USS Astoria (AK-8)
USS Astoria (ID # 2005, later AK-8) In the Panama Canal, circa January 1920 or November 1921.
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | Burbo Bank |
Owner | Fenwick Shipping Co., Ltd. |
Builder | John Blumer and Co., Sunderland, England |
Launched | 9 April 1902 |
Out of service | 1914 |
German Empire | |
Name | Frieda Leonhardt |
Owner | Leonhardt & Blumberg of Empire of Germany |
Acquired | 1914 |
Fate | Seized by United States Customs at Jacksonville, Florida, acquired by the Navy 22 May 1917 |
United States | |
Name | USS Astoria |
Namesake | Astoria, Oregon |
Acquired | 22 May 1917 |
Commissioned | 15 November 1917, as USS Astoria (ID 2005) |
Decommissioned | 20 April 1921 |
Reclassified | 17 July 1920, USS Astoria (AK-8) |
Identification |
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Fate |
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General characteristics [1] | |
Type | Cargo ship |
Displacement | 7,150 long tons (7,265 t) |
Beam | 46 ft (14 m) |
Draft | 20 ft 1 in (6.12 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph) |
Complement | 131 officers and enlisted |
Armament |
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The USS Astoria (SP-2005/AK-8) was a steel-hulled, coal-burning steam cargo ship of the United States Navy.
Service history
In commercial service, 1902–1917
The ship was constructed in 1902 by J. Blumer & Co.,
Seized by the United States, 1917
She was then seized by United States Customs officials and was turned over to the United States Shipping Board (USSB). Transferred to the Navy by an executive order dated 22 May 1917, the freighter was moved to Charleston, South Carolina, to be prepared in the navy yard there for naval service. Renamed Astoria (SP-2005), she completed conversion late in 1917 and was commissioned on 15 November 1917.
Assigned to the
On 10 May, the ship was assigned duty as a coal carrier for the Army. In that capacity, she shuttled between
Decommissioning, sale, and later career
Astoria was decommissioned at Boston, Massachusetts, on 20 April 1921; and she was sold on 20 December 1921 to Mr. Richard T. Green of Chelsea, Massachusetts. Thereafter, the ship remained active in merchant service — under the names Astoria and, later, Hartwelson — for more than two decades. As Astoria, she ran aground in Grays Harbor, Washington, on 2 May 1927 and was abandoned by her crew,[2] but she later was refloated, repaired, and returned to service. On 5 May 1943, as Hartwelson, she ran aground on Bantam Rock, Sheepscot Bar, Maine, and foundered.
References
- ^ "USS Astoria (AK-7)". Navsource.org. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
- ^ "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 44571. London. 3 May 1927. col C, p. 25.
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
External links
- Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: USS Astoria
- Photo gallery of USS Astoria (SP-2005) at NavSource Naval History