SS Arvonian

For other ships with the same name, see USS Santee.

USS Santee in dazzle camouflage at Queenstown, Ireland
History
United Kingdom
Name
  • SS Rosedale (1905)
  • SS Arvonian (1905-1917)
OwnerWatkin and Owen Williams
OperatorGolden Cross Line, Cardiff
BuilderRichardson, Duck & Co., Stockton-on-Tees, England
Launched1 August 1905, as Rosedale
RenamedArvonian, 1 September 1905
IdentificationOfficial number: 119973
Fate
  • Requisitioned by Royal Navy, August 1917
  • Loaned to U.S. Navy
United States
Name
  • USS Arvonian (1917)
  • USS Santee (1917-1918)
AcquiredOn loan, 27 November 1917
Commissioned27 November 1917, as Q-ship USS Arvonian
Decommissioned8 April 1918
RenamedUSS Santee, 18 December 1917
FateReturned to Royal Navy, April 1918
United Kingdom
NameHMS Bendish
AcquiredAugust 1917
Commissioned1918
Decommissioned1919
FateSold into commercial service, November 1919
United Kingdom
NameSS Brookvale
OwnerRhondda Shipping & Coal Exporting Co.
In service1919
Out of service1928
FateSold, 1928
Latvia
NameSS Spīdola
NamesakeSpīdola
In service1928
Out of service1941
FateCaptured by Germany, July 1941
Germany
NameSS Rudau
Acquiredby capture
In service1941
Out of service1945
FateReturned to commercial service
NameSS Spīdola
In service1947
Out of service1958
FateScrapped, 1958
General characteristics [1]
TypeFreighter / Q-ship
Tonnage
Displacement2,774 long tons (2,819 t)
Length331 ft 3 in (100.97 m)
Beam47 ft 6 in (14.48 m)
Draft20 ft 1 in (6.12 m)
Propulsion3-cylinder triple expansion steam engine[2]
Complement105
Armament
  • (in US/UK naval service)
  • 4 × 4 in (100 mm) guns
  • 3 × 12-pounder guns
  • 2 × .30-caliber machine guns
  • 4 × 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes

SS Arvonian was a 2,794 GRT British freighter built in 1905, with a long and complex history under several names. She served in the British merchant marine, and was commissioned in the United States and British navies during World War I, before returning to merchant service, and eventually being sold to Latvia. In World War II she was taken over by the Soviet Union, then captured by Germany. Post-war she sailed under the Latvian and Costa Rican flags, until finally scrapped in West Germany in 1958.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference DANFS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference rhiw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).