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Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive

Signal (IX 142)



Call sign:
Nan - Jig - Tare - George

ex-Standard Arrow (ID 1532)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from left to right
Top - World War I Victory Medal
Bottom - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal - World War II Victory Medal
Tanker:

  • Built in 1916 by the New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, NJ
  • Acquired by the Navy and commissioned USS Standard Arrow (ID 1532), 22 August 1917
  • Decommissioned 29 January 1919
  • Returned to her owner 13 February 1919
  • Reacquired by the Navy 4 April 1944 and commissioned USS Signal (IX 142)
  • Decommissioned 20 February 1946 and returned to her owner
  • Struck from the Navy Register 12 March 1946
  • Scrapped in 1947.

    Standard Arrow Specifications:

  • Displacement 18,275 t.
  • Length 485' 3"
  • Beam 62' 7"
  • Draft 27'
  • Speed 11 kts.
  • Complement 86
  • Armament: Two 5"/40 mounts
  • Propulsion: Three single-ended boilers, one 3,500hp verticle quadruple-expansion steam engines, one shaft.

    Signal Specifications:

  • Displacement 15,333 t.
  • Length 485'
  • Beam 62' 6"
  • Speed 10.2 kts.
  • Complement 101
  • Armament: One 5"/51 mount and one 3"/50 dual purpose gun mount
  • Propulsion: Three single-ended Scotch boilers, one 2,000shp verticle quapruple expansion 220psi saturated steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    SS Standard Arrow
    Standard Arrow 71k Underway, probably prior to her World War I Navy service
    US Navy Photo NH 65062-A    		 Naval Historical Center
    USS Standard Arrow (ID 1532)
    Standard Arrow 129k In a French port, circa 1918, with crated flying boats as deck cargo. A U.S. Navy "airboat" is passing by in the foreground. At left, beyond the breakwater, are the French submarines Daphne
    and Nereide
    Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1977
    US Navy Photo NH 85456    		 Naval Historical Center
    USS Signal (IX 142)
    Standard Arrow 138k A rare photo of a station tanker in action: USS Signal (IX-142) at Ulithi [atoll, Caroline Islands] in 1945. The ship is probably preparing to receive USS Oneida (APA-221) alongside for refueling
    National Archives photo 80-G-408151    		 Mike Green
    Commanding Officers
    01LCDR Henry Gillespie, USNRF1918
    02LT W. S. Tross, USNR1945
    Courtesy Joe Radigan
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships:

    Standard Arrow

    Standard Arrow (ID-1532) was built in 1916 by the New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.; and was operated by the Standard Transportation Co., N.Y., as the tanker SS Standard Arrow. She was acquired by the Navy on a bareboat charter and commissioned on 22 August 1917.

    At the beginning of the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS) on 9 January 1918, the tanker was assigned to that service for duty. At the time, she was en route from Devonport, England, to New York. She arrived there on 19 January and was refitted for Navy duty. She loaded a cargo of fuel oil and sailed for Devonport on 4 February. On the same day, she collided with the tanker, SS Norman Bridge, damaged her steering gear, and sprang a leak in her forward hold. She returned to port, discharged her cargo to Maumee, and was drydocked until the 25th.

    Standard Arrow then replenished her cargo and sailed with a convoy for England, arriving at Portsmouth on 16 March 1918. Between that day and 17 December 1918, the tanker made five additional trips to Europe. Upon her arrival at New York in December, she was scheduled for demobilization.

    Standard Arrow was decommissioned on 29 January 1919, returned to the Shipping Board, and subsequently returned to her original owner on 13 February 1919.

    ************************************************************************************************************************************************************

    Signal

    Standard Arrow-a merchant tanker built by the New York Shipbuilding Co. at Camden, N. J., in 1916 -was acquired by the Navy on 4 April 1944 and commissioned on the same date as Signal (IX-142).

    Signal supported the war effort in the Pacific by carrying and storing oil for Service Squadron 10, based at Majuro and Ulithi atolls. She remained with the Navy until 20 February 1946, at which time she was returned to her owner. Her name was struck from the Navy list on 12 March 1946, and Signal returned to merchant service for about a year before being scrapped in 1947.

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