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Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive

Satsuma (SP 2038)



Civilian call sign (1919):
Love - Fox - Boy - Vice
Freighter:

  • Built in 1901 by Short Brothers, Ltd., Sunderland, England
  • Acquired by the Navy 1 October 1918 and commissioned the same day
  • Decommissioned 31 January 1919 at Brooklyn, NY, struck from the Navy Register and transferred to the United States Shipping Board for return to her owner
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 10,150 t.
  • Length 380' 3"
  • Beam 48' 8"
  • Draft 26' 4½"
  • Depth of hold 28' 11"
  • Speed 10 kts.
  • Complement 70
  • Armament: One 4"/50 mount and one 6-pounder
  • Propulsion: Three single ended boilers, one 2,300hp vertical triple expansion steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Satsuma 90k In port during World War I
    U.S. Navy photo NH 102211    		 Naval Historical Center
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships:

    Satsuma

    A former province in Kyushu, Japan; towns in Alabama and Texas.

    Satsuma (SP-2038) was built during 1901 by Short Brothers Ltd., Sunderland, England, as a single-screw freighter for a British firm; transferred to United States registry in 1914; acquired by the United States Shipping Board from the New York and Oriental Steam Ship Co. of New York to move Army cargo to Europe; delivered to the Navy at New York on 1 October 1918; and commissioned the same day, Lt. Comdr. George A. Saunders, USNRF, in command.

    Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) upon commissioning, Satsuma departed from New York on 12 October 1918 for Newport News to load cargo for French ports. Returning to New York in convoy, she continued on to St. Nazaire and Brest, France, with a cargo of horses, grain, and general cargo. Satsuma returned to New York on 23 December 1918 where she was detached from NOTS on 3 January 1919. Satsuma was simultaneously decommissioned, transferred to the Shipping Board, and returned to her owner on 31 January 1919 at Brooklyn, N.Y.

    DANFS courtesy of Ramon Jackson

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