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USS Western Star

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SS Western Star
SS Western Star just after launching at the J. F. Duthie and Company shipyard in Seattle, Washington, on 4 July 1918. She is painted in dazzle camouflage.
History
United States
NameUSS Western Star
BuilderJ. F. Duthie and Company, Seattle, Washington
Launched4 July 1918
Completedlate August 1918
Acquired28 August 1918
Commissioned28 August 1918
Decommissioned1 March 1919
FateReturned to U.S. Shipping Board 1 March 1919
NotesAbandoned 1933
General characteristics
TypeCargo ship
Tonnage5,550 Gross register tons[1]
Displacement12,185 tons
Length423 ft 9 in (129.16 m)
Beam54 ft 0 in (16.46 m)
Draft24 ft 0 in (7.32 m) (mean)
Depth29 ft 9 in (9.07 m)
PropulsionOne 3,000-ihp (2.237-mW) steam engine, one shaft
Speed12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement98
Armamentnone

USS Western Star (ID-4210) was a cargo ship of the United States Navy that served during World War I and its immediate aftermath.

Construction and acquisition

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SS Western Star was laid down as a steel-hulled, single-screw Design 1013 commercial cargo ship by J. F. Duthie and Company in Seattle, Washington, under a United States Shipping Board contract for the French Compagnie Générale. She was launched on 4 July 1918 and completed late in August 1918. Upon her completion, the Shipping Board transferred her immediately on 28 August 1918 to the U.S. Navy for use during World War I. The Navy assigned her the naval registry identification number 4210 and commissioned her at Seattle on 28 August 1918 as USS Western Star (ID-4210).[2][3]

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Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, Western Star departed Seattle and steamed to Union Bay, British Columbia, Canada, where she arrived on 5 September 1918. She loaded a cargo of coal and underwent a thorough search for bombs and other explosives before departing Union Bay on 15 September 1918 bound for Iquique, Chile. Arriving at Iquique on 13 October 1918, she unloaded her cargo, then moved to Caleta Buena, Chile, where she loaded a cargo of nitrates.

Departing Caleta Buena on 4 November 1918, Western Star steamed via the Panama Canal to Savannah, Georgia, arriving there on 5 December 1918. After unloading the nitrates there, she proceeded to Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York, arriving on 31 December 1918.

Decommissioning and disposal

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Western Star remained at Tompkinsville until 1 March 1919, when she was decommissioned and simultaneously transferred back to the U.S. Shipping Board.[4][5]

Later career

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Once again SS Western Star, the ship remained in Shipping Board custody until abandoned in 1933.[6][7]

Notes

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References

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