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Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive

Santa Clara (SP 4523)

Santa Clara served both the U. S. Army and Navy.

Santa Cecilia Class Freighter: Built in 1913 by the William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Co., Philadelphia, PA; Chartered by the U. S. Army, 28 October 1917; Acquired by the Navy, 17 September 1918; Commissioned Santa Clara (SP 4523), 12 October 1918; Decommissioned 19 August 1919 and returned to her owner, the Santa Clara Steamship Co., New York, NY. In 1925 it was acquired by the American-Hawaiian Steamship Co. and renamed Columbian. In 1945 the ship was transferred to the Soviet Union under Lend Lease and renamed Kapitan Smirnov and assigned to the Far East State Sea Shipping Co. On 17 May 1963 it was removed from the active roster and assigned to the Ministry of Fisheries for use as a refrigerated fish warehouse in Sakhalin. In 1971 it was taken off those duties and assigned for scrapping.

Specifications: Displacement 13,320 t.; Length 420' 2"; Beam 53' 9"; Draft 28' 4½"; Depth of Hold 34' 2"; Speed 12 kts.; Complement 98; Armament one 5" and one 3"; Propulsion steam, one shaft.


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Santa Clara 194k USN Photo NH 65064 Naval Historical Center

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Santa Clara (SP-4523), a single-screw, steel freighter built during 1913 by William Cramp & Sons Ship and Engine Building Co., Philadelphia, Pa., was chartered by the Army on 28 October 1917 for voyages to the European war zone and given a Navy armed guard; acquired by the Navy on 17 September 1918 from the Atlantic & Pacific Steamship Co., of New York, and commissioned on 12 October 1918 at Baltimore, Md., Lt. Comdr. F. S. Blackadar, USNRF, in command.

Assigned to Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS), Santa Clara arrived at Marseilles on 15 November 1918, four days after the armistice was signed, bringing 6,655 tons of general cargo. After returning to Baltimore on 24 December 1918, Santa Clara was transferred, on 18 January 1919, to the Cruiser and Transport Force, Atlantic Fleet.

After overhaul, Santa Clara departed New York, on 23 March 1919, for the first of four post-war voyages to Europe returning troops to the United States from the war zone. Operating from New York, Santa Clara called at Brest, Bordeaux, St. Nazaire, and Pauillac, France, before completing her last voyage at Brooklyn on 3 August 1919. The following day, she was transferred from the Atlantic Fleet to the 3d Naval District. Santa Clara was decommissioned on 19 August 1919 at New York and simultaneously returned to her owner.


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