Summary
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.
 USS Sierra (ID-1634) in port, ca. 1919.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Sierra |
| Namesake | Sierra Nevada mountain range (previous name retained) |
| Builder | William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Launched | 29 May 1900[1] |
| Completed | 1900 |
| Acquired | 27 May 1918 |
| Commissioned | 1 July 1918 |
| Decommissioned | 1 October 1919 |
| Stricken | 1 October 1919 |
| Fate | Returned to owners 1 October 1919 |
| Notes | Operated as commercial passenger ship SS Sierra 1900-1918 and from 1919; later renamed SS Gdansk |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Troop transport |
| Tonnage | 5,989 Gross register tons[2] |
| Displacement | 9,680 tons (normal) |
| Length | 416 ft 0 in (126.80 m) |
| Beam | 50 ft 2 in (15.29 m) |
| Draft | 24 ft 0 in (7.32 m) (mean) |
| Depth | 25 ft 11 in (7.90 m) |
| Propulsion | Steam |
| Speed | 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Complement | 284 |
| Armament |
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Construction and acquisition edit
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 her 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, she was commissioned as USS Sierra (ID-1634) on 1 July 1918.
edit
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 edit
Sierra was decommissioned on 1 October 1919. On the same day, her name was stricken from the Navy list and she was returned to her owners.
Later career edit
As SS Sierra, the ship returned to commercial passenger service. She later was renamed SS Gdansk.[2]
Gallery edit
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USS Sierra at the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York, 6 July 1918, painted in pattern camouflage. -
USS Sierra in a European port, ca. 1918.
Notes edit
- ^ Marine Engineering (July 1900).
- ^ a b Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships -- USS Sierra (ID # 1634), 1918-1919
- ^ Marine Engineering (July 1900), p. 302.
- ^ Marine Engineering (September 1900), p. 393.
References edit
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- Marine Engineering (July 1900). "Launches—Home and Foreign". Marine Engineering. 5 (July 1900). New York: Aldrich & Donaldson. Retrieved 2015-03-02.
- Marine Engineering (September 1900). "Launches—Home and Foreign". Marine Engineering. 5 (September 1900). New York: Aldrich & Donaldson. Retrieved 2015-03-02.
- Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships -- USS Sierra (ID # 1634), 1918-1919 at the Library of Congress Web Archives (archived 2012-10-16)
External links edit
Media related to Sierra (ship, 1900) at Wikimedia Commons- Photos of USS Sierra (ID-1634) and related photos at the Library of Congress Web Archives (archived 2012-10-16)
- USS Sierra (ID # 1634), 1918-1919 -- On Board and Close-Up Views at the Library of Congress Web Archives (archived 2013-12-11)
