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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --
USS Evansville (ID # 2996), 1918-1919.
Named Lake Tahoe until November 1918.
Was also the civilian freighter S.N.A. 4 and Lake Tahoe
(1917)
USS Evansville , a 8040-ton (displacement) cargo ship,
was built in 1917 at Detroit, Michigan, as the 3819.7 gross ton
civilian freighter S.N.A. 4. Too long for intact transit
out of the Great Lakes, she was temporarily cut in two and passed
through the Welland Canal in that condition on her way to salt
water. Reassembled and renamed Lake Tahoe, the ship was
acquired by the Navy at New York late in December 1917 and placed
in commission in mid-February 1918 as USS Lake Tahoe (ID
# 2996). During the rest of World War I she was employed carrying
cargo to France and Great Britain, work that continued after the
November 1918 Armistice. She was renamed Evansville late
in that month. Her last, of a total of four, trans-Atlantic round-trip
voyages ended early in January 1919, after which she made two
trips from the East Coast to San Francisco, California. Decommissioned
at Norfolk, Virginia, in August 1919, Evansville was returned
to the U.S. Shipping Board. Renamed Soriano during her
subsequent commercial career, she was scrapped in 1939.
This page features all the views we have concerning USS
Evansville (ID # 2996), USS Lake Tahoe, and the
civilian steamship S.N.A. 4 and Lake Tahoe.
Click on the small photograph to prompt
a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 70461
Steamship S.N.A. 4 (American Freighter, 1917)
Possibly photographed upon completion of her construction by
the Great Lakes Engineering Works, Detroit, Michigan, in 1917.
Renamed Lake Tahoe soon after completion, this ship was
placed in commission as USS Lake Tahoe (ID # 2996) on
16 February 1918. Her name was changed to Evansville on
25 November 1918. She was decommissioned on 23 August 1919 and
returned to the U.S. Shipping Board.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 51KB; 740 x 480 pixels |
![](../../images/h70000/h70461t.jpg) |
Photo #: NH 99405
Steamship S.N.A. 4 (American Freighter, 1917)
Possibly photographed when she was inspected by the Third Naval
District on 28 December 1917.
This ship was acquired by the Navy and placed in commission at
New York on 16 February 1918 as USS Lake Tahoe (ID # 2996).
Renamed Evansville on 25 November 1918, she was decommissioned
and returned to the U.S. Shipping Board on 23 August 1919.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 84KB; 485 x 765 pixels |
![](../../images/h99000/h99405t.jpg) |
Photo #: NH 102921
USS Evansville (ID # 2996)
Ship's Officers and Crew posed on the ship's main deck, just
forward of her bridge, and on her first superstructure deck,
1919.
Panoramic photograph by Hughes & Estabrook, 251 W. 42nd St.,
New York City.
The reverse of the original print bears a hand-written date of
30 August 1919, a week after Evansville was decommissioned.
Note the use of portable platforms to support the crewmen standing
on either side of the hatch.
Donation of First Sergeant Gregory D. Casler, USMC (Retired),
2004.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 113KB; 1200 x 390
pixels |
![](../../images/i02000/i02921t.jpg) |
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Page made 26 June 2004
New image added 18 April 2005