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NavSource Online: Army Ship Photo Archive

USAT Sierra

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Precedence of awards is from left to right
American Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Wood-hull Lumber Schooner :
  • Laid down in 1916 as MV Sierra at Matthews Shipyard, Hoquiam, WA.
  • Launched in 1916
  • Delivered January 1917
  • Collided with liner SS Wilhelmina , 7 February 1923, off the coast of California, remaining buoyant due to her full cargo of lumber
  • In 1926 Sierra caught fire while moored to pier 77 in Los Angeles harbor
  • Sold in 1927 and equipped with refrigeration equipment to carry reindeer meat from Alaska for the Arctic Transport Co.,
  • Seized, 14 December 1942, by US Marshals
  • Acquired, 6 February 1943, by the War Shipping Administration at Seattle
  • Allocated, 6 February 1943, as a bare bottom charter to the War Department, Transportation Corps for use as a training vessel
  • Retired from Army service in 1946 and laid up in the Maritime Commission National Defense Reserve Fleet, Olyhmpia, WA.
  • Sold, 20 April 1948, to W. P. Studdent, Kennydale, WA. (PC-X-426 dated 16 March 1948) for $12,800.00 and taken to Lake Union, Washington where attempts were made to restore her
  • Sold in the 1970s to Mart Liikane who continued restoration of one of the only two motorized lumber schooners remaining on the West Coast
  • Sierra was moved in 1976 to Aberdeen, WA. in hopes of finding more interest in restoration and reuse as a restaurant
  • 18 December 1979 Sierra broke loose from her moorings and drifted down the the harbor coming to rest on the Northern Pacific R.R. bridge blocking the harbor
  • Towed off the bridge and beached on Port of Grays Harbor intertidal property where she was vandalized and set on fire
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,578 gross tons
    Length 212'
    Beam 43'
    Draft 19'
    Speed unknown
    Armament unknown
    Complement unknown
    Troopship Passenger Capacity unknown
    Cargo Capacity unknown
    Cruise Radius unknown
    Propulsion
    two 4-cyl diesel engines
    twin shafts 640shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Sierra
    302206101    		 54k In 1926 M/V Sierra caught fire at Berth 77 in the Port of Los Angeles. The fire was extinguished by Los Angeles Fire Department fireboat Los Angeles City No. 2.
    Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Archive, F I R E B O A T No.2 / R A L P H J. S C O T T, October 20, 1925 to April 12, 2003    		 LAFIRE.com
    Sierra
    302206102    		 64k M/V Sierra moored probably in the Port of Grays Harbor, WA., October 1977 Wikipedia
    There is no history record for USAT Sierra available at NavSource
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    MARAD Vessel History Database
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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    Last Updated 2 July 2021