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Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive

Eastern Light (ID 3585)

Freighter:

  • Built in 1918 by the Osaka Iron Works Co., Osaka, Japan
  • Acquired by the Navy 6 December 1918 and commissioned the same day
  • Decommissioned and returned to the United States Shipping Board 16 April 1919
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 12,105 t.
  • Length 429'
  • Beam 55' 6"
  • Draft 27' 6¾"
  • Speed 12 kts.
  • Complement 70
  • Propulsion: Two single ended boilers, one 3,300hp vertical triple expansion steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Eastern Light 105k At Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 3 May 1919
    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2008
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 106026 from Shipscribe.com    		 Robert Hurst
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Eastern Light, a cargo ship, was built in September 1918, under contract with the U.S. Shipping Board, by Osaka Iron Works Go., Innoshima, Japan converted at Puget Sound Navy Yard; transferred to the Navy from the Shipping Board, 6 November 1918 and commissioned 6 December 1918, Lieutenant Commander W. [William] J. Johnson, USNRF, in command.

    After loading a cargo of flour and other stores at Tacoma, Washington, Eastern Light departed Seattle 29 December 1918 for the east coast, arriving at Norfolk 9 February 1919. She loaded cargo for the Food Administration and sailed for northern Europe, 13 February, via Falmouth, mooring at Rotterdam 5 March. Her cargo was transferred to barges for use by the Relief Commission in alleviating the famine caused by the ravages of war.

    Ballasted with sand, Eastern Light stood out for Plymouth and New York, arriving 10 April on a 16-day crossing. She was decommissioned and returned to the Shipping Board, both on 16 April 1919.

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