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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

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  • World War I 1917-1918
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Independence III (Cargo vessel)

1918-1919 

The third Independence retained the name she carried at the time of her acquisition by the Navy. 

III 

(Cargo vessel: 4,980 tons; length 440'2"; beam 56'; draft 28'8"; speed 11 knots; armament two 5-inch)

The third Independence was built in 1918 by Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Alameda, Calif., for the United States Shipping Board. She was delivered to the Navy and commissioned on 16 November 1918, Lt. O. P. Rankin in command.

Independence , assigned to the Army account of the Nava;l Overseas Transportation Service, sailed with a cargo of foodstuffs on 6 December 1918, arrived at New York on 1 January 1918; and continued on to England. Upon her return to New York, the ship was decommissioned on 20 March 1919 and was returned to the USSB.

Later extensively rebuilt, she was sold on 7 August 1930 to the Baltimore Mail Steamship Co. and renamed City of Norfolk. In 1940 she was reacquired by the Navy and served in World War II as troop transport Neville (q.v.).

Updated and corrected, Robert J. Cressman

20 April 2020 

Published: Mon Apr 20 14:44:05 EDT 2020