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Bath I (Collier)

(Collier: dp. 6,425; l. 344'0"; b. 46'2"; dr. 19'2" (mean); s. 10 k.; cpl. 103; a. 4 3")

A city, located in Sagadahoc County, Maine, on the west bank of the Kennebec River, settled around 1670 and a shipbuilding center since the 1760’s.

I

Andromeda, a Dutch freighter launched in 1913 at Stettin, Germany, was seized at New Orleans, La., by the United States Government following American entry into World War I on 6 April 1917; transferred to the Navy soon thereafter; renamed Bath on 9 June 1917; and commissioned at New Orleans on 30 July 1917, Lt. Comdr. Earl O. Coffey, USNRF, in command.

After carrying a cargo of lumber to New York, Bath loaded Army supplies at Boston and sailed for Europe on 28 August 1917. Proceeding via the Azores, she reached Brest, France, on 18 September, along with the converted yacht Wakiva and the 10 former fishing craft that served as minesweepers in Squadron 4, Patrol Force. The collier then operated out of Brest, carrying cargoes between English and French ports, through the end of 1917. Clearing Rochefort, France, on 26 February 1918, Bath sailed for Newport News, Va., to join the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS). She operated under NOTS between the United States and Europe, her ports of call including Philadelphia, New York, and Norfolk; Dublin and Queenstown, Verdon sur Mer and Brest, as well as Devonport, England. She remained engaged in this task through the armistice.

Later assigned to the Fleet Train, a predecessor of the Service Force, Bath shuttled between the east and west coasts of the United States. Her ports of call included Bremerton, Wash.; Charleston, S.C.; Norfolk, Va.; San Francisco, Calif.; and Philadelphia, Pa. She occasionally ranged as far as Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. On 17 July 1920, she was designated AK-4. Assigned to the Asiatic Fleet on 14 July 1921, Bath arrived at Cavite, Luzon, Philippine Islands on 6 January 1922. She served with that fleet until decommissioned at Cavite on 9 May 1922 and laid up. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 30 September 1925, and she was sold to S. R. Paterno of Manila on 2 January 1926.

Robert J. Cressman

28 February 2006

 

Published: Wed Jun 24 07:53:14 EDT 2015