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Photo # NH 65040:  SS Walter A. Luckenbach underway on her trial trip, 30 May 1918

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

USS Walter A. Luckenbach (ID # 3171), 1918-1919.
Originally, and later, the Civilian freighter Walter A. Luckenbach (1918)

USS Walter A. Luckenbach, a 17,170-ton (displacement) cargo ship and transport, was built in 1918 at Seattle, Washington, as the 8286 gross ton Luckenbach Steamship Company freighter of the same name. She was turned over to the Navy in June 1918 and placed in commission at that time. Following repairs at the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, the ship made her initial operational voyage, carrying nitrates from Chile to Norfolk, Virginia, in August and September 1918. Her next trip, to France with U.S. Army cargo, was made in October and November. Upon her return to the U.S. in mid-December, Walter A. Luckenbach began conversion to a troop transport. When this work was completed in January, she began the first of five round-trip voyages bringing American veterans of the "Great War" home from France. USS Walter A. Luckenbach was decommissioned and returned to her owner in late July 1919.

The Luckenbach Steamship Company employed Walter A. Luckenbach for three more decades. She was sold in 1949 and briefly renamed A.L. Bisso before coming under Turkish ownership as Mardin, under which name she lasted until scrapped at Bremerhaven, Germany in 1959.

This page features, and provides links to, all the views we have concerning USS Walter A. Luckenbach (ID # 3171) and the civilian freighter Walter A. Luckenbach.

For other images related to this ship, see:

  • USS Walter A. Luckenbach (ID # 3171) -- On Board and Close Up Views.


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

    Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

    Photo #: NH 65040

    S.S. Walter A. Luckenbach
    (American Freighter, 1918)

    Underway on her trial trip, 30 May 1918, after completion of her construction by the Seattle Construction and Dry Dock Company, Seattle, Washington.
    This ship was placed in commission on 9 June 1918 as USS Walter A. Luckenbach (ID # 3171). Following service as a cargo ship and transport, she was returned to her owner, the Luckenbach Steamship Company, on 28 July 1919.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 74KB; 740 x 485 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 99396

    USS Walter A. Luckenbach
    (ID # 3171)

    Panoramic photograph of the ship crowded with troops, probably while leaving St. Nazaire, France, in 1919.
    Photographed from on board USS Mexican (ID # 1655).

    Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. Collection of Lieutenant Charles Dutreaux.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 97KB; 1200 x 410 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 103217

    USS Walter A. Luckenbach
    (ID # 3171)

    In port in 1919, while serving as a troop transport.
    A U.S. Navy collier is beyond her.
    Photographed by McKnight.

    Donation of Gene B. Reid.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 84KB; 740 x 530 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 99456

    USS Walter A. Luckenbach
    (ID # 3171)

    Arriving in New York Harbor, loaded with troops she has transported home from France, 1919.
    Photographed from USS Scranton (ID # 3511).

    Photograph from the USS Scranton photo album kept by J.D. Bartar, one of her crew members.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 57KB; 740 x 440 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 107055

    USS Walter A. Luckenbach
    (ID-3171)

    Arriving in a U.S. East Coast port, 1919.
    Her decks are crowded with troops, homeward-bound from Europe.
    The original image is printed on post card ("AZO") stock, and is labeled: "The Ship that Brought me Home".

    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2010.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 84KB; 900 x 565 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 104733-A

    USS Walter A. Luckenbach
    (ID # 3171)

    At Newport News, Virginia, in 1919, after bringing men of the 323rd Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army, home from Europe.
    Some of that unit's Soldiers are paraded in the foreground.
    This image is cropped from Photo # NH 104733.

    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2007.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 88KB; 740 x 485 pixels

     


    High-Resolution JPG
    Photo #: NH 104733

    323rd Infantry Regiment, U.S. Army


    Panoramic photograph of the unit's personnel paraded on the waterfront at Newport News, Virginia, immediately after their return to the United States from Europe on board USS Walter A. Luckenbach (ID # 3171), 1919.
    Walter A. Luckenbach is alongside the pier in the left center background. USS SC-414 is seen bow-on, alongside the pier in the right center.

    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2007.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 75KB; 1200 x 230 pixels

     


    High-Resolution JPG
    Photo #: NH 104167-KN (color)

    USS Walter A. Luckenbach (ID # 3171)

    Front side of a Troop Billet card, issued in 1919 to troops embarked on Walter A. Luckenbach for passage home from France.
    See Photo # NH 104167-A-KN for the reverse side of this card.

    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2006.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 108KB; 740 x 510 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 104167-A-KN (color)

    USS Walter A. Luckenbach (ID # 3171)

    Reverse side of a Troop Billet card, issued in 1919 to troops embarked on Walter A. Luckenbach for passage home from France.
    See Photo # NH 104167-KN for the front side of this card.

    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2006.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 136KB; 740 x 510 pixels

     


    The ship partially visible behind the pier in the following photograph appears to be USS Walter A. Luckenbach (ID # 3171):

    Photo #: NH 103557

    USS Santa Paula
    (ID # 1590)

    Reception committee waits as the ship prepares to dock at the conclusion of a voyage bringing troops home from St. Nazaire, France, circa March-July 1919. Location is Pier No. 3, Bush Terminal, Brooklyn, New York.
    The ship whose upper works are visible on the opposite side of the pier is probably USS Walter A. Luckenbach (ID # 3171).

    Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2006.

    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.

    Online Image: 74KB; 740 x 450 pixels

     


    For other images related to this ship, see:

  • USS Walter A. Luckenbach (ID # 3171) -- On Board and Close Up Views.


    NOTES:

  • To the best of our knowledge, the pictures referenced here are all in the Public Domain, and can therefore be freely downloaded and used for any purpose.

  • Some images linked from this page may bear obsolete credit lines citing the organization name: "Naval Historical Center". Effective 1 December 2008 the name should be cited as: "Naval History and Heritage Command".


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


    Return to Naval History and Heritage Command home page.

    Page made 22 June 2004
    New image added and introductory text revised 27 December 2010