USS Munaires

SS Munaires in a photograph possibly taken on 7 January 1918 at the time of her inspection for possible naval service by the 5th Naval District.
History
United States
Name	USS Munaires
Namesake	Previous name retained
Builder	Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Newport News, Virginia
Launched	17 November 1917
Completed	5 January 1918
Acquired	14 January 1918
Commissioned	14 January 1918
Decommissioned	6 April 1919 [1]
Fate	Transferred to United States Shipping Board 25 April 1919 for return to owners
Notes	Served as American commercial cargo ship SS Munaires 1919–1942 Torpedoed and sunk 28 September 1942
General characteristics
Class and type	Mundelta-class cargo ship
Tonnage	5,095 Gross register tons
Displacement	10,400 tons (normal)
Length	385 ft (117 m)
Beam	53 ft (16 m)
Draft	24 ft (7.3 m)
Propulsion	Steam engine
Speed	10.5 knots
Complement	86
Armament	1 × 6-inch (152-millimeter) gun 1 × 3-inch (76.2-millimeter) gun

USS Munaires (ID-2197) was a cargo ship that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919.

SS Munaires was built as a commercial cargo ship at Newport News, Virginia, by Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company for the Munson Steamship Line of New York City. She was delivered to the Munson Steamship Line on 5 January 1918, but the United States Shipping Board acquired her from Munson on 10 January 1918 for World War I service. On 14 January 1918, the Shipping Board transferred her to the U.S. Navy, which assigned her the naval registry Identification Number (Id. No.) 2197 and commissioned her the same day as USS Munaires.

USS Munaires at the American Basins at Bordeaux, France, on 2 October 1918.

Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, Munaires departed New York City on 27 January 1918 in convoy for Europe, arriving at Bordeaux, France, on 17 February 1918 to discharge her cargo of United States Army supplies. Clearing Gironde, France, on 24 April 1918, she returned to the United States East Coast, arriving at New York City on 7 May 1918.

Munaires made four more round-trip runs to French ports with U.S. Army materials, mostly corn and blankets, the last of these voyages ending at New York City on 20 December 1918.

On 7 January 1919, Munaires got underway for South America, stopping along the way at Hampton Roads, Virginia, to load coal. Arriving at La Plata, Argentina, on 12 February 1919, she unloaded her cargo and steamed back to New York City, which she reached on 4 April 1919. On 6 April 1919 ^[2] Munaires was decommissioned. The Navy transferred her to the United States Shipping Board on 25 April 1919 for return to the Munson Steamship Line.

Once again SS Munaires, she operated for the Munson Steamship Line in commercial service until she was torpedoed and sunk during World War II on 28 September 1942.

Notes

1. Although the decommissioning date of 6 January 1919 appears both in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m15/munaires.htm) and NavSource Online (at http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/172197.htm), that date is impossible because the ship's history cited in all sources shows that she was still in commission through at least 4 April 1919. The Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images (at http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-m/id2197.htm) states that USS Munaires "steamed to South America with a cargo of coal, returning to the U.S. early in April" 1919, and "Soon after that, Munaires was decommissioned and returned to her owners." The other sources agree that the Navy transferred Munaires to the United States Shipping Board for return to her owners on 25 April 1919 (see the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships and NavSource Online articles), so the decommissioning date almost certainly was 6 April 1919 rather than 6 January 1919.
2. Although the decommissioning date of 6 January 1919 appears both in the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (at http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/m15/munaires.htm) and NavSource Online (at http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/172197.htm), that date is impossible because the ship's history cited in all sources shows that she was still in commission through at least 4 April 1919. The Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images (at http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-m/id2197.htm) states that USS Munaires "steamed to South America with a cargo of coal, returning to the U.S. early in April" 1919, and "Soon after that, Munaires was decommissioned and returned to her owners." The other sources agree that the Navy transferred Munaires to the United States Shipping Board for return to her owners on 25 April 1919 (see the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships and NavSource Online articles), so the decommissioning date almost certainly was 6 April 1919 rather than 6 January 1919.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.
• Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships: USS Munaires (ID # 2197), 1918–1919. Originally, and later, S.S. Munaires (American Freighter, 1917).
• NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: Munaires (ID 2197)