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Identification Numbered Vessel Photo Archive

J. M. Guffey (ID 1279)



Civilian call sign (1919):
King - Rush - Nan - Love
Tanker:

  • Built in 1902 by New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, NJ
  • She was the first ship built by the New York Shipbuilding Co. In 1918 the tanker was operating on bareboat charter on behalf of the British Ministry of War Transport, and a request was made that she be
    manned by the U.S. Navy as her present master did not desire to remain with the ship and the remaining crew members were willing to enroll in the U. S. Naval Reserve Force. Acquired by the Navy 14 October 1918 and commissioned USS J. M. Guffey (ID 1279) the same day at Invergorden, Scotland. She was delayed at Invergorden until she received new boiler tubes and finally sailed on 24 January 1919 for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The ship had to put in to St. Johns, Newfoundland, because her boilers were leaking badly, and she remained there until leaving on 4 April for Philadelphia accompanied by the tug USS Iroquois
  • Decommissioned 17 June 1919 at Philadelphia, PA and transferred to the United States Shipping Board for return to her owner
  • Renamed Meloria in 1926
  • Scrapped in 1935 at Venice, Italy.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 5,500 t.
  • Length 292' 2"
  • Beam 40' 2"
  • Draft 22'
  • Speed 10 kts.
  • Complement 62
  • Propulsion: Two single ended and one auxiliary boiler, one 1,300ihp vertical triple expansion steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    J. M. Guffey 72k Photo taken by her builder on 17 March 1902 at the time of her completion
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 70467    		 Robert Hurst
    J. M. Guffey 159k Photo may have been taken during an earlier inspection by the Third Naval District, possibly in 1917
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 105264
    View the J. M. Guffey (ID 1279)
    DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command website
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