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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

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  • Ship History
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  • World War I 1917-1918
  • World War II 1939-1945
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Briarcliff (IX-3)

1922-1938

The Navy retained the name carried by this vessel at the time of her acquisition.

(IX-3: displacement 5,990 (full load); length between perpendiculars 268'0"; beam 45'2"; draft 23'10"; armament 1 4-inch)

Briarcliff, a wooden-hulled freighter constructed in 1919 at Portland, Maine, by the Russell Shipbuilding Co. for the United States Shipping Board (USSB), was acquired by the Navy from the USSB on 1 January 1922 in an incomplete condition.

Given “unclassified” status, Briarcliff received the designation IX-3, and was loaned to the New York Naval Militia. Since she possessed neither engines nor boilers, she served that organization as a floating armory. That duty lasted until 25 November 1938 when she sank at her moorings as a result of a rotting hull. Later raised and inspected, she was declared unserviceable.

Briarcliff was towed to deep water and sunk on 29 December 1938, four days after Christmas. Her name was stricken from the Navy List that same day.

Raymond A. Mann

19 January 2021

Published: Tue Jan 19 23:12:09 EST 2021