USS Sierra (ID-1634)

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USS Sierra (ID-1634) in port 1919.jpg
USS Sierra (ID-1634) in port, ca. 1919.
History
US flag 48 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Sierra
Namesake Sierra Nevada mountain range (previous name retained)
Builder William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Launched29 May 1900 [1]
Completed1900
Acquired27 May 1918
Commissioned1 July 1918
Decommissioned1 October 1919
Stricken1 October 1919
FateReturned to owners 1 October 1919
NotesOperated as commercial passenger ship SS Sierra 1900-1918 and from 1919; later renamed SS Gdansk
General characteristics
Type Troop transport
Tonnage5,989 Gross register tons [2]
Displacement9,680 tons (normal)
Length416 ft 0 in (126.80 m)
Beam50 ft 2 in (15.29 m)
Draft24 ft 0 in (7.32 m) (mean)
Depth25 ft 11 in (7.90 m)
Propulsion Steam
Speed16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement284
Armament
  • 4 × 6-inch (152-mm) guns
  • 2 × 1-pounder (0.45-kg) guns
  • 2 × machine guns

The first USS Sierra (ID-1634) was a troop transport of the United States Navy that served during World War I and its immediate aftermath.

Contents

Construction and acquisition

SS Sierra was constructed as a commercial passenger ship in 1900 by William Cramp & Sons in Philadelphia for the San Francisco to Australia service via Hawaii of the Oceanic Steamship Company. [3] The ship was the first of a series of three to be built for the line with the others being Sonoma and Ventura. [4]

The U.S. Navy acquired it from the John D. Spreckel Brothers Company in San Francisco, California, on 27 May 1918 for use as a troop transport during World War I and assigned her the identification number 1634. After conversion work was complete, it was commissioned as USS Sierra (ID-1634) on 1 July 1918.

U.S. Navy career

Sierra was assigned to transatlantic service upon commissioning, and she transported troops from the United States to France until the end of World War I on 11 November 1918. After the war, she engaged in the reverse process of bringing American troops home from Europe for another eleven months.

Decommissioning and disposal

Sierra was decommissioned on 1 October 1919. On the same day, her name was stricken from the Navy list and it was returned to its owners.

Later career

As SS Sierra, the ship returned to commercial passenger service. It later was renamed SS Gdansk. [2]

Notes

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References

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