For other ships with the same name, see USS Santee.
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.
The ship was built by the Richardson, Duck & Co. shipyard in Stockton-on-Tees, England, and launched on 1 August 1905 as Rosedale. A month later, on 1 September 1905 she was sold to the Golden Cross Line of, and renamed Arvonian.[2]
In August 1917 the Arvonian was requisitioned by the Royal Navy and converted into Q-ship, designed to decoy U-boats into attacking before revealing her concealed weaponry.[2] She was armed with three 4-inch guns, three 12-pounder guns, two .30-calibre machine guns and four 18-inch torpedo tubes.[1]
On 27 November 1917 she was handed over to the United States Navy by the Admiralty "for war purposes", and commissioned as USS Arvonian the same day. The ship was fitted out at HMNB Devonport and conducted ship's drills in Plymouth Sound with a crew composed of volunteers from American warships in European waters. On 18 December she was renamed USS Santee, and arrived at Queenstown in southern Ireland the next day.[1]
Santee's officers in US Navy uniforms, with mascot dogs. Photographed on board Santee at Devonport dry dock, England, 20 February 1918. Seated in front are (left to right): Lieutenant John R. Peterson, Jr.; Commander David C. Hanrahan, Commanding Officer; and Lieutenant Robert E.P. Elmer. Standing are (left to right): Acting Pay Clerk John P. Killeen; Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Arthur D. Warwick; Assistant Surgeon Thomas L. Sutton, Medical Officer; Lieutenant James P. Compton; and Machinist Charles C. Roberts, Engineer Officer
At 16:00 on 27 December, Santee sailed from Queenstown bound for Bantry Bay to carry out exercises. At 20:45 she was south of Kinsale, when she was struck on the port side by a torpedo[1] fired by SM U-61, under the command of Kapitänleutnant Victor Dieckmann.[3] Hanrahan ordered his men to battle stations and sent away the "panic party," a group of sailors who played the role of a crew precipitously abandoning their sinking vessel. They left the ship, as Hanrahan later reported, in "fine panicy [sic] style", in an attempt to lure the enemy to the surface. After two and a half hours fruitlessly waiting for the U-boat to show herself, Hanrahan radioed for help. Destroyers and tugs were sent to her aid, and the ship was towed back to Queenstown, while the destroyers USS Cummings and Sterett rescued the boats of Santee's "panic party." After repairs at Queenstown Santee was towed back to Devonport by 8 February. She was decommissioned on 8 April 1918 and returned to the Admiralty.[1] Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Bendish, she was sent to Gibraltar for further Q-ship operations.[2]
The ship reverted her former name, Arvonian, in July 1919 and in November was sold to the Rhondda Shipping & Coal Exporting Co. Ltd, and re-named Brookvale. In 1928 she was sold to a Latvian shipping company, and renamed Spīdola. She came under Russian control after the occupation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union in June 1940,[2] and was soon transferred to the state-controlled Latvian Shipping Company.[4]
On 27 July 1941 she was captured by the Germans at Liepāja,[4] and re-named Rudau. On 9 October 1944 she was part of a convoy attacked by Beaufighters from No. 404 Squadron RCAF[5] off the southern coast of Norway, and was towed into Bergen for repairs.[2] In 1947 she returned to service under the name Spīdola, and was transferred to the Costa Rican registry in the 1950s.[6] She was eventually sold to the German shipbreaking company Walter Ritscher GmbH, and scrapped at Hamburg in 1958.[2]
^ abcdefgh"SS Arvonian". rhiw.com. 2006. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
^Helgason, Guðmundur. "Ships hit during WWI: Q ship Santee". German and Austrian U-boats of World War I - Kaiserliche Marine - Uboat.net. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
^ ab"Soviet Merchant Marine Losses in WW2". shipsnostalgia.com. 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
^"404 Squadron RCAF". 404squadron.com. 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2012. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
^"USS Santee (1917-1918)". history.navy.mil. 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2012.
Bibliographyedit
Beyer, Edward F. & Beyer, Kenneth M. (1991). "U. S. Navy Mystery Ships". Warship International. XXVIII (4). International Naval Research Organization: 322–372. ISSN 0043-0374.
Media related to USS Santee (ship, 1917) at Wikimedia Commons
Photo gallery of SS Arvonian/USS Santee at NavSource Naval History
"Naval Warfare: USS Santee". navalwarfare.blogspot.co.uk. 15 April 2008.
