USS Wachusett (ID-1840)
Encyclopedia
The second USS Wachusett (ID-1840) was a cargo ship
that served in the United States Navy
from 1918 to 1919.
Wachusett was built as the freighter
SS Ceres in 1896 by Blohm & Voss at Hamburg
, Germany
. She was renamed Suevia in 1898. Upon the outbreak of World War I
in 1914, she was interned by the United States
at Manila
on Luzon
in the Philippines
.
Suevia was seized from the Hamburg-America Line in April 1917 at Manila by U.S. Customs Service officials for the United States Shipping Board
after the United States]] entered World War I. Renamed SS Wachusett and assigned identification number (Id. No.) 1840, she initially was operated by the Shipping Board, then was turned over to the U.S. Department of War
sometime between 22 December 1917 and 26 December 1917. The U.S. Navy provided her crew and agreed to commission
her as soon as possible. The Navy took over SS Wachusett on 6 January 1918 and commissioned her at Hoboken
, New Jersey
, as USS Wachusett (ID-1840) on 9 January 1918 with Lieutenant Commander
Roy W. Look, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) as an United States Army
account, she was fitted out for naval service as a cargo ship. She put to sea on 19 January 1918, laden with a cargo
of general U.S. Army supplies bound for Brest
, France
. On 23 January 1918 urgent need for repairs to her radio
and engine forced her out of her convoy
and into port at Halifax, Nova Scotia
, Canada
. She completed those repairs on 9 February 1918 and resumed her transatlantic voyage that same day. Her convoy arrived in Brest on 24 February 1918, and Wachusett discharged her cargo. On 18 March 1918, she set out on the return voyage and arrived in New York City
on 1 April 1918.
Following a brief repair period, the ship loaded another Army cargo and departed New York, bound for Norfolk
, Virginia
, and refueling. She steamed out of Hampton Roads
, Virginia, on 16 April 1918 and headed across the Atlantic in company with another convoy. She arrived at Le Havre
, France, on 7 May 1918, discharged her cargo, and completed her turnaround on 19 May 1918 by putting to sea with a New York-bound convoy.
Wachusett entered New York Harbor
on 4 June 1918 and simultaneously began repairs and cargo loading. On 15 June 1918, she stood out of New York, bound southward to Norfolk where she coal
ed ship on 15 June 1918 before her departure on 16 June 1918 for England
. Her convoy entered port at Southampton, England, on 10 July 1918, and she unloaded her 4,300 ton
s of supplies before heading for the United States on 20 July 1918.
Back in New York on 8 August 1918, she underwent voyage repairs while also loading cargo. Again, she steamed south to Norfolk to coal ship and join an eastbound convoy. She sailed from Norfolk on 21 August 1918 and pulled into Brest on 11 September 1918. Wachusett left Brest on 21 September 1918 after a six-day delay during which she awaited the formation of a homeward-bound convoy. She returned to New York on 15 October 1918, underwent the usual minor repairs, and loaded cargo for her last wartime Atlantic crossing. She stood out of New York on 24 October 1918 in convoy for Brest, where she arrived on 8 November 1918. Three days later, on 11 November 1918, the armistice
ended hostilities. Wachusett remained in France for ten more days and then headed back to the United States on 21 November 1918, for the first time unmenaced by the danger of German submarine
s.
The end of the war, however, did not signal an end to the Navy career of Wachusett. The Navy shifted her from an Army to a United States Shipping Board account in December 1918. After her arrival in New York on 12 December 1918, she loaded 4,445 tons of supplies and, on 22 January 1919, headed back across the Atlantic. She entered port at St. Nazaire, France, on 7 February 1919 and, after discharging her cargo, loaded ordnance material for return to the United States. Departing the French coast on 20 February 1919, she made a brief stop in the Azores
en route New York. Diverted from New York, she arrived in Philadelphia
, Pennsylvania
, instead on 14 March 1919.
Wachusett loaded a partial cargo at Philadelphia and then moved to New York, where she filled out her cargo and topped off her coal bunkers. On 10 April 1919, she left New York with a cargo consigned to the Northern Food Relief bound for Gibraltar
, where she was to await further orders. There she received orders to steam to Singapore
. She reached Singapore on 27 April 1919 and unloaded her cargo there in late May. Wachusett departed Singapore on 5 June 1919 for Java
in the Netherlands East Indies. She visited the Javanese cities of Weltevreden in June and Batavia at the beginning of July. On 12 July 1919, she headed back to Singapore, and departed Singapore on 22 July 1919. Steaming via the Suez Canal
and the Mediterranean Sea
, Wachusett refueled in the Azores on 8 September 1919 and arrived in New York on the 21 September 1919.
Following voyage repairs, Wachusett was decommissioned
on 6 October 1919 and was returned to the United States Shipping Board that same day. She was retained by the Shipping Board in mercantile service until late in 1923 or early in 1924, and scrapped in Baltimore, Maryland
, in 1924
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
that served in 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...
from 1918 to 1919.
