West Hosokie (Id. No. 3695)
1918-1919
The Navy retained the name carried by this vessel at the time of here acquisition.
(Id. No. 3695: displacement 12,100; length 423'9"; beam 54'0"; depth of hold 29'9"; draft 24'0" (mean) ; speed 11.5 knots; complement 70)
t Hosokie, a single-screw, steel-hulled freighter built under a United States Shipping Board contract at Seattle, Wash., by Skinner &Eddy Corp., and launched on 15 August 1918, was taken over by the Navy for duty with the Naval Overseas Transportation Service; assigned the identification number (Id. No.) 3695; and commissioned on 29 August 1918, Lt. Cmdr. Charles A. Wilson, USNRF, in command.
West Hosokie sailed on 7 September 1918 for Arica, Chile, where she loaded a cargo of guano upon arrival and sailed for the Gulf of Mexico. Reaching New Orleans on 12 November, via the Panama Canal, the freighter got underway on 20 November for Newport News, Va. There, she was partially loaded with Army cargo earmarked for the U.S. Army in France and proceeded to Baltimore where she finished loading prior to sailing for France on 15 December.
After unloading at Verdon-sur-Mer, West Hosokie, laden with Army return cargo, headed home on 14 February 1919, paused briefly at the Azores for provisions and fuel, and pushed on to Philadelphia, Pa., where she arrived on 10 March. She then discharged the Army return cargo, moved to New York, loaded more Army supplies slated for French ports, and sailed for France on 10 April.
Discharging her cargo upon her arrival at St. Nazaire, West Hosokie took on board Army ordnance materials, sailed for home soon thereafter, and reached Newport News on 20 June 1919. Placed out of commission and stricken from the Navy Register on 2 July, West Hosokie was turned over to the Shipping Board on the same day. She subsequently operated out of Seattle, on the freight-carrying trade, until acquired, late in 1928 or early in 1929, by the Los Angeles Steamship Co., of Los Angeles, Calif.
Renamed Constance Chandler when acquired by the Matson Steamship Line in 1930, she was later renamed Liloa in 1938. She served in Matson livery until transferred under Lend Lease to the Soviet Union at 4:00 p.m. on 13 January 1945, Liloa was renamed Belorussia,, operating initially by the Far East State Shipping Co. She was ultimately scrapped in 1968.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
5 February 2024
