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Identification Numbered Civilian Ships Photo Archive

USAT South Bend
ex-USS South Bend (ID 4019)



Navy call sign:
George - Jig - King - Boy



Civilian call sign (1919):
Love p Pup - Tare - Nan


South Bend served both the U. S. Navy and Army

Freighter/Transport:

  • Built in 1919 as M. E. Luckenbach by Sun Shipbuilding Co., Chester, PA for the Luckenbach Steamship Co. of New York
  • Taken over by the United States Shipping Board (USSB) prior to launching and renamed South Bend
  • Launched 29 October 1918
  • Acquired by the Navy 7 March 1919 and commissioned USS South Bend (ID 4019) the same day
  • Struck from the Navy list 1 September 1919
  • Transferred to the War Department 3 September 1919, renamed USAT South Bend and assigned to the ATS Pacific Fleet, homeported at Fort Mason, CA
  • Returned to the USSB in August 1920 and laid up in the reserve fleet
  • Sold in 1922 to the Luckenbach Steamship Co. and renamed J. L. Luckenbach
  • Sold in 1948 to the Republic Steamship Corp. of Panama and renamed San Francisco
  • Sold in 1951 to Djakarta Lloyn and renamed Diponegoro
  • Renamed Djakarta Raya in 1952
  • Scrapped in 1959 at Hong Kong.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 18,680 t.
  • Length 473' 7"
  • Beam 60'
  • Draft 30' 9"
  • Speed 14.5 kts.
  • Complement 50
  • Propulsion: One 5,000ihp steam engine, one shaft.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    South Bend
    South Bend 149k Sol Navis and South Bend fitting out on 26 February 1919 in the wet dock at the Sun Shipyard, Chester, Pa. Sol Navis is in the foreground and South Bend is the ship behind her with her anchor in place. The two ships behind them are probably Edellyn [ID-4307] and Marica [ID-4031]
    National Archives photo from Shipscribe    		 Tommy Trampp
    Photos added 21 March 2019
    South Bend 148k South Bend and Sol Navis fitting out on 26 February 1919 in the wet dock at the Sun Shipyard, Chester, Pa. South Bend is on the left nearly complete and Sol Navis is on the right
    National Archives photo from Shipscribe
    USS South Bend (ID 4019)
    South Bend 100k Halftone reproduction of a photograph of the ship in port, 1919
    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2006.
    U.S. Navy photo NH 103665    		 Naval Historical Center
    South Bend 99k Arriving in a U.S. port (probably New York) in 1919, with her decks crowded with troops returning from Europe
    Photographed by J.W. Allison, New York City
    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2007
    Naval Historical Center photo NH 104596    		 Robert Hurst
    South Bend 110k Arriving in New York Harbor, while bringing American service personnel home from Europe, 1919
    Photographed by Jno W. Allison, 42 West 39th Street, New York City
    Donation of Charles R. Haberlein Jr., 2008
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 105814
    USAT South Bend
    South Bend 181k
    Photo by Jaars, Astoria
    Written on reverse:
    "American Legion Celebration, Astoria, Ore.
    U.S.A.T. South Bend (Smoking)
    U.S.S. Birmingham [CL 2]
    U.S.S. Fuller [DD 297]
    U.S.S. John Francis Burnes [DD 299]
    U.S.S. Babbitt [DD 128]
    U.S.S. Somers [DD 301]
    U.S.S. Percival [DD298]

    P.G.W. July 30,1920"

    		 Tommy Trampp
    View the South Bend (ID 4019)
    DANFS history entry located on the Naval History and Heritage Command website
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