USS Rappahannock (AF-6)

USS Rappahannock (AF-6)

USS Rappahannock (AF-6) was an "Rappahannock"-class stores ship acquired by the U.S. Navy for use in World War I. She served in the dangerous North Atlantic Ocean, delivering animals, such as horses and steer on-the-hoof, to American Expeditionary Force troops in Europe.

Acquiring an enemy’s ship

The first "Rappahannock" (Id. No. 1854) was launched in 1913 as SS "Pommern" by the Bremer-Vulcan yards, Vegesack, Germany. A North German Lloyd Line ship, SS "Pommern" was voluntarily interned in the United States at the outbreak of World War I in Europe and was seized when America entered the war. She was then assigned to the Navy by the U.S. Shipping Board; converted; delivered to the Navy 7 December 1917; renamed "Rappahannock"; and commissioned 8 December 1917.

Horses and steer for U.S. troops in Europe

Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service as an animal transport, "Rappahannock" completed her fourth transatlantic run to France on 16 November 1918, 5 days after the Armistice.

Post-World War I operations

Remaining in NOTS until transferred to Train, Atlantic Fleet, on 4 February 1919, she completed one more round-trip from New York to Europe before being assigned temporary reserve status at Portsmouth in the summer of 1919. She was returned to active status in June 1922 with the designation AF-6 and, for the next 2-1/2 years, carried cargo for both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets.

Final decommissioning and World War II service

"Rappahannock" decommissioned 10 December 1924 and remained in reserve at Mare Island until struck from the Navy list 19 July 1933. She was sold to the Luckenbach Steamship Co., New York City on 5 October 1933; was renamed SS "William Luckenbach"; and operated under that name through World War II. Sold to an Italian firm in November 1946, she continued her merchant service under the Italian flag through the end of the decade.

References

See also

* List of United States Navy ships
* World War II

External links

* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/#Anchor-Editoria-14954 Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/06/0606.htm NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - ID-1854 / AF-6 Rappahannock]


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