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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Photo #  NH 107021-A:  USS Lake Fernwood in port, 1918-1919.

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

USS Lake Fernwood (ID # 4410), 1918-1919.
Completed as S.S. Lake Fernwood (American Freighter, 1918). Originally named War Branch. Later renamed Virginia Despatch and Mercurio.

S.S. Lake Fernwood, a 2014 gross ton freighter, was laid down as the British ship War Branch but was taken over by the United States Government while under construction and renamed Lake Fernwood. Completed as June 1918, she was acquired by the U.S. Navy in September 1918 at Brest, France and placed in commission as USS Lake Fernwood (ID # 4410). Serving under the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS), the ship carried coal between the British Isles and France during the next several months. In February and March 1919, Lake Fernwood took a cargo of U.S. Army materiel from Newport, England to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After steaming to New York, she was decommissioned in April and returned to the U.S. Shipping Board.

Lake Fernwood was sold to the Richmond-New York Steamship Company in 1923 and became the S.S. Virginia Despatch. Later transferred to an Italian firm and renamed Mercurio, she was sunk by Allied air attack at Parenzo, Italy in September 1944.

This page features the only views we have concerning S.S. Lake Fernwood, USS Lake Fernwood and the civilian steamships Virginia Despatch and Mercurio.


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 107021

USS Lake Fernwood
(ID # 4410)

Photograph taken in 1918-1919, with a portrait of a Sailor below the ship image.
For a version showing only the ship, see Photo # NH 107021-A. A version showing only the Sailor is Photo # NH 107021-B.

Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2010.

U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

Online Image: 81KB; 900 x 850 pixels

 

High-Resolution JPG
Photo #: NH 107021-A

USS Lake Fernwood
(ID # 4410)

Photographed in port, 1918-1919.
For a version of this view showing the entire original, see Photo # NH 107021.

Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2010.

U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

Online Image: 72KB; 900 x 730 pixels

 

High-Resolution JPG
Photo #: NH 107021-B

Portrait of a U.S. Navy Sailor


Taken circa 1918-1919.
His cap band is from USS Michigan (Battleship # 27). The original photograph is mounted with a view of USS Lake Fernwood (ID # 4410).
For a version of this view showing the entire original, see Photo # NH 107021.

Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2010.

U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

Online Image: 44KB; 610 x 765 pixels

 

High-Resolution JPG


NOTES:

  • To the best of our knowledge, the pictures referenced here are all in the Public Domain, and can therefore be freely downloaded and used for any purpose.

  • Some images linked from this page may bear obsolete credit lines citing the organization name: "Naval Historical Center". Effective 1 December 2008 the name should be cited as: "Naval History and Heritage Command".


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


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    Page made 12 June 2010