Minnesotan, a 6649 gross ton (14,375-tons displacement) freighter, was built in 1912 at Sparrows Point, Maryland, for commercial employment. In September 1917 she began operating under charter on behalf of the U.S. Army, carrying animals and other World War I cargo to France. The U.S. Navy took her over in August 1918 and placed her in commission as USS Minnesotan (her Navy ID #, 4545, was probably assigned some years later). Between early September and early November 1918 the ship made a round-trip voyage between the U.S. East Coast and Gibraltar. At the end of November, nearly three weeks after the Armistice brought the war's active phase to an end, Minnesotan began a second trip, this time to France. After returning to the U.S. in January 1919, she was converted to a troop transport, beginning work in that role at the end of March. During the next four months Minnesotan completed four voyages to and from France, bringing home more than 6000 service personnel. She was decommissioned in August 1919 and returned to her owner, the American Hawaiian Steamship Company, of New York City. Following three more decades of U.S. flag merchant service, the now very elderly steamer was sold abroad in July 1949.
This page features all the views we have concerning the freighter Minnesotan of 1912, and provides links to images of her as USS Minnesotan (ID # 4545).
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Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
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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 21 August 2004
New images added and page divided 16 June 2010