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Civilian Identification Numbered Ships Photo Archive

Sierra (ID 1634)



Navy call sign:
George - Dog - Vice - Boy



Civilian call sign (1919):
King - Quack - Have - Pup
Transport:

  • The first Sierra was built in 1900 by William Cramp and Sons, Philadelphia, PA
  • Acquired by the Navy 27 May 1918
  • Commissioned USS Sierra (ID 1634), 1 July 1918
  • Decommissioned 1 October 1919, struck from the Navy list and returned to her owners
  • Renamed Gdansk
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 9,680 t.
  • Length 416'
  • Beam 50' 2"
  • Draft 24'
  • Depth of hold 25' 11"
  • Speed 16 kts.
  • Complement 284
  • Armament: Four 6"/50 mounts, two 1-pounders and two machine guns
  • Propulsion: Eight single ended and one auxiliary boiler, two 4,122hp vertical triple expansion steam engines, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    USS Sierra (ID 1634)
    Sierra 72k At the New York Navy Yard, 6 July 1918, after being painted in pattern camouflage
    U.S. Navy photo NH 57886    		 Naval Historical Center
    Sierra 101k At the New York Navy Yard, 6 July 1918, after being painted in pattern camouflage
    National Archives photo 19-N-632 from Shipscribe.com    		 Robert Hurst
    Sierra 89k In a European port, circa 1918. She is painted in pattern camouflage
    Courtesy of Paul H. Silverstone, 1983
    U.S. Navy photo NH 94981    		 Naval Historical Center
    Sierra 105k In port, circa 1919
    Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1972.
    U.S. Navy photo NH 76009
    Sierra 106k At anchor in the Bay of Biscay, while employed transporting U.S. service personnel home from France, 1919. Photographed from USS Scranton (ID 3511).
    Photograph from the USS Scranton photo album kept by J.D. Bartar, one of her crew members
    U.S. Navy photo NH 99454
    Sierra 120k In port, 1919
    Donation of Charles R. Haberlein Jr., 2009
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 106694    		 Robert Hurst
    SS Sierra
    Sierra 87k In commercial service with a subsidiary of the Matson Line between 1926 and 1934
    Photo from Shipscribe.com    		 Robert Hurst
    Commanding Officers
    01CDR James David Willson, USN - Awarded the Navy Cross (1919)1 July 1918 - 1919
    Courtesy Joe Radigan
    View the Sierra (ID 1634)
    DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command website
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