After the outbreak of World War I, she was suspected of supplying German cruisers in the Leeward Islands. Following several cruises, during which she narrowly avoided capture by English and French ships, she entered the port of San Juan, Puerto Rico, early in 1915 and was interned with two other German merchant ships. After the United States entered the war in April 1917, the US Navy took her over on the authority of President Woodrow Wilson's Executive Order 2619-A of 14 May 1917. Präsident sailed to the United States escorted by USS Hancock and was refitted for naval service. She was commissioned as USS Kittery 6 July at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
World War I North Atlantic serviceedit
Assigned to cargo and troop transport service between the United States and the West Indies, Kittery left Philadelphia on 18 July. Operating out of Charleston, South Carolina, she made monthly trips during the remainder of the war to supply US forces.
Post-war operationsedit
After the war she continued cargo service from Charleston and Norfolk, Virginia, for more than 15 years, making scores of runs to West Indian ports. After a final trip to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Port-au-Prince, and Cap-Haïtien, she arrived Norfolk 21 December 1932. She left on 28 January 1933 and reached Philadelphia two days later.
Decommissioningedit
Kittery decommissioned on 5 April, and her name was struck from the Navy List 11 April 1933. She was transferred to the United States Shipping Board 26 June 1933 and scrapped in 1937.
Military awards and honorsedit
Kittery's crew members were authorized the following medals:
NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - AK-2 Kittery
Photo gallery at Naval Historical Center
December 03, 2023
kittery, redirects, here, highway, alaska, numbered, alaska, route, other, ships, with, same, name, kittery, german, passenger, liner, hamburg, america, line, that, built, 1905, präsident, united, states, navy, took, over, 1918, renamed, commissioned, troopshi. AK 2 redirects here For the highway in Alaska numbered 2 see Alaska Route 2 For other ships with the same name see USS Kittery USS Kittery AK 2 was a German passenger liner of the Hamburg America Line that was built in 1905 as D S Prasident The United States Navy took her over in 1918 renamed and commissioned her as a troopship and military cargo transport in World War I She was transferred to the United States Shipping Board in 1933 and scrapped in 1937 HistoryGerman EmpireNamePrasident 1905 18 OwnerHAPAG 1905 18 BuilderSchichau Seebeckwerft BremerhavenLaid downdate unknownLaunched30 November 1905Out of serviceinterned at San Juan Puerto Rico in 1915FateAcquired by the US Navy 14 May 1917United StatesNameKitteryNamesakeKittery MaineOwnerUS Navy 1918 33 US Shipping Board 1933 37 Acquired14 May 1917Commissioned6 July 1918Decommissioned5 April 1933Stricken11 April 1933IdentificationHull symbol AK 2FateScrapped 1937General characteristics 1 Tonnage1 839 GRTDisplacement 3 300 t 3 200 long tons Length293 ft 8 in 89 51 m Beam40 ft 6 in 12 34 m Draft13 ft 3 in 4 04 m Installed power1 400 shp 1 000 kW Propulsiontriple expansion steam engineSpeed15 5 kn 17 8 mph 28 7 km h Complement87Armamentnone Contents 1 Acquiring a captured German freighter 2 World War I North Atlantic service 3 Post war operations 4 Decommissioning 5 Military awards and honors 6 References 7 External linksAcquiring a captured German freighter editSchichau Seebeckwerft of Bremerhaven built Prasident launching her on 30 November 1905 Hamburg America Line operated her in the West Indies and Caribbean After the outbreak of World War I she was suspected of supplying German cruisers in the Leeward Islands Following several cruises during which she narrowly avoided capture by English and French ships she entered the port of San Juan Puerto Rico early in 1915 and was interned with two other German merchant ships After the United States entered the war in April 1917 the US Navy took her over on the authority of President Woodrow Wilson s Executive Order 2619 A of 14 May 1917 Prasident sailed to the United States escorted by USS Hancock and was refitted for naval service She was commissioned as USS Kittery 6 July at Philadelphia Pennsylvania World War I North Atlantic service editAssigned to cargo and troop transport service between the United States and the West Indies Kittery left Philadelphia on 18 July Operating out of Charleston South Carolina she made monthly trips during the remainder of the war to supply US forces Post war operations editAfter the war she continued cargo service from Charleston and Norfolk Virginia for more than 15 years making scores of runs to West Indian ports After a final trip to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Port au Prince and Cap Haitien she arrived Norfolk 21 December 1932 She left on 28 January 1933 and reached Philadelphia two days later Decommissioning editKittery decommissioned on 5 April and her name was struck from the Navy List 11 April 1933 She was transferred to the United States Shipping Board 26 June 1933 and scrapped in 1937 Military awards and honors editKittery s crew members were authorized the following medals World War I Victory Medal with Transport Clasp References edit USS Kittery AK 2 Navsource org Retrieved May 23 2015 This article incorporates text from the public domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The entry can be found here External links editNavSource Online Service Ship Photo Archive AK 2 Kittery Photo gallery at Naval Historical Center Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title USS Kittery AK 2 amp oldid 1136488199, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
