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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Nero (AC-17)
ex
 USS Nero (Collier #17) (1898 - 1920)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Spanish Campaign Medal - Mexican Service Medal -World War I Victory Medal (with Mobile Base Clasp)
Nero Class Collier;
  • Built in 1895 as the steamer SS Whitgift by J.H. Thompson & Son Ltd., Sunderland, England
  • Purchased by the US Navy from McCondray and Co., at San Francisco, CA., 8 June 1898
  • Commissioned USS Nero (Collier #17), 8 June 1898, CDR. Charles Belknap in command
  • During the Spanish-American War and Philippines Insurrection USS Nero served in the Philippines and China
  • Decommissioned, 7 January 1899, at Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA.
  • Recommissioned, 10 April, 1899
  • Decommissioned, 20 May 1900
  • Recommissioned, 4 October 1900
  • Decommissioned, 31 July 1913, at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, WA.
  • Recommissioned, 29 April 1914
  • During World War I USS Nero was assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, Naval Overseas Transportation Service
  • Designated AC-17, 17 July 1920
  • Decommissioned, 12 September 1921, at San Francisco, CA.
  • Struck From the Naval Register, date unknown
  • Sold, 29 July 1922, to A. Bercovich and Co., Oakland, CA.
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 6,360 t.
    Length 329'
    Beam 41'
    Draft 20'
    Speed 9 kts.
    Complement 80
    Armament four 6-pdrs
    Propulsion coal fired reciprocating steam engine, single propeller
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    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
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    Nero 116k USS Nero (Collier #17) aground on Block Island, 1 August 1902, with two tugs standing by. The original is printed on postal card.
    US Navy photo # NH 102991, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2005.    		 Robert Hurst
    Nero 68k USS Nero (Collier #17) at anchor prior to World War I, location unknown.
    US Navy photo # NH 71828, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy of Donald M McPherson, 1973.    		 Robert Hurst
    Nero 128k USS Nero (Collier #17) loading supplied while in dry dock at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, CA., in May 1912. The ship was preparing to depart on the 1912 US Navy Alaskan Radio Expedition
    US Navy photo # NH 105442, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation.    		 Robert Hurst
    Nero 81k USS Nero (Collier #17) departing Mare Island, California, 20 May 1912, on the first leg of the 1912 Alaskan Radio Expedition.
    US Navy photo # NH 104440, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation.    		 Robert Hurst
    Nero 74k USS Nero (Collier #17) off Unalga Island, Alaska, during the 1912 Alaskan Radio Expedition. In the foreground is the second wharf built by the ship to get supplies ashore for the radio station under construction there, the first wharf having been destroyed by a storm on 19-21 June 1912.
    US Navy photo # NH 105434, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation.    		 Robert Hurst
    Nero 98k USS Nero (Collier #17) moored pierside at Dutch Harbor, Alaska, during the 1912 Alaskan Radio Expedition. Nero made frequent stops here between early June and early September 1912, often to take shelter from storms while erecting a radio station at nearby Unalga. This image is cropped from the original print for NH 105433 (US Naval Historical Center Photo # NH 105433-A).
    US Navy photo # NH 105433-A (cropped from NH # 105433) from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.    		 Robert Hurst
    Nero 57k USS Nero (Collier #17) returning to Mare Island, CA., 23 November 1912, at the conclusion of the 1912 US Navy Alaskan Radio Expedition. Note the long homeward bound pennant flying from the top of the main mast.
    US Navy photo # NH 105437, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation.    		 Robert Hurst
    Nero 61k USS Nero (Collier #17) at anchor in a Pacific Coast harbor, prior to World War 1. The original photograph is printed on post card ("AZO") stock.
    US Navy photo # NH 92197, from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, collection of Thomas P. Naughton, 1973.    		 Robert Hurst
    View the USS Nero (Collier #17 / AC-17)
    DANFS History entry located at the US Naval Historical Center
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    Not Applicable to this Vessel
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    No Information Available
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    © 2005 Gary P. Priolo © 1996 - 2009 NavSource Naval History. All Rights Reserved.
    Last Updated 10 October 2008