Steamship Calamares, a 7782 gross ton refrigerated cargo ship, was built in 1913 at Belfast, Ireland. Chartered by the Army for World War I service, she was turned over to the Navy in April 1918 and placed in commission as USS Calamares (ID # 3662). She was initially employed as a troop transport, making five voyages to France for this purpose. In October 1918 she was assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, which used her to carry provisions from the U.S. to France on three more trips. Calamares was returned to transport duty in March 1919 and made five voyages bringing more than 10,000 U.S. service personnel home from the former war zone. The last of these trips was completed in mid-August 1919. USS Calamares was decommissioned a month later and returned to her owner, the United Fruit Company.
In December 1941, after more than two decades as a merchant steamer, Calamares was reacquired by the Navy for use during the Second World War. Following conversion to a storeship she was commissioned in April 1943 as USS Calamares (AF-18). Her first World War II trip was from the West Coast to the south Pacific and back between April and August. After several months of operations between the U.S. and Hawaii, she went back to the south Pacific in November 1943 and operated there and in the western Pacific for the rest of the conflict. When the fighting ended in August 1945, Calamares remained in the Far East, supporting occupation efforts into 1946. She then steamed to the U.S. East Coast, where she was decommissioned in April 1946 and turned over to the Maritime Commission. The ship was sold for scrapping in December 1947.
This page features, and provides links to, all the views we have concerning USS Calamares (ID # 3662, later AF-18).
For more images related to this ship, see:
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.
Photo #: NH 536 USS Calamares (ID # 3662) At the New York Navy Yard, 28 June 1918, showing her pattern camouflage scheme. The barge Pearl is alongside. At far right is the barge Socony No. 86, with the smokestack of tug Socony 4 visible along her starboard side. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Online Image: 99KB; 740 x 605 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 911 USS Calamares (ID # 3662) At the New York Navy Yard, 28 June 1918, showing her pattern camouflage scheme. The tug Socony 4 is at right. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Online Image: 91KB; 585 x 765 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 104951 USS Calamares (ID # 3662) Leaving Pauillac, France, 29 November 1918, "with first load of Sailors to come back since Armistice was signed". The original photograph is printed on a post card mailed at Hoboken, New Jersey, on 14 May 1919. See Photo # NH 104951-A-KN for the reverse side of this card. Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2007. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Online Image: 55KB; 740 x 470 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 104951-A-KN (color) USS Calamares (ID # 3662) Reverse side of a postcard, mailed at Hoboken, New Jersey, on 14 May 1919, whose front features a photograph of Calamares leaving Pauillac, France, on 29 November 1918. See Photo # NH 104951 for the front side of this card. Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2007. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Online Image: 73KB; 740 x 495 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 105869 USS Calamares (ID # 3662) Leaving Pauillac, France, 29 November 1918, "with first load of Sailors to come back since Armistice was signed". The original photograph is printed on post card ("AZO") stock bearing the mark of the Modern Photo Shop, 46 Sands Street, Brooklyn, New York. The reverse side of the original post card is seen in Photo # NH 105869-A. See Photo # NH 104951 for another copy of this photo. Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2008. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Online Image: 57KB; 740 x 480 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 105869-A USS Calamares (ID # 3662) Reverse side of a photograph of the ship leaving Pauillac, France, on 29 November 1918. The original photograph is printed on post card ("AZO") stock bearing the mark of the Modern Photo Shop, 46 Sands Street, Brooklyn, New York. The front side of the original post card is seen in Photo # NH 105869. Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2008. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Online Image: 68KB; 740 x 495 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 106347 USS Calamares (ID # 3662) Leaving St. Nazaire, France in 1919, transporting homeward bound men of the 18th Division. Photograph from the collection of Robert H. Helm, donated by Mr. & Mrs. Robert Helm, 2008. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Online Image: 81KB; 740 x 490 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 95001 A Navy Band Plays on the dock of a French port, as a group of Sailors stand in formation upon arrival for World War I overseas service, 1919. USS Calamares (ID # 3662) is in the background. Courtesy of Paul H. Silverstone, 1983. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Online Image: 69KB; 740 x 455 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 82951 "The Original U.S. Troop Transports" Chart compiled 16 August 1919, showing the number of trans-Atlantic "turn arounds" and their average duration for thirty seven U.S. Navy troop transports employed during and immediately after World War I. Collection of the USS Pocahontas Reunion Association, 1974. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. Online Image: 157KB; 690 x 655 pixels Click here to rotate chart 90 degrees clockwise |
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NOTE: See Robert H. Helm's USS Powhatan (ID # 3013) Photo Collection, page 12 (lower left photo) for a partial view of USS Calamares, showing her leaving St. Nazaire, France in 1919. The photo is inscribed "Good bye France". "Hello U.S.A.".
For more images related to this ship, see:
NOTES:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 27 November 2004
New image added 16 February 2009