USS Siboney (ID-2999)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Siboney.
USS Siboney with camouflage paint
"Periscope" view of the Siboney in convoy, by Musician Loren C. Holmberg, USN (c. 1919), shows the dazzle camouflage applied to the ship during World War I.
History
United States
NameUSS Siboney (ID-2999)
NamesakeSiboney, Cuba
BuilderWilliam Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia
Yard number434
Launchedas SS Oriente, 15 August 1917
RenamedSiboney, 28 February 1918
Acquired8 April 1918
Commissioned8 April 1918
Decommissioned10 September 1919
IdentificationOfficial number: 216082
FateReturned to Ward Line
United States
NameSS Siboney
OwnerWard Line (New York & Cuba Mail Steamship Co.)
Route
AcquiredAugust 1919
In service1919
Refit1924
Out of service1940
FateChartered by American Export Lines
United States
OperatorAmerican Export Lines
RouteJersey City–Lisbon, 1940–1941
Acquired1940
In service1940
Out of service28 May 1941
Fatechartered by U.S. Army
United States
NameUSAT Siboney
In serviceMay 1941
RenamedUSAHS Charles A. Stafford, January 1944
NamesakeCaptain Charles A. Stafford, U.S. Army Medical Corps
Reclassifiedhospital ship, January 1944
RefitJanuary–September 1944
Out of serviceFebruary 1948
Homeport
FateScrapped, 1957
General characteristics
Displacement11,298 tons
Length443 ft 3 in (135.10 m)
Beam60 ft (18.3 m)
Draft24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
Speed17.5 knots (32.4 km/h; 20.1 mph)
Troops
Complement346
Armament
Differences as SS Siboney:
Crew127[2]
Differences as USAT Siboney:[3]
Tonnage6,937
Speed16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Range6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi)
Capacitycargo: 116,000 cu ft (3,300 m3)
Troops1,201
Differences as USAHS Charles A. Stafford:[4]
Tonnage7,587
Range8,000 nmi (15,000 km; 9,200 mi)
Capacity
  • patients: 704
  • cargo: none
ArmamentNone

USS Siboney (ID-2999) was a United States Navy troopship in World War I. She was the sister ship of USS Orizaba (ID-1536). Launched as SS Oriente, she was soon renamed after Siboney, Cuba, a landing site of United States forces during the Spanish–American War. After her navy service ended, she was SS Siboney for the New York & Cuba Mail Steamship Co. (commonly called the Ward Line).[note 1] The ship was operated under charter by American Export Lines beginning in late 1940. During World War II she served the U.S. Army as transport USAT Siboney and as hospital ship USAHS Charles A. Stafford.

As a transport during World War I, Siboney made 17 transatlantic voyages for the navy carrying troops to and from Europe, and had the shortest average in-port turnaround time of all navy transports. During her maiden voyage, her steering gear malfunctioned which resulted in a collision between two other troopships in the convoy.

After her World War I service ended, Siboney was returned to the Ward Line and placed in New York–Cuba–Spain transatlantic service; the liner ran aground at Vigo, Spain in September 1920. Despite considerable damage, she was repaired and placed back in service. In late 1921, Siboney was switched to New York–Cuba–Mexico routes, which were a popular and inexpensive way for Americans to escape Prohibition. In late 1940, she was chartered to American Export Lines to return Americans fleeing Europe at the outset of World War II, making seven roundtrips from Jersey City, New Jersey, to Lisbon.

During World War II, Siboney was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration (WSA) and assigned to the War Department as a U.S. Army transport. She made several transatlantic trips and called at ports in Africa, the Middle East, Canada, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom. During a 1944 overhaul, the ship was selected for conversion to a hospital ship. Renamed USAHS Charles A. Stafford after a U.S. Army doctor killed in action in Australia, the ship served in both the European and the Pacific Theatres. After the end of her army service, the ship was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in February 1948, and sold for scrapping in 1957.

  1. ^ Gleaves, p. 93
  2. ^ "$5,000 gems stolen from woman at sea" (fee). The New York Times. 29 April 1935. p. 3. Retrieved 2008-01-19.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference TSWWII-59 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference TSWWII-332 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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