USS ''Catherine Johnson'' (SP-379), later USS ''Freight Lighter No. 161'', later USS ''YF-161'', later USS ''YC-660'', was a freight lighter in commission in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1918 to 1930. ''Catherine Johnson'' was built as the commercial

steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

freight lighter ''Edith B.'' in 1913. She had been renamed ''Catherine Johnson'' by the time the U.S. Navy inspected her in 1917 for possible naval use during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and assigned her the section patrol number SP-390. The Navy eventually purchased her and placed her in service as USS ''Catherine Johnson'' (SP-390) on 15 June 1918. ''Catherine Johnson'' was assigned to the

3rd Naval District The naval district was a U.S. Navy military and administrative command ashore. Apart from Naval District Washington, the Districts were disestablished and renamed Navy Regions about 1999, and are now under Commander, Naval Installations Command ...

, where she transported supplies for the next 12 years, probably in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

area. Her name was changed to ''Freight Lighter No. 161'' sometime before mid-1920. When the U.S. Navy adopted its modern hull number system on 17 July 1920, she received the "freight lighter" classification "YF" and was renamed USS ''YF-161''. On 19 November 1930, ''YF-161'' was placed out of service. At about the same time, she was reclassified as an "open lighter, non-self-propelled" (YC) and renamed USS ''YC-660''. ''YC-660'' was sold on 29 September 1932.

References

NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: YC-660 ex-YF-161 ex-Freight Lighter No. 161 ex-Catherine Johnson (SP 390)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Catherine Johnson (SP-390) Auxiliary ships of the United States Navy World War I auxiliary ships of the United States 1913 ships