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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- CIVILIAN SHIPS --
War Chant (Cargo Ship, 1917).
Later renamed Lake Champlain. Served as USS Lake Champlain
(ID # 1791) in 1918-19
War Chant, a 2118 gross ton steam cargo ship, was built
at West Superior, Wisconsin, in 1917. Renamed Lake Champlain
soon after completion, she was taken over by the U.S. Navy and
placed in commission as USS Lake Champlain (ID # 1791)
in January 1918. After initial service transporting coal along
the U.S. east coast, she carried ammunition and other cargo across
the Atlantic to Europe, making four round-trip voyages between
March 1918 and January 1919. A trip to Cuba with mines and coal
followed in February and March 1919. USS Lake Champlain
was decommissioned and returned to the U.S. Shipping Board in
March 1919.
The ship was sold to Belgian interests in 1920 and renamed
Nipponier. Other names carried during her long subsequent civilian career included Fruithandel and Meisei Maru. She was reportedly sunk in June 1945, while operating as a Japanese merchant ship.
This page features all the views we have related to the cargo
ship War Chant, which served as USS Lake Champlain
in 1918-19.
Click on the small photograph to prompt
a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 101995
War Chant (U.S. cargo ship, 1917)
Photographed at about the time she was completed. She was soon
renamed Lake Champlain, as indicated by the pencil alteration
on her hull. Acquired by the Navy on 19 January 1918, she was
commissioned on 24 January as USS Lake Champlain (ID#
1791). The ship was returned to the U.S. Shipping Board on 20
March 1919. Later sold abroad, she was renamed Nipponier
in 1922.
The original print is in National Archives' Record Group 19-LCM.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 77KB; 740 x 590 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 65107
SS War Chant (American cargo ship, 1917)
Photographed in 1917, possibly at the yard of her builder, the
American Shipbuilding Co., Superior, Wisconsin. Renamed Lake
Champlain soon after completion, she was taken over by the
Navy in early 1918 and commissioned as USS Lake Champlain
(ID# 1791).
Copied in 1968 from the original photograph on the "SP"
data card held by the Ship's Histories Branch, Naval History
Division.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 46KB; 740 x 320 pixels |
 |
Photo #: NH 69588
USS Lake Champlain (ID# 1791)
Photographed circa 1918-19, while wearing camouflage paint.
Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1969
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 71KB; 740 x 610 pixels |
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Page made 14 October 2001