USS Patricia was a troop transport of the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 immediately after World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

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She was originally the German steamship SS Patricia, a 14,446 gross ton passenger liner built in 1899 by Aktiengesellschaft Vulkan, Stettin, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, for the Hamburg-America Packet Steamship Company

Hamburg America Line

The Hamburg Amerikanische Packetfahrt Actien Gesellschaft was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany during...

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Service history

Following the World War I Armistice she was temporarily allocated to the United States on 26 March 1919 for use by the U.S. Army to bring service personnel home from the former European war zone. She was placed in commission on 28 March 1919 as USS Patricia (with no identification number assigned), at Cowes, England, Lt. Comdr. C. C. Windsor in command.

She began service on the Brest–New York run on 30 March 1919, making four voyages to the U.S., carrying a total of 8,865 servicemen.

On 11 June 1919, just after leaving the port of New York, she helped beach SS Graf Waldersee, damaged in a collision, removed one-half of her crew and all of her passengers. Patricia then again began the crossing to Brest.

Decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

 on 13 September 1919, the ship was delivered to Great Britain on 18 September 1919 for use by Ellerman's

Ellerman Lines

Ellerman Lines was a cargo and passenger shipping company that operated from the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century. It was founded in the late nineteenth century, and continued to expand with the acquisition of smaller shipping lines until it became one of the largest shipping...

 Wilson Line

Thomas Wilson Sons & Co.

Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. was founded in 1822 as a joint venture by merchants Thomas Wilson, his partner John Beckinton and two unrelated men both surnamed Hudson. None came from shipping backgrounds but were quick to see the opportunity of becoming involved in the industry. They acquired their...

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