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UNITED STATES NAVY
TEMPORARY AUXILIARY SHIPS
WORLD WAR I
TEMPORARY AUXILIARY SHIPS
WORLD WAR I
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- CIVILIAN SHIPS --
S.S. West Galeta (American Freighter, 1918).
Served as USS West Galeta (ID # 3330) in 1918-1919
S.S. West Galeta, a 12,287 ton (displacement) freighter, was built at Los Angeles, California, in 1918. Part of the World War I ship construction program, she was turned over to the Navy upon completion and placed in commission early in September 1918 as USS West Galeta (ID # 3330). She steamed to Chile soon afterwards, encountering heavy weather en route, and there loaded a cargo of nitrates. After transiting the Panama Canal, the ship arrived at New York City a week before the 11 November Armistice brought active combat to an end. Her next trip was to France, and another bout with stormy seas while en route damaged much of her deck cargo. West Galeta returned to the U.S. in late January 1919. A second French voyage, beginning in mid-February, was delayed on the return leg when she lost her propeller and had to be repaired at Brest. Decommissioned in May 1919, West Galeta was transferred to the U.S. Shipping Board, which retained her until 1933, when she was abandoned.
This page features all available views concerning the freighter West Galeta, which was USS West Galeta (ID # 3330) in 1918-1919.
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
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Photo #: NH 65038 S.S. West Galeta (American Freighter, 1918) Underway, probably in August 1918, when she was completed by the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Company of Los Angeles, California. This ship served as USS West Galeta (ID # 3330) from September 1918 to May 1919. Note her pattern camouflage. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 74KB; 740 x 530 pixels |
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Photo #: None S.S. West Galeta (American Freighter, 1918) Underway, probably in August 1918. She appears complete except for her masts. This may be a sister built at the same yard with the same camouflage pattern. Source: U.S. National Archives, RG-32-M box 13. |
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Photo #: None S.S. West Galeta (American Freighter, 1918) Underway, probably in September 1918. She has her complete wartime rig of two masts without topmasts and a topmast on a kingpost near the smokestack. Source: U.S. National Archives, RG-19-LCM. |
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Photo #: None S.S. West Galeta (American Freighter, 1918) Photographed pierside on 2 September 1918 by her builder, the Los Angeles Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, San Pedro, Calif. Source: U.S. National Archives, RG-32-S. |
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