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Identification Numbered Vessel Photo Archive

Lake Frances (ID 4406)

Lake Frances served both the U. S. Navy and U.S. Army

Freighter:

  • Built in 1918 as J. W. McGrath by the Toledo Shipbuilding Co., Toledo, OH
  • Renamed Lake Frances while under construction
  • Launched 15 June 1918
  • Acquired by the Navy 22 August 1918 and commissioned USS Lake Frances (ID 4406) the same day
  • Decommissioned 23 September 1919 and returned to the United States Shipping Board
  • Reportedly sold to Richmond and New York Steamship Co., in 1920, then repossessed by U.S. Shipping Board
  • Sold in 1926 to the Ford Motor Co. of Detroit, MI
  • Sold in 1928 to Frank Paramino of San Francisco, CA
  • Sold in 1936 to the Coastal Steamship Co. of San Francisco
  • Acquired 30 September 1942 by the War Shipping Administration, chartered to the War Department and named USAT Lake Frances
  • Acquired 31 January 1946 by the Olympic Steamship Co., Inc. of Seattle, WA under a General Agency Agreement
  • Returned to the Coastal Steamship Co. 3 March 1946
  • Sold in 1946 to the Lee Che Co. of Shanghai, China and renamed Lee Hwa
  • Dropped from the merchant vessel registers in 1968
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 1,190 t.
  • Length 261'
  • Beam 43' 6"
  • Draft 18' 6½"
  • Speed 10 kts.
  • Complement 52
  • Armament: One 4"/40 mount
  • Propulsion: Two single ended boilers, one 1,200hp vertical triple expansion steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Lake Frances
    Lake Frances 31k Under construction Historical Collections of the Great Lakes
    USS Lake Frances (ID 4406)
    Lake Frances 58k Naval Historical Center photo NH 65593 Robert Hurst
    View the Lake Frances (ID 4406)
    DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command website
    Back To The Main Photo Index Back to the Identification Numbered Vessel (ID) Photo Index Back to the U.S. Army Transport Photo Index

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