USS Edgar F. Luckenbach

	SS Edgar F. Luckenbach, probably around the time of her completion in 1916.
History
United States
Name	USS Edgar F. Luckenbach
Namesake	Previous name retained
Builder	Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Newport News, Virginia
Launched	29 March 1916
Completed	1916
Acquired	11 July 1918
Commissioned	11 July 1918
Decommissioned	30 October 1919
Fate	Returned to owner 30 October 1919
Notes	Served as commercial cargo ship SS Edgar F. Luckenbach 1916-1918 and from 1919
General characteristics
Type	troop transport
Tonnage	7,923 Gross register tons
Length	442 ft 2 in (134.77 m)
Beam	57 ft 3 in (17.45 m)
Draft	31 ft 6 in (9.60 m)
Propulsion	Steam engine
Speed	12 knots
Complement	70
Armament	1 × 5inch (127-millimeter) gun; 1 × 3-inch (76.2-millimeter) gun;

USS Edgar F. Luckenbach (ID-4597) was a

troop transport that served in the United States Navy

from 1918 to 1919.

Naval Armed Guard

detachment aboard.

On 11 July 1918, Edgar F. Luckenbach was transferred to the U.S. Navy, which

Marseilles

, France.

In mid-December 1918, Edgar F. Luckenbach was transferred to the Cruiser and Transport Force to bring home sick, wounded, and convalescent troops from Europe in the aftermath of World War I. She was converted into a troop transport, and from 1 March 1919 to 14 October 1919 she made five such voyages to France.

Arriving at

decommissioned

there and returned to her owner on 30 October 1919.

Like most commercial ships commissioned by the U.S. Navy for World War I service, Edgar F. Luckenbach was assigned a Navy registry Identification Number (Id. No.) -- in her case Id. No. 4597—but she appears to have received this designation retrospectively, several years after the conclusion of her U.S. Navy service. It was highest of the many identification numbers in the SP/ID series given to private and commercial ships commissioned during and just after the war.

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: Civilian Ships: S.S. Edgar F. Luckenbach (American Freighter, 1916). Served as USS Edgar F. Luckenbach (ID # 4597) in 1918-1919