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Identification Numbered Vessel Photo Archive

USS Philippines (ID 1677)



Navy call sign:
George - Jig - Dog - Vice



Civilian call sign (1919):
Love - Jig - Have - Pup

ex-USAT Philippines
ex-USAT Hercules


Philippines served both the U. S. Army and Navy
Transport:

  • Built in 1898 as Bulgaria by Blohm and Voss, Hamburg, Germany
  • Acquired in 1913 by Unione Austriaca di Navigazione, more commonly called the Austro-American or Austro-Americana Line, when Trieste was under the rule of Austria-Hungary and renamed Canada
  • Reverted back to the named back to Hamburg America Line and renamed Bulgaria
  • Acquired by the Army 6 April 1917 and renamed Hercules and Philippines
  • Acquired by the Navy 1 May 1919 at Hoboken, NJ and commissioned USS Philippines (ID 1677) the same day
  • Struck from the Navy Register 23 October 1919 and transferred to the United States Shipping Board (USSB)
  • Broken up in 1924 at Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 11,480 t.
  • Length between perpendiculars 501' 4"
  • Beam 62' 2"
  • Draft 30' 2"
  • Speed 11 kts.
  • Complement 193
  • Propulsion: Two double ended and two Scotch boilers, two 2,100hp quadruple expansion steam engines, two shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    SS Bulgaria
    Philippines 168k Sketch of the Hamburg-American Packet Company/Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfarhrt Aktien-Gesellschaft passenger-cargo steamer SS Bulgaria
    Image from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, dated 24 February 1899
    Courtesy of Mark Kulikowski
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 107708    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Philippines (ID 1677)
    Philippines 101k 18 July 1919
    Off Brest harbor, France, on July 18, 1919. The ship will be transporting the 803rd Pioneer Infantry Battalion back to the United States
    Library of Congress photo LC-DIG-ppmsca-11450    		 Mike Green
    Philippines 326k 18 July 1919
    The U.S. Army 803rd Pioneer Infantry Battalion on the USS Philippines departing from Brest harbor, France
    Library of Congress photo LC-DIG-ppmsca-11460    		 Bill Gonyo
    Philippines 147k U.S. Troops of the 803rd Pioneer Infantry Battalion on board the USS Philippines troop ship which left Brest, France on July 18, 1919 bound for the United States Tommy Trampp
    Photos added 19 October 2021
    Philippines 122k
    Philippines 145k
    Philippines 109k
    Philippines 150k
    Philippines 89k
    Philippines 118k
    Philippines 270k c. August 1919
    Anchored off Le Havre, France. Photographed from a launch returning crew members to the ship after a sightseeing trip to Paris in August 1919
    Courtesy of Mark Kulikowski
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 107708    		 Mike Green
    Santa Olivia 127k USS Santa Olivia (ID 3125), left center, and Philippines, at right, at the Army Dock, St. Nazaire, France, 1919
    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2006
    U.S. Navy photo NH 104161    		 Naval Historical Center
    Philippines 140k In port, receiving assistance from harbor tugs, circa mid-1919. The ship in the background is either USS Charles (ID-1298) or USS Yale (ID-1672)
    Courtesy of Commander Peter Joseph Walter, USN, (Retired), 2008
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 106360    		 Robert Hurst
    Philippines 102k In Brest Harbor, France, "as she appeared 29 June 1919 when President Wilson departed for America"
    Courtesy of Commander Peter Joseph Walter, USN, (Retired), 2008
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 106361
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships History:

    Philippines

    The northern part of Malay archipelago southeast of China.

    Philippines (ID–1677), originally Bulgaria, was built in 1898 by Blohm and Voss, Hamburg, Germany for the Hamburg-American Packet Steamship Co. She was caught in the port of Baltimore when the United States entered World War I and was acquired 6 April 1917 by the Army who operated her as an animal and general cargo transport under the names of Hercules and later Philippines with an armed guard aboard. The Navy took her over as a troop transport 1 May 1919 at Hoboken, N.J. and commissioned her Philippines, Comdr. J. D. Willson in command. She made two transatlantic runs to France returning troops. During these trips she carried 4,165 servicemen to the United States. Upon completion of her naval service under the operational control of the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, the Philippines was struck from the Naval Register 23 October 1919 and returned on the same date to the USSB.

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