USS Challenger (ID-3630)

History
United States
Name	USS Challenger
Builder	Union Iron Works
Launched	1918
Commissioned	4 October 1918
Decommissioned	2 May 1919
Fate	Transferred to U.S. Shipping Board 2 May 1919 Sunk 17 May 1942
General characteristics
Displacement	16,000 t.
Length	410'
Beam	56'
Draft	30'
Propulsion	One 2,600ihp steam engine, one shaft
Speed	11 kts.
Complement	70

USS Challenger was a U.S. freighter. It was commissioned by the U.S. Navy between 1918 and 1919 for service during World War I.^[1] She was built in 1918 by Union Iron Works, San Francisco, Calif., under a United States Shipping Board contract. The US Navy accepted delivery on 4 October 1918 and she was commissioned the same day with Lieutenant Commander G. T. January, USNRF, in command. She then reported to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service.

Challenger cleared San Francisco 9 October 1918 for Mejillones and Antofagasta, Chile, where she loaded nitrates. Sailing on to deliver her cargo at Pensacola, Fla., 11 December, Challenger was next ordered to New Orleans to load cotton and steel for the French government. She was transferred to J. H. W. Steele Co. for operation. After a voyage in January and February 1919 carrying cargo to France to supply the Army of Occupation, Challenger returned to Baltimore, Md. She was decommissioned there 2 May 1919, and returned to the United States Shipping Board the same day.

On 17 May 1942 while serving with American-South African Line during World War II, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-155.^[1]

References[]

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.