USS Nantahala (ID-3519)

Last updated
Nantahala (ID 3519).jpg
SS Nantahala at anchor on 30 October 1918 during her sea trials. She is painted in dazzle camouflage.
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Nantahala
NamesakePrevious name retained
Builder Western Pipe and Steel Company, San Francisco, California,
Launched4 July 1918
Acquired16 November 1918
Commissioned16 November 1918
Decommissioned17 April 1919
Fate
General characteristics
Type Design 1019 cargo ship
Tonnage5,895  GRT
Displacement12,250 long tons (12,447 t)
Length427 ft (130 m)
Beam54 ft (16 m)
Draft24 ft 2 in (7.37 m)
Propulsion Steam engine, one shaft
Speed11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph)
Complement72
SS Nantahala off San Francisco, California, when first completed, ca. summer 1918. She is painted in dazzle camouflage. The tug Sea Fox is alongside. SS Nantahala stern view.jpg
SS Nantahala off San Francisco, California, when first completed, ca. summer 1918. She is painted in dazzle camouflage. The tug Sea Fox is alongside.

The first USS Nantahala (ID-3519) was a United States Navy cargo ship in commission from 1918 to 1919.

Contents

Construction, acquisition, and commissioning

Nantahala was constructed as the commercial single-screw cargo ship SS Wautahala for the United States Shipping Board by the Western Pipe and Steel Company at San Francisco, California. Later renamed SS Nantahala, she was launched on 4 July 1918. Transferred to the U.S. Navy on 16 November 1918, she was assigned the naval registry identification number 3519 and commissioned the same day as USS Nantahala (ID-3519).

Operational history

Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, Nantahala loaded a cargo of flour and departed the United States West Coast on 5 December 1918 bound for New York City, where she arrived on 31 December 1918. Assigned to duty as a food relief ship, she got underway for the Mediterranean Sea on 9 January 1919 and reached Fiume in mid-February 1919 with her cargo of flour and foodstuffs, which she delivered to help in the relief of starvation in Eastern Europe in the aftermath of World War I.

Nantahala operated in the Adriatic Sea and the central Mediterranean during the next month, then steamed to Gibraltar, from which she left for New York City, where she arrived on 10 April 1919.

Decommissioning and disposal

Nantahala was decommissioned at New York City on 17 April 1919, and the Navy returned her to the U.S. Shipping Board on the 30 April 1919. Once again SS Nantahala, she remained in Shipping Board custody until scrapped at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1929.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Naiwa</i> (ID-3512) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Naiwa (SP-3512), was a cargo ship of the United States Navy in commission from 1918 to 1919.

SS <i>Zaca</i>

USS Zaca (ID-3792) was a steel-hulled, single-screw freighter that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919. She was the first ship to serve by that name.

USS <i>Wachusett</i> (ID-1840) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

The second USS Wachusett (ID-1840) was a cargo ship that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919.

USS <i>Newburgh</i> (ID-1369) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Newburgh (ID-1369), also reported as ID-3768, was a United States Navy cargo ship in commission in 1919.

USS <i>Cape May</i> (ID-3520) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Cape May (ID-3520) was a United States Navy cargo ship and troop transport in commission from 1918 to 1919.

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

USS Aniwa (ID-3146) was a steel-hulled, single-screw freighter that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919.

USS West Gambo (ID-3220) was a steel-hulled, single-screw cargo ship that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919. She later saw commercial service as SS West Gambo and SS Empire Hartebeeste, and under the latter name was sunk during World War II.

SS <i>West Madaket</i>

West Madaket was a steam cargo ship built in 1918–1919 by Skinner & Eddy Corporation of Seattle for the United States Shipping Board as part of the wartime shipbuilding program of the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) to restore the nation's Merchant Marine.

SS <i>West View</i> Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS West View, also spelled Westview, was a cargo ship that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919.

USS <i>Montclair</i> (ID-3497) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Montclair (ID-3497) was a United States Navy refrigerated cargo ship in commission from 1918 to 1919.

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

USS Eastern Light (ID-3538) was a United States Navy cargo ship in commission from 1918 to 1919.

USS West Mead (ID-3548), also spelled Westmead, was a United States Navy cargo ship in commission from 1918 to 1919.

USS Western Belle (ID-3551) was a United States Navy cargo ship in commission from 1918 to 1919.

USS <i>Hickman</i> (ID-3554) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Hickman (ID-3554) was a United States Navy cargo ship in commission from 1918 to 1919.

USS Western Comet (ID-3569) was a United States Navy cargo ship in commission from 1918 to 1919.

USS <i>Westerner</i> (ID-2890) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Westerner (ID-2890) was a cargo ship of the United States Navy that served during World War I and its immediate aftermath.

USS <i>Western Hope</i> (ID-3771) United States Navy cargo ship

USS Western Hope (ID-3771) was a cargo ship of the United States Navy that served during World War I and its immediate aftermath.`

SS <i>Western Sea</i> American steam cargo ship

Western Sea was a steam cargo ship built in 1918 by J. F. Duthie and Company of Seattle for the United States Shipping Board as part of the wartime shipbuilding program of the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) to restore the nation's Merchant Marine.

USS <i>Western Light</i> (ID-3300) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Western Light (ID-3300) was a cargo ship of the United States Navy that served during World War I and its immediate aftermath.`

USS <i>Western Chief</i> (ID-3161) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

USS Western Chief (ID-3161) was a cargo ship of the United States Navy that served during World War I and its immediate aftermath. As SS Western Chief, she was sunk during World War II after being sold to the United Kingdom for use as a merchant ship.

References