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

Winifred (ID 1319)

Freighter/Tanker:

  • Laid down 31 January 1898 by the Bath Iron Works, Bath, ME
  • Launched 8 July 1892
  • Acquired by the Navy 21 June 1918 at Liverpool, England, and commissioned the same day
  • Decommissioned 13 March 1919 at Philadelphia, PA, struck from the Navy list and returned to the United States Shipping Board for return to her owners, the Gulf Refining Co. of Port Arthur, TX
  • Abandoned in 1936.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 5,850 t.
  • Length 290'
  • Beam 42' 2"
  • Draft 21' 6"
  • Speed 9.5 kts.
  • Complement 55
  • Armament: Two 4"/40 mounts
  • Two single ended boilers, one 1,000hp vertical triple expansion steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Winifred 97k In a European port prior to entering U.S. Navy service
    U.S. Navy Photo NH 89798    		 Naval Historical Center
    Winifred 136k In a European port prior to her World War I era Navy service
    U.S. Navy Photo NH 89798-A
    Winifred 109k Photographed before her World War I Naval service
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 102569    		 Robert Hurst
    Winifred 96k Photographed before World War I by Verkin Photo Company of Galveston, Texas
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 102570
    Service History: Winifred initially operated on the New York-to-Puerto Rico route. By late in 1917, Winifred was operating as a commercial oil tanker under the auspices of the Gulf Refining Company of Port Arthur, Texas. In the autumn of 1917, with the participation of the United States in World War I well underway, she was armed, and on 17 October 1917, a U.S. Navy Naval Armed Guard unit under the command of Chief Boatswain's Mate W. A. Moon was placed aboard her. After docking at Bayonne, New Jersey, to take on a cargo of oil, Winifred shifted to Hampton Roads, Virginia, where she joined a convoy. Departing Hampton Roads on 8 November 1917, she reached Dover, England on 29 November 1917 and Gravesend, Kent on 30 November 1917. She remained in British waters for the remainder of 1917, touching at Sheerness in England, Cardiff in Wales, and Dover. Winifred operated in European waters into the summer of 1918.

    The U.S. Navy acquired Winifred for World War I service on 21 June 1918 while she was in drydock at Liverpool, England. Assigned naval registry Identification Number Id. No. 1319, she was commissioned as USS Winifred the same day with Lieutenant J. B. Barneson, USNRF, in command.

    Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service and operating primarily from Cardiff, Winifred performed coastwise service in British waters and service across the English Channel, lifting supplies from English to French ports and vice versa, through the end of World War I.

    Winifred departed Liverpool on 12 December 1918 and proceeded to the United States via the Azores, arriving at New York City on 8 January 1919. Shifting to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania soon thereafter, she was decommissioned there on 13 March 1919. Simultaneously struck from the Naval Vessel Register, she was turned over to the United States Shipping Board on the same day for disposal.

    Winifred was returned to the Gulf Refining Company. Once again SS Winifred, she operated from her home port of Port Arthur, Texas until 1936, when she was abandoned due to age and deterioration.

    Back to the Main Photo Index Back to the Auxiliary Ship Index Back to the Identification Numbered Vessel (ID) 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