USS Westerner

SS Westerner fitting out at the J. F. Duthie and Company shipyard in Seattle, Washington, on 26 January 1918.
History
United States
Name	USS Westerner
Builder	J. F. Duthie and Company, Seattle, Washington
Launched	4 November 1917
Completed	early 1918
Acquired	20 June 1918
Commissioned	20 June 1918
Decommissioned	21 August 1919
Stricken	21 August 1919
Fate	Returned to U.S. Shipping Board 21 August 1919
Notes	Operated as commercial cargo ship SS Westerner from 1919 Laid up late 1920s Abandoned late 1932 or early 1933
General characteristics
Type	Cargo ship
Displacement	12,200 tons
Length	423 ft 9 in (129.16 m)
Beam	54 ft 0 in (16.46 m)
Draft	24 ft 1 in (7.34 m) (mean)
Depth	29 ft 9 in (9.07 m)
Propulsion	One 2,500-ihp (1.864-mW) steam engine, one shaft
Speed	10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph)
Complement	87
Armament	1 × 5-inch (127-mm) gun

USS Westerner (ID-2890) was a cargo ship of the United States Navy that served during World War I and its immediate aftermath.

Construction and acquisition

Westerner was laid down as the steel-hulled, single-screw Design 1013 commercial cargo ship SS Westerner by J. F. Duthie and Company in Seattle, Washington, for the United States Shipping Board. She was launched on 4 November 1917 and completed early in 1918. She then steamed to the United States East Coast, where she was transferred to the U.S. Navy on 20 June 1918 at Norfolk, Virginia, assigned the naval registry identification number 2890, and commissioned the same day as USS Westerner (ID-2890) under the command of Lieutenant Commander Henry W. Lyon, Jr.

Navy career

Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS), Westerner departed Norfolk on 10 July 1918 carrying a cargo of United States Army supplies and steamed to New York City. She departed New York on 24 July 1918 as part of a convoy bound for France. She developed engine trouble, forcing her to spend three days at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, before resuming her voyage to France. She arrived at Brest, France, on 17 August 1918, then moved to St. Nazaire to discharge her cargo.

Westerner departed St. Nazaire on 22 September 1918 and made port at Norfolk on 10 October 1918, where she loaded another cargo of U.S. Army supplies. She subsequently conducted three additional cargo-carrying voyages under the control of NOTS: two to La Pallice, France (on one occasion lifting supplies consigned to the French government), and one to Trieste, Italy, via Gibraltar. After her final NOTS voyage, Westerner made port at New York City on 6 August 1919.

Decommissioning and disposal

Decommissioned on 21 August 1919, Westerner was simultaneously struck from the Navy list and transferred back to the U.S. Shipping Board.

Later career

Once again SS Westerner, the ship operated commercially under Shipping Board control until laid up in the late 1920s. After that, she never returned to service and was abandoned due to age and deterioration in either late 1932 or early 1933.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: Westerner (American Freighter, 1918). Served as USS Westerner (ID # 2890) in 1918-1919
• NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Westerner (ID 2890)