USS General G. W. Goethals (ID-1443)

SS General G. W. Goethals sometime between 1917 and 1919, prior to her U.S. Navy service, with the barge Ethel and Lillian alongside.
Career (United States)
Name:	USS General G. W. Goethals
Namesake:	George Washington Goethals (1858-1928), a U.S. Army officer and civil engineer (Previous name retained)
Builder:	Bremer Vulkan, Vegesack, Germany
Completed:	1911 or 1912
Acquired:	10 March 1919
Commissioned:	10 March 1919
Decommissioned:	13 September 1919
Fate:	Transferred to United States Department of War 13 September 1919 for return to owner
Notes:	In commercial service as SS Grunewald and SS General G. W. Goethals prior to 1919 and as SS General G. W. Goethals from 1919
General characteristics
Type:	Cargo ship and troop transport
Tonnage:	4,707 gross tons
Displacement:	2,783 tons (normal)
Length:	367 ft (112 m)
Beam:	48 ft 7 in (14.81 m)
Draft:	27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) (mean)
Propulsion:	Steam engine
Speed:	11 knots (maximum)
Armament:	None

USS General G. W. Goethals (ID-1443) was a United States Navy cargo ship and troop transport in commission in 1919.

General G. W. Goethals was built in 1911 or 1912 as the German commercial passenger-cargo ship SS Grunewald at Vegesack, Germany, by Bremer Vulkan. Before the United States entered World War I, she became an American ship owned by the Panama Railroad Steamship Company of New York City. The U.S. Navy acquired her on 10 March 1919, assigned her the naval registry Identification Number (Id. No.) 1443, and commissioned her the same day at Hoboken, New Jersey, as USS General G. W. Goethals with Lieutenant Commander Edward O. Roberts, USNRF, in command.

A ship identified as probably USS General G. W. Goethals off Newport News, Virginia, in 1919.

Assigned to the Cruiser and Transport Force and operated by the Navy under a United States Army account, General G. W. Goethals spent the bulk of her commissioned Navy service ferrying supplies for American forces in Europe to France and bringing home troops of the American Expeditionary Force who had served in Europe during World War I. Leaving New York City on 2 April 1919 for her first transatlantic voyage, she carried supplies to Bordeaux, France, returning to the United States on 4 May 1919. Subsequently she made two more voyages to Europe with supplies, and brought home nearly 3,000 troops.

On 21 August 1919, General G. W. Goethals departed Charleston, South Carolina, carrying supplies to New Orleans, Louisiana; Cristóbal, Panama Canal Zone; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. She completed this voyage by arriving at New York City on 13 September 1919.

On the day of her arrival in New York, General G. W. Goethals was decommissioned and turned over to the United States Department of War for return to the Panama Railroad Steamship Company.

The ship returned to commercial service as SS General G. W. Goethals. On 10 January 1925, the Panama Railroad Steamship Company sold her to the Universal Negro Improvement Association.

References

• This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: S.S. General G.W. Goethals (American Passenger-Cargo Steamer, 1911). Served as USS General G.W. Goethals (ID # 1443) in 1919
• NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: General G. W. Goethals (ID 1443)