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Identification Numbered Vessel Photo Archive

Hatteras (ID 2142)



Civilian call sign (1919):
Love - Jig - Mike - Cast
Freighter:

  • The second Hatteras was built in 1917 as War Dragon by the Bethlehem Shipping Building Corp., Sparrows Point, MD for the Cunard Line of Southampton, England
  • Renamed Hatteras prior to completion
  • Acquired by the Navy 23 October 1917
  • Launched 20 November 1917
  • Commissioned as USS Hatteras (ID 2142), 23 December 1917
  • Decommissioned 8 April 1919 at New York and returned to the United States Shipping Board (USSB) the same day
  • Abandoned by the USSB in 1938
  • Acquired by G. E. Marden of Shanghai, China and renamed Hatterlock
  • Seized by Japan while on charter 8 December 1941
  • Renamed Renzan Maru and operated by Miyachi Kisen K. K. of Kobe, Japan
  • Torpedoed and sunk 1 January 1943 by USS Porpoise (SS 172) off Yap, Caroline Islands.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 10,505 t.
  • Length 391' 9"
  • Beam 52'
  • Draft 23' 10"
  • Speed 11 kts.
  • Complement 62
  • Armament: One 6"/40 and one 3"/50 mount
  • Propulsion: Two single ended boilers, one 2,000hp vertical triple expansion steam engine, one shaft..
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Hatteras 71k Probably photographed in 1917 while still in the hands of her builders, Bethlehem Shipbuilding, Sparrows Point, Maryland
    U.S. Navy photo NH 101779    		 Naval Historical Center
    Hatteras 72k Probably photographed in 1919, after World War I Navy service. The ship appears to be loaded, with worn paintwork and an empty gun platform forward
    U.S. Navy photo NH 101780
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships:

    Hatteras

    An inlet on the coast of North Carolina.

    The second Hatteras was built in 1917 for the Cunard Line by the Bethlehem Shipping Corp. of Sparrow's Point Md. Acquired by the Navy for the war effort, she commissioned 23 October 1917, Lt. Comdr. W. K. Martin in command.

    After loading cargo, mainly iron, in Maryland, Hatteras joined a convoy at Norfolk and sailed for France on 26 January 1918. On 4 February the convoy ran into a severe North Atlantic storm, and Hatteras' steering gear broke down completely. The disabled ship headed back to Boston using a jury-rigged steering system arriving 11 days later. On 6 March she sailed again for France via Halifax, but 11 days later ran into another severe storm, and, once again, broken steering gear forced her to turn back to Boston.

    On 9 April Hatteras sailed for France for the third time, this time through relatively calm seas, and arrived in Nantes on the 30th. Cargo successfully discharged, she returned to Baltimore on 23 May. Thereafter she made four more Atlantic crossings, one to Nantes and three to Bordeaux, finally returning to New York 19 March 1919. Hatteras decommissioned there on 8 April 1919 and the same day was returned to the USSB, which retained her until she was abandoned in 1938.

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