USS Sierra (ID-1634)

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For other ships with the same name, see USS Sierra.

USS Sierra (ID-1634)
USS Sierra (ID-1634) in port, ca. 1919.
History
United States
NameUSS Sierra
NamesakeSierra Nevada mountain range (previous name retained)
BuilderWilliam Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Launched29 May 1900[1]
Completed1900
Acquired27 May 1918
Commissioned1 July 1918
Decommissioned1 October 1919
Stricken1 October 1919
FateReturned to owners 1 October 1919
NotesOperated as commercial passenger ship SS Sierra 1900-1918 and from 1919; later renamed SS Gdansk
General characteristics
TypeTroop transport
Tonnage5,989 Gross register tons[2]
Displacement9,680 tons (normal)
Length416 ft 0 in (126.80 m)
Beam50 ft 2 in (15.29 m)
Draft24 ft 0 in (7.32 m) (mean)
Depth25 ft 11 in (7.90 m)
PropulsionSteam
Speed16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement284
Armament
  • 4 × 6-inch (152-mm) guns
  • 2 × 1-pounder (0.45-kg) guns
  • 2 × machine guns

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.

U.S. Navy career[]

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[]

  1. ^ Marine Engineering (July 1900).
  2. ^ a b Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships -- USS Sierra (ID # 1634), 1918-1919
  3. ^ Marine Engineering (July 1900), p. 302.
  4. ^ Marine Engineering (September 1900), p. 393.

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[]

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