April 13, 2024
arvonian, other, ships, with, same, name, santee, british, freighter, built, 1905, with, long, complex, history, under, several, names, served, british, merchant, marine, commissioned, united, states, british, navies, during, world, before, returning, merchant. For other ships with the same name see USS Santee 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 USS Santee in dazzle camouflage at Queenstown IrelandHistoryUnited KingdomNameSS Rosedale 1905 SS Arvonian 1905 1917 OwnerWatkin and Owen WilliamsOperatorGolden Cross Line CardiffBuilderRichardson Duck amp Co Stockton on Tees EnglandLaunched1 August 1905 as RosedaleRenamedArvonian 1 September 1905IdentificationOfficial number 119973FateRequisitioned by Royal Navy August 1917 Loaned to U S NavyUnited StatesNameUSS Arvonian 1917 USS Santee 1917 1918 AcquiredOn loan 27 November 1917Commissioned27 November 1917 as Q ship USS ArvonianDecommissioned8 April 1918RenamedUSS Santee 18 December 1917FateReturned to Royal Navy April 1918United KingdomNameHMS BendishAcquiredAugust 1917Commissioned1918Decommissioned1919FateSold into commercial service November 1919United KingdomNameSS BrookvaleOwnerRhondda Shipping amp Coal Exporting Co In service1919Out of service1928FateSold 1928LatviaNameSS SpidolaNamesakeSpidolaIn service1928Out of service1941FateCaptured by Germany July 1941GermanyNameSS RudauAcquiredby captureIn service1941Out of service1945FateReturned to commercial serviceNameSS SpidolaIn service1947Out of service1958FateScrapped 1958General characteristics 1 TypeFreighter Q shipTonnage2 794 GRT 1 784 NRT 2 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 Complement105Armament 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 Contents 1 Service history 2 References 3 Bibliography 4 External linksService history editThe ship was built by the Richardson Duck amp Co shipyard in Stockton on Tees England and launched on 1 August 1905 as Rosedale A month later on 1 September 1905 she was sold to the Golden Cross Line of and renamed Arvonian 2 In August 1917 the Arvonian was requisitioned by the Royal Navy and converted into Q ship designed to decoy U boats into attacking before revealing her concealed weaponry 2 She was armed with three 4 inch guns three 12 pounder guns two 30 calibre machine guns and four 18 inch torpedo tubes 1 On 27 November 1917 she was handed over to the United States Navy by the Admiralty for war purposes and commissioned as USS Arvonian the same day The ship was fitted out at HMNB Devonport and conducted ship s drills in Plymouth Sound with a crew composed of volunteers from American warships in European waters On 18 December she was renamed USS Santee and arrived at Queenstown in southern Ireland the next day 1 nbsp Santee s officers in US Navy uniforms with mascot dogs Photographed on board Santee at Devonport dry dock England 20 February 1918 Seated in front are left to right Lieutenant John R Peterson Jr Commander David C Hanrahan Commanding Officer and Lieutenant Robert E P Elmer Standing are left to right Acting Pay Clerk John P Killeen Lieutenant Junior Grade Arthur D Warwick Assistant Surgeon Thomas L Sutton Medical Officer Lieutenant James P Compton and Machinist Charles C Roberts Engineer OfficerAt 16 00 on 27 December Santee sailed from Queenstown bound for Bantry Bay to carry out exercises At 20 45 she was south of Kinsale when she was struck on the port side by a torpedo 1 fired by SM U 61 under the command of Kapitanleutnant Victor Dieckmann 3 Hanrahan ordered his men to battle stations and sent away the panic party a group of sailors who played the role of a crew precipitously abandoning their sinking vessel They left the ship as Hanrahan later reported in fine panicy sic style in an attempt to lure the enemy to the surface After two and a half hours fruitlessly waiting for the U boat to show herself Hanrahan radioed for help Destroyers and tugs were sent to her aid and the ship was towed back to Queenstown while the destroyers USS Cummings and Sterett rescued the boats of Santee s panic party After repairs at Queenstown Santee was towed back to Devonport by 8 February She was decommissioned on 8 April 1918 and returned to the Admiralty 1 Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Bendish she was sent to Gibraltar for further Q ship operations 2 The ship reverted her former name Arvonian in July 1919 and in November was sold to the Rhondda Shipping amp Coal Exporting Co Ltd and re named Brookvale In 1928 she was sold to a Latvian shipping company and renamed Spidola She came under Russian control after the occupation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union in June 1940 2 and was soon transferred to the state controlled Latvian Shipping Company 4 On 27 July 1941 she was captured by the Germans at Liepaja 4 and re named Rudau On 9 October 1944 she was part of a convoy attacked by Beaufighters from No 404 Squadron RCAF 5 off the southern coast of Norway and was towed into Bergen for repairs 2 In 1947 she returned to service under the name Spidola and was transferred to the Costa Rican registry in the 1950s 6 She was eventually sold to the German shipbreaking company Walter Ritscher GmbH and scrapped at Hamburg in 1958 2 References edit a b c d e USS Arvonian Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships Navy Department Naval History and Heritage Command Retrieved 1 August 2012 a b c d e f g h SS Arvonian rhiw com 2006 Retrieved 29 October 2012 Helgason Gudmundur Ships hit during WWI Q ship Santee German and Austrian U boats of World War I Kaiserliche Marine Uboat net Retrieved 29 October 2012 a b Soviet Merchant Marine Losses in WW2 shipsnostalgia com 2012 Retrieved 29 October 2012 404 Squadron RCAF 404squadron com 2010 Retrieved 29 October 2012 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Cite uses generic title help USS Santee 1917 1918 history navy mil 2008 Retrieved 29 October 2012 Bibliography editBeyer Edward F amp Beyer Kenneth M 1991 U S Navy Mystery Ships Warship International XXVIII 4 International Naval Research Organization 322 372 ISSN 0043 0374 This article incorporates text from the public domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The entry can be found here nbsp This article incorporates public domain material from USS Santee 1917 1918 Naval History and Heritage Command External links edit nbsp Media related to USS Santee ship 1917 at Wikimedia Commons Photo gallery of SS Arvonian USS Santee at NavSource Naval History Naval Warfare USS Santee navalwarfare blogspot co uk 15 April 2008 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title SS Arvonian amp oldid 1094534503, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
