History | |
---|---|
United States | |
Name | USS West Gambo |
Builder | Skinner and Eddy Corporation, Seattle, Washington |
Launched | 4 July 1918 |
Completed | July 1918 |
Acquired | 20 July 1918 |
Commissioned | 20 July 1918 |
Decommissioned | 17 January 1919 |
Fate | Transferred to United States Shipping Board 17 January 1919 |
Notes |
|
General characteristics | |
Type | Design 1013 ship (cargo ship) |
Displacement | 12,225 tons |
Length | 423 ft 9 in (129.16 m) |
Beam | 54 ft 0 in (16.46 m) |
Draft | 24 ft 2 in (7.37 m) (mean) |
Propulsion | Steam engine |
Speed | 10.5 knots |
Complement | 103 |
Armament | none |
USS West Gambo (ID-3220) was a steel-hulled, single-screw cargo ship that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919. She later saw commercial service as SS West Gambo and SS Empire Hartebeeste, and under the latter name was sunk during World War II.
SS West Gambo was built under a United States Shipping Board contract in 1918 Seattle, Washington, by the Skinner and Eddy Corporation. She was launched on 4 July 1918 and acquired by the U.S. Navy on 20 July 1918 for World War I service, assigned the naval registry Identification Number (Id. No.) 3220, and commissioned the same day as USS West Gambo.
As SS West Gambo, the ship remained in the custody of the U.S. Shipping Board until sold to the Lykes Brothers Steamship Company in late 1936 or early 1937. In 1941, the British government's Ministry of War Transport acquired the ship for World War II service in response to the United Kingdom's need for merchant ships to replace ships sunk in the Battle of the Atlantic. Renamed SS Empire Hartebeeste, she was managed in British service by Watts, Watts and Company of London.
On 20 September 1942, while steaming as a part of Convoy SC 100, Empire Hartebeeste was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine U-596 in the North Atlantic Ocean at position 56°20′N 38°10′W / 56.333°N 38.167°W. All 46 crew were rescued by Norhauk and Rio Grande.[1]