USS Zirkel (1918)

History
United States
Name	USS Zirkel
Namesake	Previous name retained
Builder	Moore Shipbuilding Company, Oakland, California
Completed	1918
Acquired	27 September 1918
Commissioned	27 September 1918
Decommissioned	3 May 1919
Fate	Returned to United States Shipping Board, 3 May 1919
Notes	Built for United States Shipping Board and operated by it in 1918 and 1919-1930.
General characteristics
Type	Cargo ship
Displacement	12,700 tons
Length	416 ft 6 in (126.95 m)
Beam	53 ft 0 in (16.15 m)
Draft	27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) mean
Speed	10 knots
Complement	62

USS Zirkel was a cargo ship that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919.

Zirkel was built in 1918 at Oakland, California, for the United States Shipping Board by the Moore Shipbuilding Company. The U.S. Navy acquired her on 27 September 1918 for World War I service with the Naval Overseas Transportation Service and commissioned her the same day as USS Zirkel (Id. No. 3407) at San Francisco, California, with Lieutenant Commander David R. Williams, USNRF, in command.

Zirkel got underway for the Gulf of Mexico with a cargo of nitrates. Steaming via the Panama Canal, she arrived at New Orleans, Louisiana, on 30 January 1919 and unloaded her cargo.

Following repairs to her turbines, Zirkel filled her holds with cotton, coffee, and steel and put to sea on 6 February 1919. After a 21-day voyage, she entered port at Liverpool, England, and began unloading her cargo.

Zirkel then took on about 800 tons of iron ore and headed back to the United States on 13 March 1919. On the 29 March 1919, the freighter arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and, after unloading, began preparations for demobilization.

On 3 May 1919, Zirkel was placed out of commission and was returned to the custody of the United States Shipping Board. The Shipping Board retained her until 1930, at which time her name ceased to appear in merchant vessel registers.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.