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Naval History and Heritage Command

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  • World War I 1917-1918
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K. I. Luckenbach (Id.No. 2291)

1918-1919

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

(Id.No. 2291: displacement 16,000; length 468'3"; beam 56'0"; draft 30'6"; speed 15 knots; complement 99; armament 1 6-inch, 1 3-inch)

K. I. Luckenbach was launched 27 October 1917 by the Fore River Shipbuilding Co., Quincy, Mass., for the Luckenbach Steamship Co. of New York; acquired by the Navy at New York 8 August 1918; and commissioned on 9 August 1918, Lt. Cmdr. James A. McDonald, USNRF, in command.

K. I. Luckenbach, assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) U..S. Army account, served as a cargo transport supplying the AEF in France, from 12 August to 22 December 1918, carrying out two round-trip voyages carrying general U.S. Army cargo to France. Detached from NOTS on 24 December the day before Christmas, she was allocated to the Cruiser and Transport Force to assist in returning U.S. troops from France. She made three round-trip voyages before debarking her last soldiers in New York on 14 September 1919. Two days later, she put in to Norfolk, Virginia, where she was decommissioned on 5 October, and returned to her owner.

Acquired by the War Shipping Administration under a term charter agreement at 3:30 p.m. on 26 February 1942, at Philadelphia, Pa.,  K. I. Luckenbach was then returned to the ownership of the Luckenbach Lines under a general agency agreement at New York at noon on 5 February 1944. Redelivered to that shipping company under a bareboat charter at Seattle, Wash., at 12:01 a.m. on 27 July 1946, the well-traveled vessel was sold to the North American Terminal Corp. on 23 January 1951. She was renamed Stocksun, then was resold to the General Sea Navigation Co., Inc., in February 1952 to operate under Liberian colors.

Ultimately, she was broken up for scrap in 1954.

Har assigned U.S. Navy armed guard received one battle star for service in Convoy UGS-36 on 1 April 1944.

Updated, Robert J. Cressman

23 May 2022

Published: Mon May 23 10:40:07 EDT 2022