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Identification Numbered Vessel Photo Archive

Saetia (ID 2317)

Sunk 9 November 1918
Freighter:

  • Built in 1918 as Colorado by Harlan and Hollingsworth, Wilmington, DE
  • Renamed Saetia while still under construction
  • Launched 19 December 1917
  • Acquired by the Navy 1 March 1918 and commissioned USS Saetia (ID 2317) the same day
  • Struck a mine 9 November 1918, probably laid by the German submarine U-117, 10 miles SSE of Fenwick Island Lightship off the Atlantic coast and sank
  • Struck from the Navy Register the same day.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 6,376 t.
  • Length 322'
  • Beam 48' 3"
  • Draft 19'
  • Speed 11 kts.
  • Complement 73
  • Armament: One 5"/40 mount and one 6-pounder
  • Propulsion: Two single ended boilers, one 1,600hp vertical triple expansion steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    SS Saetia
    Saetia 83k This photo may have been taken when the ship was inspected by the Fourth Naval District on 8 February 1918
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 105260    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Saetia (ID 2317)
    Saetia 140k In pattern camouflage paint circa late 1918
    Donation of John P. Fenzel, 2007
    Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph from Shipscribe.com    		 Robert Hurst
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Saetia (No. 2317), originally under construction by Harlan and Hollingsworth, Wilmington, Del., as the steel-hulled steam cargo ship Colorado for the Mallory Line, was taken over by the U.S. Shipping Board at her construction site and commissioned as a Naval Overseas Transportation Service vessel on 1 March 1918 at Philadelphia, Pa., Lt. Comdr. W. A. Hogan in command.

    Two weeks later, Saetia sailed for New York City where she joined a convoy that departed for France on 16 March. After the convoy arrived at Brest on the 31st, Saetia steamed on to Rochefort, unloaded her cargo, and then joined a convoy for Philadelphia. Arriving at Philadelphia on 3 May, the ship underwent minor repairs and then moved up the coast to join her second European-bound convoy.

    This convoy got underway on 17 May and arrived at Quiberon on 1 June. Saetia was back in Philadelphia on 2 July; and, after repairs and loading operations at Cramp Shipbuilding Co., she steamed to New York on the 15th. Picking up a convoy on 24 July, she delivered her goods at Gironde on 11 August and sailed for Philadelphia at the end of the month.

    Saetia again joined a European-bound convoy out of New York on 22 September, this time sailing for Brest. Arriving there on 7 October, she went on to Bordeaux discharged her cargo, and then sailed for Philadelphia on the 24th. At 0830 on 9 November, she struck a mine and sank ten miles SSE of Fenwick Island Lightship off the Atlantic coast. All hands survived, although 13 men were injured.

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