Wachusett was built as the freighter
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
SS Ceres in 1896 by Blohm & Voss at Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, 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...
. She was renamed Suevia in 1898. Upon the outbreak of 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...
in 1914, she was interned by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
on Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
Suevia was seized from the Hamburg-America Line in April 1917 at Manila by U.S. Customs Service officials for the United States Shipping Board
United States Shipping Board
The United States Shipping Board was established as an emergency agency by the Shipping Act , 7 September 1916. It was formally organized 30 January 1917. It was sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board.http://www.gwpda.org/wwi-www/Hurley/bridgeTC.htm | The Bridge To France by Edward N....
after the United States]] entered World War I. Renamed SS Wachusett and assigned identification number (Id. No.) 1840, she initially was operated by the Shipping Board, then was turned over to the U.S. Department of War
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
sometime between 22 December 1917 and 26 December 1917. The U.S. Navy provided her crew and agreed to commission
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
her as soon as possible. The Navy took over SS Wachusett on 6 January 1918 and commissioned her at Hoboken
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, as USS Wachusett (ID-1840) on 9 January 1918 with Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander
Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...
Roy W. Look, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) as an United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
account, she was fitted out for naval service as a cargo ship. She put to sea on 19 January 1918, laden with a cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
of general U.S. Army supplies bound for Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. On 23 January 1918 urgent need for repairs to her radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and engine forced her out of her convoy
Convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...
and into port at Halifax, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. She completed those repairs on 9 February 1918 and resumed her transatlantic voyage that same day. Her convoy arrived in Brest on 24 February 1918, and Wachusett discharged her cargo. On 18 March 1918, she set out on the return voyage and arrived in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on 1 April 1918.
Following a brief repair period, the ship loaded another Army cargo and departed New York, bound for Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, and refueling. She steamed out of Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
, Virginia, on 16 April 1918 and headed across the Atlantic in company with another convoy. She arrived at Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
, France, on 7 May 1918, discharged her cargo, and completed her turnaround on 19 May 1918 by putting to sea with a New York-bound convoy.
Wachusett entered New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
on 4 June 1918 and simultaneously began repairs and cargo loading. On 15 June 1918, she stood out of New York, bound southward to Norfolk where she coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
ed ship on 15 June 1918 before her departure on 16 June 1918 for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Her convoy entered port at Southampton, England, on 10 July 1918, and she unloaded her 4,300 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s of supplies before heading for the United States on 20 July 1918.
Back in New York on 8 August 1918, she underwent voyage repairs while also loading cargo. Again, she steamed south to Norfolk to coal ship and join an eastbound convoy. She sailed from Norfolk on 21 August 1918 and pulled into Brest on 11 September 1918. Wachusett left Brest on 21 September 1918 after a six-day delay during which she awaited the formation of a homeward-bound convoy. She returned to New York on 15 October 1918, underwent the usual minor repairs, and loaded cargo for her last wartime Atlantic crossing. She stood out of New York on 24 October 1918 in convoy for Brest, where she arrived on 8 November 1918. Three days later, on 11 November 1918, the armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
ended hostilities. Wachusett remained in France for ten more days and then headed back to the United States on 21 November 1918, for the first time unmenaced by the danger of German submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s.
The end of the war, however, did not signal an end to the Navy career of Wachusett. The Navy shifted her from an Army to a United States Shipping Board account in December 1918. After her arrival in New York on 12 December 1918, she loaded 4,445 tons of supplies and, on 22 January 1919, headed back across the Atlantic. She entered port at St. Nazaire, France, on 7 February 1919 and, after discharging her cargo, loaded ordnance material for return to the United States. Departing the French coast on 20 February 1919, she made a brief stop in the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
en route New York. Diverted from New York, she arrived in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, instead on 14 March 1919.
Wachusett loaded a partial cargo at Philadelphia and then moved to New York, where she filled out her cargo and topped off her coal bunkers. On 10 April 1919, she left New York with a cargo consigned to the Northern Food Relief bound for Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, where she was to await further orders. There she received orders to steam to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. She reached Singapore on 27 April 1919 and unloaded her cargo there in late May. Wachusett departed Singapore on 5 June 1919 for Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
in the Netherlands East Indies. She visited the Javanese cities of Weltevreden in June and Batavia at the beginning of July. On 12 July 1919, she headed back to Singapore, and departed Singapore on 22 July 1919. Steaming via the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
and the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, Wachusett refueled in the Azores on 8 September 1919 and arrived in New York on the 21 September 1919.
Following voyage repairs, Wachusett was decommissioned
Ship decommissioning
To decommission a ship is to terminate her career in service in the armed forces of her nation. A somber occasion, it has little of the elaborate ceremony of ship commissioning, but carries significant tradition....
on 6 October 1919 and was returned to the United States Shipping Board that same day. She was retained by the Shipping Board in mercantile service until late in 1923 or early in 1924, and scrapped in Baltimore, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, in 1924