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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE
COMMAND
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- CIVILIAN SHIPS --
Moccasin (Passenger-Cargo Steamer, 1903).
Originally named Prinz Joachim.
Later renamed Porto Rico.
Served as USS Moccasin (ID # 1322) in 1918-1919
Prinz Joachim, a 9060-ton passenger-cargo steamer, was
built at Flensburg, Germany, in 1903 for commercial use. When
the United States entered World War I in 1917 she was taken over
by the U.S. Shipping Board and renamed Moccasin. The U.S.
Army chartered her later in the year, but in February 1918 she
was acquired by the Navy and placed in commission as USS Moccasin
(ID # 1322). Serving as a refrigerated cargo ship, she transported
food across the Atlantic from March 1918 until she was decommissioned
in early June 1919 and returned to the Shipping Board. Renamed
Porto Rico in 1920, the ship was broken up in 1933.
This page features all the views we have concerning the
steamer Moccasin (of 1903) and USS Moccasin (ID
# 1322).
Click on the small photograph to prompt
a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 101818
Moccasin (U.S. Freighter, 1903)
Probably photographed soon after she was taken over by the U.S.
Shipping Board in 1917. Formerly the German merchant ship Prinz
Joachim, she still wears that name on her bow.
This ship was chartered by the U.S. Army in late 1917, acquired
by the Navy on 19 February 1918 and placed in commission on 26
February 1918 as USS Moccasin (ID # 1322). She was returned
to the Shipping Board on 2 June 1919 and later became the SS
Porto Rico.
The original print is in National Archives' Record Group 19-LCM.
U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.
Online Image: 74KB; 740 x 530 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 105953
S.S. Moccasin (American refrigerated cargo ship, 1903)
Listing and flooding alongside a pier at the Erie Basin in Brooklyn,
New York, between the time she was returned to the U.S. Shipping
Board by the Navy in June 1919 and sold by the Shipping Board
as S.S. Porto Rico between 1920 and 1922. The nature of
the accident is unknown, although other ships had similar mishaps
in the New York area during the World War I period, including
the refrigerated cargo ship Sixaola and the transports
America and St. Paul.
This ship served as USS Moccasin (ID # 1322) in 1918-1919.
Donation of Captain Stephen S. Roberts, USNR (Retired), 2008.
U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.
Online Image: 124KB; 575 x 765 pixels |
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A possibly interesting sidelight: The last World War
I veteran to visit the Photographic Section had served on board
USS Moccasin. He came by our office in 1987, accompanied
by his son, and inquired about photos of his old ship. We had
none in our index, but thought to check in the Ships' Histories
Branch, whose SP Data cards frequently feature small pictures.
Sure enough, the Moccasin card had a view of her, the same
one presented above as Photo # NH 101818. When shown the card,
the old gentleman's eyes brightened and he exclaimed with considerable
enthusiasm "There she is!". It may not be a wonderful
image, but it certainly pleased one old Navy vet.
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 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".
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History and Heritage Command home page.
Page made 8 March 2002
New image added 27 February 2009