SS ''West Cressey'' was a
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
-
hulled cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...
that saw a brief period of service as an
auxiliary with the
U.S. Navy in the aftermath of
World War I.
''West Cressey'' was built in 1918 for the
United States Shipping Boards emergency wartime shipbuilding program. Delivered just too late to see service in the war, the ship was quickly commissioned into the Navy regardless, as USS ''West Cressey'' (ID-3813), but completed only two Navy missions—including a
famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...
relief mission to
Romania—before decommissioning a few months later.
Through the 1920s, the ship operated in a commercial capacity as SS ''West Cressey''. She was laid up for much of the 1930s through lack of work, but eventually re-entered service in 1941 as mounting losses to
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
U-boats in the
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade ...
had increased the demand for shipping.
Sold in 1943 to the
Soviet Union under
lend-lease
Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to