cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...
acquired by the U.S. Navy for service in World War I.
Seizing a German freighter
The German steel-hulled collier SS ''Rudolph Blumberg'' (ex-SS ''Rheingraf'') built in 1909 at Lübeck, Germany, was operating in the Gulf of Mexico, flying the house flag of Leonhardt and Blumberg, when she learned of the outbreak of hostilities in July 1914. She sought refuge at
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...
.
With American entry into the global conflict and the accompanying need for auxiliary ships, SS ''Rudolph Blumberg'' was seized there by the U.S. Collector of the Port of Pensacola on 6 April 1917. Taken to New Orleans, Louisiana, to be fitted out for naval service, the ship was renamed ''Beaufort'', given the identification number (Id. No.) 3008, and commissioned on 20 September 1917.
World War I North Atlantic operations
Assigned to the
Naval Overseas Transportation Service
Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US m ...
, ''Beaufort'' resumed the occupation she had carried on under a different flag; she took on a cargo of coal at
Hampton Roads, Virginia
Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic O ...
, and departed Staten Island, New York, on 25 October 1917 in a convoy bound for France. Upon reaching Europe, ''Beaufort'' joined the Cross Channel Service, Coal Trade, and carried her cargoes from
Cardiff, Wales
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, to aid the Allied war effort.
Grounded off the coast of France
While thus employed, ''Beaufort'' grounded 17 March 1918 on a rocky reef off
Lorient, France
Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and seaport in the Morbihan department of Brittany in western France.
History
Prehistory and classical antiquity
Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presenc ...
. Fortunately, little hull damage resulted; and, two days later, the collier was again ready for sea.
Post-war activity
Sailing from Cardiff on 6 February 1919, ''Beaufort'' loaded war material and munitions at
Rosyth, Scotland
Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440.
The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...
, for return to the United States. She arrived at Hampton Roads on 3 April 1919, and began a tour of duty with the Atlantic Fleet Train, a predecessor of the Service Force. On 17 July 1920 when the Navy adopted the alphanumeric system of ship classification and identification, she was classified as a cargo ship and designated AK-6.
''Beaufort's'' peacetime service included voyages between
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
, and
Key West, Florida
Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Isla ...
, and ports in the West Indies transporting coal and supplies. On several occasions she sailed from the naval ammunition depot at St. Julien's Creek, Virginia, with discarded ammunition for dumping in the mid-Atlantic.
Inactivation and decommissioning
The withdrawal of
U.S. Marines
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...
from Santo Domingo and a reduction in the number of marines in
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
"considerably reduced" the "transportation requirements" to West Indian ports, so the Navy withdrew the ship from that service, and decommissioned her on 23 December 1925 at the Norfolk Navy Yard. Her name was struck from the Navy List the same day. The former ''Beaufort'' was sold on 22 October 1926 to Julius Levey of New York City, agent for a Norwegian Shipping Co., and was renamed SS ''Fjorden''. She was reportedly lost, 12 April 1933 off Cheung Chau, Hong Kong.
Military awards and honors
''Beaufort's'' crew member were authorized the following medals:
* World War I Victory Medal (with Transport clasp)
*