''West Madaket'' was a steam cargo ship built in 1918–1919 by Skinner & Eddy Corporation of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

for 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 ...

as part of the wartime shipbuilding program of the

Emergency Fleet Corporation The Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) was established by the United States Shipping Board, sometimes referred to as the War Shipping Board, on 16 April 1917 pursuant to the Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729) to acquire, maintain, and operate merchant shi ...

(EFC) to restore the nation's Merchant Marine.

Construction

''West Madaket'' was built in 1918 as a commercial cargo ship at Seattle, Washington by the

Skinner and Eddy Corporation The Skinner & Eddy Corporation, commonly known as Skinner & Eddy, was a Seattle, Washington-based shipbuilding corporation that existed from 1916 to 1923. The yard is notable for completing more ships for the United States war effort during Worl ...

. Launched on 5 October 1918, she was acquired by the U.S. Navy for

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 ...

service upon completion on 31 October 1918, assigned naval registry Identification Number (Id. No.) 3636, and commissioned the same day as USS ''West Madaket'' at

Puget Sound Navy Yard Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, officially Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), is a United States Navy shipyard covering 179 acres (0.7 km2) on Puget Sound at Bremerton, Washington in uninterrupted u ...

Bremerton Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremer ...

, Washington. 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 ...

, ''West Madaket'' completed her

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s too late to see service before World War I ended on 11 November 1918. She departed for the

United States East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

on 18 November 1918 with a

cargo Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including trans ...

of 7,031

ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

s of flour consigned to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an food relief. Voyaging via the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

, she arrived at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on 16 December 1918 and departed on 22 December 1918, bound for

. She made port at Falmouth, England, on 5 January 1919 and pushed on, that same day, for

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, where she discharged her cargo until 23 January 1919. Returning to New York on 9 February 1919, ''West Madaket'' loaded 6,841 tons of general cargo and made a voyage to

Le Verdon-sur-Mer Le Verdon-sur-Mer (, literally ''Le Verdon on Sea'') is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Gironde department The following is a list of the 535 communes o ...

, France, returning to New York on 28 April 1919. ''West Madaket'' was decommissioned on 8 May 1919 at Newport News, Virginia, and was transferred to the

on the same day. Once again SS ''West Madaket'', she remained in the custody of the Shipping Board until the

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

was established and replaced the Shipping Board in 1936. She then continued in Maritime Commission service into

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. On 5 May 1943, while steaming with Convoy ONS 5, she was

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

ed and sunk in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

by .

References

* *
NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: West Madaket (ID 3636)
{{DEFAULTSORT:West Madaket (ID-3636) Design 1013 ships Design 1013 ships of the United States Navy Ships built by Skinner & Eddy 1918 ships World War I cargo ships of the United States World War I auxiliary ships of the United States World War II merchant ships of the United States Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II World War II shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean Maritime incidents in May 1943