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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Photo #  NH 102000:  SS War Shell.  This ship was USS Lake Shore in 1918-19


Online Library of Selected Images:
-- CIVILIAN SHIPS --

War Shell (Cargo Ship, 1917).
Later renamed Lake Shore.
Served as USS Lake Shore (ID # 1792) in 1918-1919 and USS Taganak (AG-45) in 1942-1946

War Shell, a 1190 net ton steam cargo ship built at Toledo, Ohio, in 1917 was renamed Lake Shore by the United States Shipping Board soon after completion. She was acquired by the Navy at the end of December 1917 and commissioned as USS Lake Shore (ID # 1792) in January 1918. Serving with the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, she carried a cargo of coal from Norfolk, Virginia, to Boston, Massachusetts, in February-March 1918, then crossed the Atlantic to Scotland with a load of mines and coal. After spending May and June operating along the U.S. east coast, Lake Shore made three more trips to Scotland and France with mines. She returned to the United States in February 1919 and was decommissioned and turned over to the Shipping Board the next month. Sold to private owners in 1923, she was renamed Olympic and employed along the U.S. West Coast until 1940. The ship was reacquired by the Navy in 1942 and commissioned in July of that year as USS Taganak (AG-45). After serving in the Pacific during the rest of World War II she was sold in 1946 and was subsequently a commercial steamer under the names Glento, Pilhamm and Lulu. She was scrapped in 1960.

This page features our only view of the cargo ship War Shell, which served as USS Lake Shore in 1918-1919 and USS Taganak in 1942-1946.

For World War II era views of this ship, see:

  • USS Taganak (AG-45), 1942-1946.


    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 102000

    War Shell
    (U.S. cargo ship, 1917)

    Probably photographed just after completion by the Toledo Shipbuilding Company, Toledo, Ohio, which had launched her on 29 September 1917. She was renamed Lake Shore by the U.S. Shipping Board, acquired by the Navy on 31 December 1917, and commissioned on 11 January 1918 as USS Lake Shore (ID# 1792).
    Note man standing by her flagstaff, holding a sign identifying the ship's builder, builder's number (140) and launch date. A triple-expansion steam engine is visible on the dock, to the right.

    The original print is in National Archives' Record Group 19-LCM.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 74KB; 740 x 595 pixels

     

    For World War II era views of this ship, see:

  • USS Taganak (AG-45), 1942-1946.


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


    Return to Naval Historical Center home page.

    Page made 23 October 2001
    Text revised and links added 8 June 2003