Santa Barbara, a 6621 gross ton freighter, was built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1916. Owned by the Atlantic and Pacific Steamship Company of New York City, in April 1918 she was taken over by the Navy for World War I service and placed in commission as USS Santa Barbara (with the Navy registry ID # 4522 probably being assigned later). Between then and January 1919, while assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, she completed four round-trip voyages between New York and France. Transferred to the Cruiser and Transport Force in February 1919, she was converted to a troop transport and, beginning at the end of March 1919, was employed bringing home American service personnel. By the latter part of July 1919, Santa Barbara had made four trips from France to the U.S. for this purpose. She was then decommissioned and, in early August, returned to her owner.
Santa Barbara resumed commercial service and was later renamed American. On 11 June 1942, while off Honduras, she was torpedoed and sunk by the German submarine off U-504. Four of her crew lost their lives as a result of this action.
This page features the only views we have concerning the steamship Santa Barbara (of 1916) and USS Santa Barbara (ID # 4522).
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
NOTES:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 19 March 2005
New image added 28 February 2009