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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

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  • Boats-Ships--Frigate
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  • Ship History
Wars & Conflicts
  • Persian Gulf War 1990-1991
  • World War I 1917-1918
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Westchester I (Id. No. 3122)

1918-1919

The Navy retained the name carried by this vessel at the time she was acquired.

(Id. No. 3122: displacement 12,185; length 423'9"; beam 54'0"; depth of hold 29'9"; draft 24'0" (mean); speed 11.5 knots; complement 88; armament 1 6-inch, 1 6-pounder)

Westchester, a single-screw, steel-hulled cargo ship built as War Ally under a United States Shipping Board contract at Portland, Oregon, by the Northwest Steel Co., was launched on 5 December 1917; renamed Westchester prior to completion; acquired by the Navy on 9 August 1918; given the identification number (Id. No.) 3122; and commissioned at Norfolk, Va., on the same day, Lt. Cmdr. Thomas W. Sheridan. USNRF, in command.

Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, Westchester got underway on 27 August 1918 from Newport News with general Army cargo and a deck load of 25 trucks. Arriving in New York two days later, she joined a convoy bound for Europe. She reached Le Havre, France, on 15 September and moved on to Davenport, England, before discharging her cargo.

Westchester was at sea, heading for the United States, when the Armistice ended the Great War [World War I]. She made port at Newport News on 15 November 1918, loaded 7,800 tons of Army cargo for shipment to France, and stood out of Hampton Roads on 19 December. She lost a propeller blade a few days out, however, and was obliged to put back into Norfolk for repairs. She set out on 3 January 1919, but another propeller casualty forced Westchester into New York eight days later.

Her third attempt to reach France succeeded, though, and she made port at Quiberon, France, on 2 March 1919. With a return cargo of Army ordnance material, she set sail on 23 March. Arriving at New York on 7 April, Westchester discharged her cargo and was decommissioned and stricken from the Navy Register on 25 April 1919. Returned to the Shipping Board, she remained in the custody of that agency until abandoned in 1933.

Updated, Robert J. Cressman

5 February 2024

Published: Mon Feb 05 11:03:23 EST 2024