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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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NOTES:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 12 June 2010