USS K. I. Luckenbach (ID-2291)
.jpg) USS K. I. Luckenbach as a troop transport at Brest, France, in 1919. | |
| Career (United States) | 100x35px |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS K. I. Luckenbach |
| Namesake: | Previous name retained |
| Builder: | Fore River Shipbuilding Corporation, Quincy, Massachusetts |
| Launched: | 27 October 1917 |
| Completed: | 1918 |
| Acquired: | 8 August 1918 |
| Commissioned: | 9 August 1918 |
| Decommissioned: | 5 October 1919 |
| Fate: | Returned to owner 5 October 1919 |
| Notes: | Served as commercial cargo ship SS K. I. Luckenbach 1917-1918 and from 1919 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Cargo ship and troop transport |
| Tonnage: | 9,052 gross tons |
| Displacement: | 16,000 tons |
| Length: | 468 ft 3 in (142.72 m) |
| Beam: | 56 ft (17 m) |
| Draft: | 30 ft 6 in (9.30 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam engine |
| Speed: | 15 knots |
| Complement: | 99 |
| Armament: |
1 x 6-inch (152-millimeter) gun 1 x 3-inch (76.2-millimeter) gun |
USS K. I. Luckenbach (ID-2291) was a cargo ship and troop transport that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919.
SS K. I. Luckenbach was built as a commercial cargo ship at Quincy, Massachusetts, by Fore River Shipbuilding Corporation for Luckenbach Steamship Company of New York City. Launched on 27 October 1917, she was delivered to Luckenbach in early 1918. The 3rd Naval District inspected her on 11 February 1918 for possible U.S. Navy World War I service; after she spent several months operating under charter to the United States Army, the Navy acquired her on 8 August 1918. Assigned Identification Number (Id. No.) 2291, she was commissioned on 9 August 1918 as USS K. I. Luckenbach with Lieutenant Commander James A. McDonald, USNRF, in command.
Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, K. I. Luckenbach served as a cargo ship, supplying the American Expeditionary Force in France. Between 12 August 1918 and 22 December 1918, she made two round-trip voyages carrying general U.S. Army cargo to France.
In December 1918, following her return from the second voyage, K. I. Luckenbach was transferred to the Cruiser and Transport Force for postwar use as a troop transport. After conversion into a transport, she made three round-trip voyages in 1919 to assist in returning American troops from France. She debarked her last soldiers at New York City on 14 September 1919.
On 16 September 1919, K. I. Luckenbach arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, where she was decommissioned on 5 October 1919. She was returned to Luckenbach Steamship Company on the day of her decommissioning, and resumed commercial service as SS K. I. Luckenbach. Children's author Howard Pease drew upon his service aboard her for his 1927 book The Jinx Ship.[1]
References
- ↑ Pease, Howard (1927). The Jinx Ship. Garden City, NY: The Doubleday Company.
- 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. K.I. Luckenbach (American Freighter, 1918). Served as USS K.I. Luckenbach (ID # 2291) in 1918-1919
- NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: K. I. Luckenbach (ID 2291)
