USS ''Covington'' (ID-1409) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film) ...

ocean liner that was launched in 1908 for the

Hamburg America Line The Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Aktien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG), known in English as the Hamburg America Line, was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, in 1847. Among those involved in its development were prominent citi ...

(HAPAG) as ''Cincinnati''. In 1917 the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

seized her, had her converted into a

troop ship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

and renamed her ''Covington''. In 1918 torpedoed her, killing six of her

complement A complement is something that completes something else. Complement may refer specifically to: The arts * Complement (music), an interval that, when added to another, spans an octave ** Aggregate complementation, the separation of pitch-clas ...

. Three tugs towed her about 1/3 the way to Brest, but she sank the afternoon of 2 July 1918.

Building and peacetime career

F Schichau built ''Cincinnati'' at Danzig, launching her on 24 July 1908. Two months later she was joined by a sister ship, , built by Blohm & Voss in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

. ''Cincinnati'' was long and her

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

was . Her

tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the cargo-carrying capacity of a ship, and is commonly used to assess fees on commercial shipping. The term derives from the taxation paid on ''tuns'' or casks of wine. In modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically r ...

s were and . She had berths for 2,827 passengers: 246 first class, 332 second class, 448 third class and 1,801 steerage. ''Cincinnati'' had twin screws, each driven by a quadruple expansion steam engine. They gave her a speed of . ''Cincinnati'' began her maiden voyage from

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

via Cherbourg to New York on 27 May 1909. From 4 April 1910 until 2 April 1913 her route was

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

–

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

– New York. By 1913 ''Cincinnati'' was equipped for

wireless telegraphy Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimental technologies for ...

. Her

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assign ...

was DDC.

First World War

On 28 July 1914, the day the

First World War 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 ...

began, ''Cincinnati'' left Hamburg for

Port of Boston The Port of Boston ( AMS Seaport Code: 0401, UN/LOCODE: US BOS) is a major seaport located in Boston Harbor and adjacent to the City of Boston. It is the largest port in Massachusetts and one of the principal ports on the East Coast of the Unite ...

via Boulogne and

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. At Boston the

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interned her along with the HAPAG liner '' Amerika'',

Norddeutscher Lloyd Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL; North German Lloyd) was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of t ...

liners , '' Köln'', '' Wittekind'' and ''Willehad'' and

DDG Hansa DDG Hansa, short for Deutsche Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft Hansa (German Steamship Company Hansa; in modern orthography, Deutsche Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft Hansa) was a major German shipping company specialising in heavy freight and schedul ...

cargo ship ''

Ockenfels Ockenfels is a municipality in the district of Neuwied, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after ...

''. In March 1916 ''Cincinnati'', ''Amerika'', ''Köln'', ''Wittekind'' and ''Willehad'' were moved from their waterfront piers to an anchorage across the harbor from

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

. Daily "neutrality duty" by

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

harbor tug kept the ships under observation. Many members of their crews eventually went ashore, were processed through immigration, and found employment, while a contingent of musicians from the vessels toured

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

, frequently playing at department stores and restaurants, and drawing the ire of the local musicians' union. On 6 April 1917 the United States declared war on Germany. The US authorities seized the German ships and vested them in the

United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...

. On 26 July ''Cincinnati'' was transferred to 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 ...

, and two days later she was commissioned as USS ''Covington'', named after

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its immediate north across the Ohio and Newport, to its east across the Licking ...

. Captain RD Hasbrouck was her first commander. USS Covington (ID-1409) sinking

From 18 October 1917, ''Covington'' made six voyages from

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

, to

Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French m ...

, taking more than 21,000 troops for service with the American Expeditionary Force. On 1 July 1918 ''U-86'' torpedoed her off Brest. Six of her crew were killed, but her

escorts Escort may refer to: Protection *Bodyguard, a security operative who accompanies clients for their personal protection *Police escort, a feature offered by law enforcement agencies to assist in transporting individuals *Safety escort service, a s ...

rescued 770. ''Covington'' remained afloat, and was towed about 50 miles toward Brest, but sank the afternoon of 2 July 1918.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Covington (ID-1409) 1908 ships Maritime incidents in 1918 Ocean liners Ships built in Danzig Ships built by Schichau Ships of the Hamburg America Line Ships sunk by German submarines in World War I Steamships of Germany Steamships of the United States Transports of the United States Navy World War I auxiliary ships of the United States World War I shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean