Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Sara Thompson (AO-8)
ex
 USS Sara Thompson (ID-3148) (1918 - 1920)


1927-International Radio Call Sign:
Negative - Easy - Mike - Dog
 NEMD
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

World War I Victory Medal (with Atlantic Fleet clasp)
Sara Thompson Class Oiler:
  • Laid down in 1888 as the German/American merchant tanker Gut Heil by William Armstrong, Mitchell and Co., Newcastle, England
  • Launched, date unknown
  • Sold to American owners in 1912, name retained
  • Sunk in an accident on the Mississippi River in 1914
  • Raised in 1917 and refurbished
  • Acquired by the US Navy, 8 August 1918
  • Renamed Sara Thompson, 7 September 1918
  • Commissioned USS Sara Thompson (ID-3148), 17 September 1918, at New Orleans, LA., LCDR. Frederick S. Hayes, USNRF, in command
  • Reclassified Oiler AO-8, 17 July 1920
  • Placed in reduced commission, in ordinary, 8 December 1921, at Cavite, P.I.
  • Assigned as Receiving Ship at Navy Yard Cavite, 6 January 1930
  • Decommissioned, 21 July 1933, at Cavite, P.I.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 12 December 1933
  • Sold for scrapping, 9 August 1934, to Alberto Barrette of Manila
  • Renamed Sarangani leased by US Navy as bunker ship at Manila, P.I.
  • Scuttled in 1942, to avoid capture
  • Refloated, 30 September 1942, by the Japanese and repaired, between October 1942 and February 1943
  • Renamed Sanraku Maru and placed in service, 3 February 1943, as an oiler for the Japanese Imperial Navy managed and operated by the Osaka Shosen KIaisah (OSK) Line
  • Final Disposition, 15 June 1943, torpedoed and sunk by USS Trout (SS-202) at 04-58N, 119-37E
    Specifications:
    Displacement 5,836 t.
    Length 321'
    Beam 40' 3"
    Draft 22' (mean)
    Speed 9 kts.
    Complement 67
    Armament unknown
    Propulsion
    two single ended and one auxiliary boiler
    one 1,300hp vertical triple expansion steam engine
    one propeller shaft
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Merchant Service
    Sara Thompson
    091900810    		 39k Steam Tanker Gut Heil underway, date and location unknown.
    Auke Visserīs German Esso Tanker's site    		 Tommy Trampp
    Sara Thompson 97k Steam Tanker Gut Heil wrecked when the Mississippi River flooded, 28 April 1913. The ship lay abandoned near Baton Rouge, LA. until raised and refurbished in 1917.
    US Navy photo courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    USS Sara Thompson (ID-3148)
    Sara Thompson 26k Sara Thompson (ID-3148) refitting for service, possibly when inspected by the 8th Naval District on 20 July 1918. Note the pattern lightly marked on her side, probably to guide the painting of "Dazzle" camouflage.
    US Navy photo # NH 99781 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Sara Thompson
    NH 44070    		 72k USS Sara Thompson (ID-3148) photographed circa September 1918, soon after entering U.S. Navy service. She is painted in WWI pattern camouflage.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 44070 and
    US National Archives, RG-19-N box 8. Photo No. 19-N-14835 a US Navy photo now in the collections of the US National Archives, courtesy Shipscribe.com.    		 Mike Green
    Sara Thompson
    19-N-14835    		 72k
    Sara Thompson 48k USS Sara Thompson (ID-3148) underway, circa 1918. Richard Cleaveland
    USS Sara Thompson (AO-8)
    Sara Thompson 70k USS Sara Thompson (AO-8) at anchor, circa early 1920s.
    US Navy photo # NH 71251 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1970.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Sara Thompson 55k USS Sara Thompson (AO-8) off the Cavite Navy Yard, Philippine Islands, 26 October 1920.
    US Navy photo # NH 65033 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Sara Thompson 75k USS Sara Thompson (AO-8) at anchor, probably off Cavite Navy Yard, Philippine Islands, during the 1920s. The collier in the left background is probably USS Jason (AC-12).
    US Navy photo # NH 44071 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    Sara Thompson 134k USS Sara Thompson (AO-8) view on deck, looking aft toward the bridge with laundry drying at left, circa the early 1920s
    US Navy photo # NH 71565 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy Donald M. McPherson, 1970.    		 US Naval Historical Center
    USS Sara Thompson (ID-3148) / (AO-8)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR. Hayes, Frederick S.17 September 1918 - 4 March 1919
    02LCDR. Mattson, Erik, USNRF4 March 1919 - ?
    03LT. Jolidon, Bert Elmore, USNRF10 January 1920 - 10 May 1921
    04LCDR. Madden, Gustavus Redding, USNRF10 May 1921 - 8 December 1921
    04LT. Mays, William Howard USN (USNA 1919)18 July 1922 - 16 November 1922
    05LT. Jacobs, Simon USN16 November 1922 - 15 July 1923
    06LT. Ramsdell, Charles Homer15 July 1923 - ?
    07LT. Paille, George1 January 1925 - 27 June 1926
    08LT. Butler, Philip David27 June 1926 - ?
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Fleet Tankers Association
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    Auke Visserīs German Esso Tanker's site
    IJN Sanraku Maru
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Service Force Ship Type Index Back to The Section ID Number Photo Index Back To The Fleet Oiler (AO) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 2 October 2020