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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
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Photo # NH 41623:  USS Santee at Queenstown, Ireland, circa late 1917 or early 1918

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

USS Santee (1917-1918).
Initially commissioned as USS Arvonian.
Formerly S.S. Arvonian (British Freighter, 1905) and HMS Bendish
Later HMS Bendish, S.S. Arvonian, S.S. Brookvale, S.S. Spidola and S.S. Rudau

S.S. Arvonian, a 2794 gross ton freighter, was built Stockton-on-Tees, England, in 1905. For the next dozen years the ship was employed as part of the British merchant marine then, in mid-1917, was taken over by the Royal Navy and, at some point, renamed Bendish. In late November of that year the U.S. Navy received her, on loan, placing her in commission with a crew of volunteers as USS Arvonian. Her name was changed to Santee in mid-December. On 27 December 1917, while conducting exercises in the waters off southern Ireland in preparation for service as a anti-submarine "decoy ship" (or "Q-ship"), Santee was torpedoed by a German submarine (possibly U-109). The badly damaged "mystery ship" remained afloat and suffered no personnel casualties. Towed into Queenstown, Ireland and repaired, she was decommissioned in April 1918 and returned to the Royal Navy. She spent the rest of World War I in British service, apparently as HMS Bendish.

In 1919 the ship re-entered commercial operation as S.S. Arvonian, but her name was soon changed to Brookvale. Sold to a Latvian owner in 1928 and renamed Spidola, she retained that name under the Soviet flag after the Eastern Baltic states were seized by their much larger neighbor in 1940. The freighter served the Germans as Rudau from 1941 until the end of the Second World War. Her name was changed back to Spidola in 1947, and she was transferred to Costa Rican registry in the 1950s. A long, varied and sometimes hazardous career finally ended in 1958, when the former USS Santee was scrapped at Hamburg, Germany.

This page features all the views we have concerning USS Santee (1917-1918).


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 41623

USS Santee
(1917-1918)

Painted in "dazzle" camouflage, circa late 1917 or early 1918.
Formerly S.S. Arvonian (British Freighter, 1905), this ship became HMS Bendish in mid-1917. She was loaned to the U.S. Navy and placed in commission in late November 1917. Soon renamed Santee and employed as a "decoy ship" (or "Q-ship") for anti-submarine patrols, she was torpedoed on 27 December 1917. After repairs she was returned to the Royal Navy and again named Bendish. The freighter resumed her commercial career after World War I and during the next four decades bore the names Arvonian, Brookvale, Spidola and Rudau. She was broken up in 1958.

Courtesy Captain David C. Hanrahan, USN, November 1929.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 54KB; 900 x 385 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 41627

USS Santee
(1917-1918)

Ship's officers, wearing civilian clothing as part of Santee's disguise as an anti-submarine "decoy ship", circa late 1917 or early 1918.
Seated in front are (left to right):
Lieutenant John R. Peterson, Jr., Executive Officer and Navigator;
Commander David C. Hanrahan, Commanding Officer;
and Lieutenant Robert E.P. Elmer, Gunnery Watch.
Standing are (left to right):
Acting Pay Clerk John P. Killeen;
Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Arthur D. Warwick, First Lieutenant of Watch;
Assistant Surgeon Thomas L. Sutton, Medical Officer;
Lieutenant (Junior Grade) James P. Compton, Torpedo Watch;
and Machinist Charles C. Roberts, Engineer Officer.

Courtesy Captain David C. Hanrahan, USN, November 1929.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 60KB; 740 x 465 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 105428

USS Santee
(1917-1918)

Ship's officers in U.S. Navy uniforms, with mascot dogs. Photographed on board Santee at Devonport dry dock, England, 20 February 1918.
Seated in front are (left to right):
Lieutenant John R. Peterson, Jr.;
Commander David C. Hanrahan, Commanding Officer;
and Lieutenant Robert E.P. Elmer.
Standing are (left to right):
Acting Pay Clerk John P. Killeen;
Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Arthur D. Warwick;
Assistant Surgeon Thomas L. Sutton, Medical Officer;
Lieutenant James P. Compton;
and Machinist Charles C. Roberts, Engineer Officer.
Printed on postcard stock. See Photo # NH 105428-A for a reproduction of the reverse of the original postcard.

Donation of Dr. Mark Kulikowski, 2007.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 77KB; 740 x 460 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 41626

USS Santee
(1917-1918)

View on board, taken after she was torpedoed on 27 December 1917, showing damage over her engine room hatch and boat destroyed by the torpedo explosion.
HMS Bluebell is faintly visible in the right distance.

Courtesy Captain David C. Hanrahan, USN, November 1929.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 48KB; 740 x 475 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 41624

USS Santee
(1917-1918)

Ship's after well deck awash, while being towed into Queenstown, Ireland after receiving torpedo damage on 27 December 1917.
Note the wrecked motor launch and debris on the water washed deck.

Courtesy Captain David C. Hanrahan, USN, November 1929.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 74KB; 740 x 485 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 41625

USS Santee
(1917-1918)

Torpedo damage to the ship's hull, by her number six hold at the engine room bulkhead, taken while she was in drydock at Queenstown, Ireland, after being torpedoed 27 December 1917.
The hole was 20 x 21 feet in size.

Courtesy Captain David C. Hanrahan, USN, November 1929.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 81KB; 445 x 765 pixels

 


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


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Page made 1 December 2007
New image added 17 January 2008