USS ''Pompey'' (AF-5) was an

auxiliary ship An auxiliary ship is a naval ship designed to support combatant ships and other naval operations. Auxiliary ships are not primary combatant vessels, though they may have some limited combat capacity, usually for purposes of self-defense. Auxili ...

of the United States Navy, acquired in 1898 for service in the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, which went on to serve as a collier, tender, and

storeship Combat stores ships, or storeships, are ships used to store naval supplies. They are used to deliver supplies such as provisions and fuel to combat ships on extended deployments. The United States US Navy, Navy operated the and es and the Royal ...

in the Philippines, before being sold into commercial service after World War I. She was sunk by Japanese aircraft on 29 December 1941.

Service history

The ship was built in 1897 by S.P. Austin and Sons, Ltd. of

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, England, as the freighter SS ''Harlech''. She was purchased by the U.S. Navy from James and Charles Harrison of London, England, on 19 April 1898, and commissioned as USS ''Pompey'' at

Naval Station Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Ham ...

on 26 May 1898. She then served as a collier in Rear Admiral William T. Sampson's squadron off Cuba, returning to Norfolk on 23 August, and was decommissioned at the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was the first United States Navy shipyard and was historically important for nearly two centuries. Construction of the original Philadelphia Naval Shipyard began during the American Revolution in 1776 at Front ...

on 18 January 1899. ''Pompey'' was recommissioned in 1901 to serve in the

Asiatic Fleet The United States Asiatic Fleet was a fleet of the United States Navy during much of the first half of the 20th century. Before World War II, the fleet patrolled the Philippine Islands. Much of the fleet was destroyed by the Japanese by Februar ...

, supporting U.S. forces in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

. In February 1903 ''Pompey'' accompanied the gunboats , , and , as they sailed from the Philippines to China to inaugurate the

Yangtze River Patrol The Yangtze Patrol, also known as the Yangtze River Patrol Force, Yangtze River Patrol, YangPat, and ComYangPat, was a prolonged naval operation initiated after the Battle of Muddy Flat, from 1854 to 1949 to protect American interests in th ...

. Based on

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

from February 1903, their mission was to protect American citizens and property, and promote friendly relations with the Chinese. ''Pompey'' was decommissioned at the Cavite Naval Station, Philippines, in June 1905. Placed back into commission in July 1906, she continued to serve as a collier on the Asiatic Station, apart from a period in 1907-1909 when she was assigned to the Pacific Fleet. From 1911 she served as tender at Cavite to the five

torpedo boat destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived in ...

s of the 1st Torpedo Flotilla (, , , and ) until decommissioned at the Olongapo Naval Station in February 1916. After being recommissioned in November 1917 ''Pompey'' served as a storeship – a role she had assumed at least part of the time as early as 1915. She received the

hull code The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol (sometimes called hull code or hull number) to identify their ships by type and by in ...

AF-5 in July 1920. She was finally decommissioned on 5 July 1921 at Olongapo, and struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval authorities of a co ...

on 28 March 1922. She was transferred to the War Department on 12 July 1922, and by 1923 had become the Philippine merchant ship ''Pompey''. She was renamed ''Samal'' in 1931, and was sunk by Japanese bombing at Pier 7,

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

on 29 December 1941.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pompey, USS 1897 ships Ships built on the River Wear Spanish–American War auxiliary ships of the United States World War I auxiliary ships of the United States Auxiliary ships of the United States Navy