USS Sierra (ID-1634)
![]() USS Sierra (ID-1634) in port, ca. 1919.
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History | |
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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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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.
Construction and acquisition[]
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 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.
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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[]
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[]
As SS Sierra, the ship returned to commercial passenger service. She later was renamed SS Gdansk.[2]
Gallery[]
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[]
References[]
- 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. New York: Aldrich & Donaldson. 5 (July 1900). Retrieved 2015-03-02.
- Marine Engineering (September 1900). "Launches—Home and Foreign". Marine Engineering. New York: Aldrich & Donaldson. 5 (September 1900). 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[]
- 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)
- Unique transports of the United States Navy
- World War I transports of the United States
- United States Navy California-related ships
- United States Navy Nevada-related ships
- 1900 ships
- Ships built by William Cramp & Sons