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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

ID-3148 / AO-8 Sara Thompson


Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

World War I Victory Medal (with Atlantic Fleet clasp)

Sara Thompson Class Oiler:
  • Laid down in 1888 as the German/American merchant tanker Gut Heil by William Armstrong, Mitchell and Co., Newcastle, England
  • Launched (date unknown)
  • Sold to American owners in 1912, name retained
  • Sunk in an accident on the Mississippi River in 1914
  • Raised in 1917 and refurbished
  • Acquired by the US Navy, 8 August 1918
  • Renamed Sara Thompson, 7 September 1918
  • Commissioned USS Sara Thompson (ID-3148), 17 September 1918, at New Orleans, LA., LCDR. Frederick S. Hayes, USNRF, in command
  • Reclassified Oiler AO-8, 17 July 1920
  • Placed in reduced commission, in ordinary, 8 December 1921, at Cavite, P.I.
  • Decommissioned, 21 July 1933, at Cavite, P.I.
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 12 December 1933
  • Final Disposition, sold, 9 August 1934, to Alberto Barrette of Manila. Fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 5,836 t.
    Length 321'
    Beam 40' 3"
    Draft 22' (mean)
    Speed 9 kts.
    Complement 67
    Armament unknown
    Propulsion steam, one shaft

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    Size Image Description Source
    Sara Thompson 26k Sara Thompson (ID-3148) refitting for service, possibly when inspected by the 8th Naval District on 20 July 1918. Note the pattern lightly marked on her side, probably to guide the painting of "Dazzle" camouflage.
    US Navy photo # NH 99781 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center
    US Naval Historical Center
    Sara Thompson 72k Sara Thompson (ID-3148) photographed circa September 1918, soon after entering U.S. Navy service. She is painted in pattern camouflage.
    US Navy photo # NH 44070 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center
    US Naval Historical Center
    Sara Thompson 48k Sara Thompson (ID-3148) underway, circa 1918. Richard Cleaveland
    Sara Thompson 70k Sara Thompson (AO-8) at anchor, circa early 1920s.
    US Navy photo # NH 71251 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1970.
    US Naval Historical Center
    Sara Thompson 55k Sara Thompson (AO-8) off the Cavite Navy Yard, Philippine Islands, 26 October 1920.
    US Navy photo # NH 65033 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
    US Naval Historical Center
    Sara Thompson 75k Sara Thompson (AO-8) at anchor, probably off Cavite Navy Yard, Philippine Islands, during the 1920s. The collier in the left background is probably Jason (AC-12).
    US Navy photo # NH 44071 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center.
    US Naval Historical Center
    Sara Thompson 134k Sara Thompson (AO-8) view on deck, looking aft toward the bridge with laundry drying at left, circa the early 1920s
    US Navy photo # NH 71565 from the collections of the US Naval Historical Center, courtesy Donald M. McPherson, 1970.
    US Naval Historical Center

    View the Sara Thompson (AO-8)
    DANFS history entry located at the US Naval Historical Center web site
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S.Navy Memorial Foundation
    Fleet Reserve Association

    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
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