USS Westover (ID-2867)

USS Westover (ID-2867)[2] was a cargo ship of the United States Navy that served during World War I and was sunk during her maiden voyage.

War Sun fitting out at the J. F. Duthie and Company shipyard in Seattle, Washington, on 28 March 1918.
History
United States
Name: USS Westover
Builder: J. F. Duthie and Company, Seattle, Washington
Launched: 17 February 1918
Completed: 18 April 1918
Acquired: May 1918
Commissioned: 22 May 1918
Fate: Sunk 11 July 1918
General characteristics
Type: Cargo ship
Tonnage: 5,700 gross tons[1]
Displacement: 12,205 tons
Length: 423 ft 9 in (129.16 m)
Beam: 54 ft 0 in (16.46 m)
Draft: 24 ft 1 in (7.34 m) (mean)
Depth: 29 ft 9 in (9.07 m)
Propulsion: Steam engine, one shaft
Speed: 10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph)
Complement: 92
Armament:
  • 1 × 5-inch (127-mm) gun
  • 1 × 6-pounder (2.7-kg) gun

Construction and acquisition

Westover was laid down as the Design 1013 commercial cargo ship SS War Sun by J. F. Duthie and Company in Seattle, Washington, for the Cunard Line. During construction, she was taken over by the United States Emergency Fleet Corporation and renamed SS Westover. She was launched on 17 February 1918.[3][4]

On 9 April 1918, while Westover was still fitting out, the U.S. Navy inspected her for possible use during World War I. After her completion on 18 April 1918, she steamed to the United States East Coast and was transferred to the U.S. Navy in May 1918. Assigned the naval registry identification number 2867, she was commissioned as USS Westover (ID-2867) at Newport News, Virginia, on 22 May 1918.[5][6]

Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, Westover steamed to New York City, where she took on a capacity cargo of general United States Army supplies and got underway in convoy on 27 May 1918 bound for St. Nazaire, France. She developed engine trouble during the voyage and fell astern of the convoy. She continued toward France alone and at low speed until 0730 on 11 July 1918, when the submerged German submarine U-92 torpedoed her and sent her to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean at 46°36′N 12°21′W with the loss of 11 members of her crew.[7][8]

Notes
  1. Naval History and Heritage Command Online Library of Selected Images: Westover (American Freighter, 1918). Served as USS Westover (ID # 2867) in 1918
  2. Although the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS) entry for Westover gives her identification number as 2687, both Online Library of Selected Images: Westover (American Freighter, 1918). Served as USS Westover (ID # 2867) in 1918 and NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Westover (ID 2867) give it as 2867, apparently updating and correcting the number in the DANFS entry.
  3. Online Library of Selected Images: Westover (American Freighter, 1918). Served as USS Westover (ID # 2867) in 1918
  4. NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Westover (ID 2867)
  5. Online Library of Selected Images: Westover (American Freighter, 1918). Served as USS Westover (ID # 2867) in 1918
  6. NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Westover (ID 2867)
  7. Online Library of Selected Images: Westover (American Freighter, 1918). Served as USS Westover (ID # 2867) in 1918
  8. NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Westover (ID 2867)
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References
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