- USS Gulfport (AK-5)
USS Gulfport (AK-5) was an "Gulfport"-class
cargo ship acquired by theU.S. Navy for service inWorld War I .Acquiring a captured German freighter
"Gulfport", formerly
SS Locksun , ex-SS Andree Rickmers , was built atBremerhaven ,Germany , in1902 byRickmers Aktien Ges. and was owned by the GermanNorddeutscher Lloyd Steamship Lines Co. InPearl Harbor when theUnited States enteredWorld War I , she was seized by Government orders and converted to a cargo transport at theHonolulu Navy Yard . She commissioned1 September 1917 atHonolulu , Lt. Comdr. P. F. Johnson,USNR , in command.World War I North Atlantic operations
In company with four
submarines , "Gulfport" sailed fromHawaii on30 October 1917 , reachingNew York 28 January 1918 viaSan Diego, California ,Corinto, Nicaragua , Balboa,Key West, Florida , andNorfolk, Virginia . At New York she discharged her cargo, primarilypineapple , and was attached to theNaval Overseas Transportation Service .Post-war operations
Until she decommissioned in
1922 , "Gulfport" served as a cargo ship linking New York and Charleston with variousCaribbean ports, particularlyGuantanamo ,Cuba ;St. Thomas, Virgin Islands ;Port-au-Prince, Haiti ; andSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic . During this period she made a total of 23 round trips to theWest Indies , carrying oil and other necessary supplies to American troops based there and frequently returning with a cargo of sugar from the islands. "Gulfport" was detached fromNOTS on10 October 1919 and placed under the military jurisdiction of the Commandant,6th Naval District , Charleston, for duty in the West Indies Freight Service.Last voyage and decommissioning
"Gulfport" completed her last voyage to the Caribbean on
25 November 1921 as she returned to New York; there she decommissioned3 March 1922 at theBrooklyn Navy Yard and was sold to Moore & McCormack Inc. of New York on25 July 1922 .Military awards and honors
Her crew was authorized the following medals:
* World War I Victory Medal (with Transport clasp)
* Haitian Campaign MedalReferences
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/g9/gulfport-i.htm
External links
* [http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/13/130005.htm NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - SP 2989 / AK-5 Gulfport]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.