Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online:
Identification Numbered Vessel Photo Archive

USAT El Oriente
ex-USS El Oriente (ID 4504)



Navy call sign (1918):
George - Dog - Sail - Love

Navy call sign (1919):
Nan - Able - Jig - Mike



Civilian call sign (1919):
Love - Boy - Rush - Cast


El Oriente served both the U. S. Army and the Navy

Freighter:

  • Built in 1910 by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News, VA
  • Delivered 24 October 1910
  • Acquired by the Navy, 29 July 1918 and commissioned the same day
  • Decommissioned, 15 September 1919 and transferred to the Army the same day for return to her owners, the Southern Pacific Co./Atlantic Steamship Lines
  • Scrapped in 1947.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 10,030 t.
  • Length 430' 2"
  • Beam 53' 1"
  • Draft 26'
  • Speed 17 kts.
  • Complement 112
  • Armament: One 4" mount
  • Propulsion: Three double ended boilers, one 5,500ihp vertical triple-expansion steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    SS El Oriente
    El Oriente 96k Underway in harbor, prior to World War I
    U.S. Navy photo NH 70455    		 Naval Historical Center
    USS El Oriente (ID 4504)
    El Oriente 102k In a U.S. East Coast port at the end of a voyage bringing troops home from France, circa mid-1919.
    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2006.
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 103918    		 Robert Hurst
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: El Oriente, a cargo ship, was built in 1910 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., Newport News VA.; transferred to the Navy 29 July 1918; and commissioned the same day, Lieutenant Commander William Delahanty, USNRF, in command.

    Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation service, El Oriente made four transatlantic voyages from New York and Norfolk to French ports between 13 August 1918 and 5 April 1919 to deliver cargo and animals for the Army. She was then reassigned to Cruiser and Transport Force and, after alterations for troops, sailed from New York 11 June for Bordeaux She returned to Norfolk 4 July with 45 officers and 2,060 men of the 6th Cavalry on board, and after a similar voyage during July and August 1919 was decommissioned at Philadelphia 15 September 1919, and transferred to the Army for return to her owners the same day.

    Back To The Main Photo Index Back to the Identification Numbered Vessel (ID) Photo Index Back to the U.S. Army Transport Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster
    This page created by Joseph M. Radigan and maintained by David Wright
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History