USS Yellowstone (ID-2657)

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For other ships with the same name, see USS Yellowstone.
trials and before her commissioning
as USS Yellowstone.
History
United States
NameUSS Yellowstone
Builder
Moore and Scott Shipbuilding Company, Oakland, California
Launched9 December 1917
CompletedApril 1918
Acquired27 May 1918
Commissioned21 September 1918
Decommissioned24 May 1919
Stricken24 May 1919
Fate
NotesOperated as SS Yellowstone 24 May 1919 – 10 December 1920
General characteristics
TypeCargo ship
Tonnage6,171
Gross register tons[1]
Displacement12,570 tons
Length416 ft 6 in (126.95 m)
Beam53 ft 0 in (16.15 m)
Draft26 ft 3 in (8.00 m) (mean)
Depth34 ft 6 in (10.52 m)
PropulsionSteam, one shaft
Speed10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement79
Armamentnone
SS Yellowstone in 1918, probably at or near her builder's yard in Oakland, California, and prior to her commissioning as USS Yellowstone.

The first USS Yellowstone (ID-2657) was a cargo ship of the United States Navy that served during World War I and its immediate aftermath.

Construction and acquisition

The

launched a steel-hulled, single-screw commercial cargo ship originally named SS Passatt, SS War Boy, or SS War Buoy[a] on 9 December 1917. Renamed SS Yellowstone, she was completed in April 1918 and came under the control of the United States Shipping Board.[2][1][3]

The U.S. Navy's

Naval Overseas Transportation Service. She was commissioned at the shipyard of William Cramp & Sons in Philadelphia as USS Yellowstone (ID-2657) on 21 September 1918.[2][1][3]

Navy service

Soon after her commissioning, Yellowstone moved to

Bush Terminal in Brooklyn on the morning of 15 October 1918 and over the next few days took on board 6,672 tons of general cargo – including automobiles and locomotives – earmarked for American forces in France.[2]

On 27 October 1918, Yellowstone got underway in

St. Nazaire. The war ended on 11 November 1918 while Yellowstone was en route to France. On 14 November 1918 she arrived at Quiberon Bay. She remained at anchor there until she received onward routing to St. Nazaire. There, she discharged her cargo and began taking on "return" cargo for transport to the United States, including "aeroplane parts." After shifting briefly to the St. Nazaire roadstead, Yellowstone departed the French coast, proceeding independently, on 27 November 1918.[2][1]

On 15 December 1918, only two days from New York, Yellowstone sighted a derelict three-masted schooner and altered course to close. She discovered the water-logged Joseph P. Cooper of Mobile, Alabama, abandoned with her decks and cabin awash and with her forerigging gone and her forecastle smashed in. Joseph P. Cooper looked like she had been adrift from six to eight weeks. After leaving the derelict, Yellowstone continued her passage and arrived at Pier 5, Bush Terminal, in Brooklyn on 17 December 1918. Shifting to Pier 1 at the end of December, she spent a week at anchor off the Statue of Liberty before returning to Bush Terminal and, later, shifting to the U.S. Army docks at Brooklyn. There, from 17 to 25 January 1919, Yellowstone took on board 5,150 tons of supplies and, on 25 January 1919, got underway for France.[2][1]

During the crossing, Yellowstone ran into a heavy gale on 4 February 1919. She rolled considerably at the outset, shipping water and spray amidships, and labored heavily in the storm. On 9 February 1919, with the storm still showing no signs of abating, Yellowstone's steering gear failed. Soon both auxiliary systems – steam- and hand-powered – also failed. Pumping oil through waste pipes in an attempt to break the force of the waves, Yellowstone wallowed through the storm while her engineers worked to repair the casualty. By 12 February, Yellowstone was once again able to use her steering gear effectively.[2]

Yellowstone anchored at Quiberon Bay at 0953 on 14 February 1919. Her troubles were not over, however, as she grazed the

boat deck.[2]

Undocked upon completion of her hull repairs on 6 April 1919, Yellowstone loaded a return cargo of structural iron for use as

ballast, barbed wire, and 6-inch (152-mm) artillery pieces. On 19 April 1919, she shifted from St. Nazaire to Brest, France, and got underway the next day for the United States. Mooring at Pier 3, Bush Terminal, Brooklyn, on 7 May 1919, she unloaded through mid-month.[2][1]

Decommissioning and transfer

At noon on 24 May 1919, a United States Shipping Board crew reported aboard Yellowstone, and, at 1247 that day, Yellowstone was

Navy list and returned to the Shipping Board.[2][1][3][b]

Later career

Once again SS Yellowstone, the ship entered commercial service under the control of the Shipping Board. On 10 December 1920,

Ponta Delgada on São Miguel Island in the Azores. She was listed as "stranded" and a total loss, but her entire crew of 45 men was saved.[2][1]

Notes

  1. ^ The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships gives the ship's original name as War Boy;[2] Navsource.org gives it as War Buoy,[3] and the Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images stated that "Earlier names reported for this ship were Passatt and War Boy or, more likely, War Buoy".[1]
  2. ^ Although both official Navy sources give the date of decommissioning as 24 May 1919, Navsource.org gives it as 7 May 1919,[3] apparently confusing her arrival date at Bush Terminal with her decommissioning date 17 days later.
  3. ^ The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships states that the ship had a "short career" after her decommissioning and ran aground on 10 December 1929,[2] a date indicating over 10 years of post-decommissioning commercial service and inconsistent with a "short" career. The Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images corrects the date to 10 December 1920,[1] and Navsource.org also states a stranding date of 10 December 1920.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "S.S. Yellowstone (American Freighter, 1918)". Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. Archived from the original on December 8, 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Yellowstone I". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Yellowstone (ID 2657)". Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive. NavSource Online. Retrieved 25 October 2015.

External links

  • Photo gallery of Yellowstone (ID 2657) at NavSource Naval History
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