The following year Schiffahrts A.G.Nord Ost, of Riga, purchased the ship. In 1932 Albert Klat of Alexandria purchased the ship and renamed her Sesostris. [3]

In 1935, Hanseatische Reederei Emil Offen & Co. of Hamburg purchased the ship, and she remained under German control through the end of World War II. Sesotris was seized by the British at Kiel in May 1945. After she was loaded with a cargo of chemical weapons, Sesotris was steered to the Skagerrak Strait in the North Sea and scuttled on 17 November 1945. [3]

Related Research Articles

SS <i>Absaroka</i>

SS Absaroka was a steamer, named after the Absaroka Range of mountains in Montana and Wyoming, completed in February 1918 for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) which briefly operated the ship. From 17 September 1918 to 4 March 1919 the ship was commissioned as USS Absaroka with the identification number IX-2581 in United States Navy and operated by the Naval Overseas Transportation Service.

SS <i>Empire Miniver</i> British steam merchant ship

The SS Empire Miniver was a British steam merchant ship. She was originally an American merchant, launched in 1918 as SS West Cobalt. During a brief stint in the United States Navy in 1919, she was known as USS West Cobalt (ID-3836).

SS <i>Point Bonita</i>

SS Point Bonita was constructed in 1918 and launched 27 March 1918 after a hull being built for foreign owners at Albina Engine and Machine Works was requisitioned during World War I by the United States Shipping Board (USSB). The ship saw service as the Navy transport USS Point Bonita, assigned Identification Number 3496, from 7 October 1918 to 7 April 1919, was returned to the USSB and saw civilian service with several commercial companies as San Pedro and Oliver Olson before again seeing service in World War II as USS Camanga (AG-42). After return to commercial service as Oliver Olson the ship was wrecked at the entrance to Bandon harbor in Oregon.

USS <i>Tuluran</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Tuluran (AG-46) was under construction for the British at the Toledo Shipbuilding Company as the cargo ship War Bayonet in 1917 when requisitioned by the United States Shipping Board (USSB) for World War I service. The ship was launched and completed as Lake Superior. The Navy acquired the ship from the USSB with assignment to the Naval Overseas Transport Service (NOTS) with the identification number ID-2995. The ship was returned to the USSB which sold the vessel in 1926. The ship was renamed C. D. Johnston III and that vessel operated out of Oregon until again sold and based in San Francisco. Another sale resulted in the vessel being renamed Anna Shafer which was acquired by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) in 1942 and allocated to the Navy for World War II service.

SS <i>Pennsylvanian</i> 1913 cargo ship

SS Pennsylvanian was a cargo ship built in 1913 for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company. During World War I she was requisitioned by the United States Navy and commissioned as USS Pennsylvanian (ID-3511) in September 1918, and renamed two months later to USS Scranton. After her naval service, her original name of Pennsylvanian was restored.

USS <i>West Alsek</i> (ID-3119) American cargo ship

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 <i>West Apaum</i> (ID-3221) Cargo ship in the United States Navy

USS West Apaum (ID-3221) was a cargo ship in the United States Navy during World War I. She had been built as SS West Apaum for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) as part of the West boats, a series of steel-hulled cargo ships built on the West Coast of the United States.

USS <i>West Bridge</i> United States Navy cargo ship

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 <i>West Carnifax</i> (ID-3812) Cargo ship in United states navy

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.

MS <i>West Grama</i> American cargo ship

MS West Grama, sometimes spelled as West Gramma, was a diesel-powered cargo ship of the United States Maritime Commission (USMC) that was sunk as part of the "gooseberry" breakwater off Utah Beach during the Normandy invasion. Prior to her diesel conversion, she was known as SS West Grama. In 1919, she was briefly taken up by the United States Navy under the name USS West Grama (ID-3794).

SS <i>Empire Simba</i> British steam-powered cargo ship

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 <i>West Corum</i> (ID-3982) Cargo ship in United States Navy

USS West Corum (ID-3982) was a cargo ship for the United States Navy in 1919. The ship was built as SS West Corum and reverted to that name at the end of her Navy service. During World War II, the ship was United States Army transport ship USAT West Corum, later renamed to Will H. Point.

USS West Coast (ID-3315) was a cargo ship for the United States Navy during World War I. The ship was laid down as SS War Dagger but launched in July 1918 as SS West Coast and reverted to that name at the end of her Navy service.

USS <i>West Lianga</i> (ID-2758) Cargo ship for the United States Navy

USS West Lianga (ID-2758) was a cargo ship for the United States Navy during World War I. She was later known as SS Helen Whittier and SS Kalani in civilian service under American registry, as SS Empire Cheetah under British registry, and as SS Hobbema under Dutch registry.

USS <i>West Ekonk</i> (ID-3313) Cargo ship in the United States Navy

USS West Ekonk (ID-3313) was a cargo ship for the United States Navy during World War I. She was later known as SS West Ekonk in civilian service under American registry, and as SS Empire Wildebeeste under British registry.

SS <i>West Hosokie</i>

SS West Hosokie 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.

SS <i>West Cressey</i>

SS West Cressey was a steel-hulled cargo ship that saw a brief period of service as an auxiliary with the U.S. Navy in the aftermath of World War I.

SS Empire Chamois was a 5,864 GRT cargo ship which was built in 1918 by Ames Shipbuilding and Drydock Co, Seattle. She was ordered by the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique but was requisitioned by the United States Navy and commissioned as USS West Mount with the pennant number ID-3202 in 1918. She was decommissioned in May 1919 and passed to the United States Shipping Board (USSB) as SS Westmount. In 1927 she was sold to the Dimon Steamship Corporation and renamed SS Pacific Redwood. She returned to the USSB in 1932 and passed to the United States Maritime Commission (USMC) in 1937. In 1940, she was passed to the Ministry of Shipping, passing to the Ministry of War Transport in 1941 and being renamed SS Empire Chamois. She was sold to Astral Shipping Co Ltd in 1946 and renamed SS Granview. In 1949 she was sold to the Compagnia Maritime del Este, Panama and renamed SS Chamois, serving until 1958 when she was scrapped. She was the last Ames-built ship afloat.

SS <i>Western Maid</i>

Western Maid was a 5,760 GRT cargo ship that was built in 1918 by the Northwest Steel Company, Portland, Oregon, USA. She was built for the United States Shipping Board (USSB), but was commissioned into the United States Navy on completion as USS Western Maid, with the pennant number ID-3703. In 1919 she was decommissioned and returned to the USSB. In 1937 she was passed to the United States Maritime Commission. In 1940 she was transferred to the British Ministry of Shipping and renamed Empire Cormorant, passing to the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) in 1941. In 1945 she was scuttled in the North Atlantic with a cargo of obsolete war matériel.

USS <i>Lake Tulare</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Lake Tulare (ID-2652) was a cargo ship of the United States Navy that served during World War I and its immediate aftermath.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Lake Arthur (2216036)" . Miramar Ship Index . Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Lake Arthur". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command . Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Radigan, Joseph M. (2008). "Lake Arthur (ID 2915)" . Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  4. ↑ Colton, Tim. "General Cargo Ships Built in Great Lakes Shipyards". Shipbuildinghistory.com. The Colton Company. Retrieved 29 June 2009.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.