USS ''Texan'' (ID-1354) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

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 List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

and

troop transport Troop transport may be: * Troopship * Military Railway Service (United States) * Military transport aircraft A military transport aircraft, military cargo aircraft or airlifter is a military aircraft, military-owned transport aircraft used ...

in commission from 1918 to 1919. ''Texan'' was built in 1902 at Camden,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, by the

New York Shipbuilding Corporation The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short) was an American shipbuilding company that operated from 1899 to 1968, ultimately completing more than 500 vessels for the U.S. Navy, the United States Merchant Marine, the United ...

as the

passenger ship A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

SS ''Texan'' for the

American-Hawaiian Steamship Company The American-Hawaiian Steamship Company was founded in 1899 to carry cargoes of sugar from Hawaii to the United States and manufactured goods back to Hawaii. Brothers-in-law George Dearborn and Lewis Henry Lapham were the key players in the found ...

. The

United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was a corporation established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting ...

acquired her on 18 March 1918 for

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

service and transferred her to the U.S. Navy at

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

the same day. Assigned the

Naval Registry Identification Number A Naval Registry Identification Number is a unique identifier that the U.S. Navy used for privately owned and naval vessels in the first half of the 20th century. Overview During World War I, in 1916, the U.S. Navy began a registry of privately ...

(ID. No.) 1354, she was commissioned as USS ''Texan'' on 23 March 1918. Assigned to the

Naval Overseas Transportation Service The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all U ...

after being refitted for naval service, ''Texan'' loaded general military supplies and departed on 9 April 1918 in a

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. ''Texan'' arrived at Brest, France, on 24 April 1918 and, after discharging her

cargo In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in cas ...

, began the return voyage to New York on 19 May 1918. Upon her arrival there, she underwent voyage repairs and then loaded supplies, including 405

ton Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean: * the '' long ton'', which is * the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...

s of

ammunition Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of oth ...

and 10

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

s destined for

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, France. ''Texan'' departed with a convoy on 18 June 1918 and arrived at Marseille on 7 July 1918. ''Texan'' made another round-trip voyage to Marseille in September 1918. On 23 October 1918 she sank the American sail Barge in a collision in the North River. She made another round trip to

Le Verdon-sur-Mer Le Verdon-sur-Mer (, ; ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. History In the 11th century, the territory housed the priory of Saint-Nicholas de Grave, dependent on Cluny. It housed the monks in c ...

, France, in November and December 1918 before returning to New York on 4 January 1919. On 18 January 1919, ''Texan'' was transferred to the

Cruiser and Transport Force The Cruiser and Transport Service was a unit of the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet during World War I that was responsible for transporting American men and materiel to France. Composition On 1 July 1918, the Cruiser and Transport Force was ...

and began operating as a troop transport, bringing troops of the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

home to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

from France until 7 August 1919, when she was reassigned to the

5th Naval District United States Naval Districts is a system created by the United States Navy to organize military facilities, numbered sequentially by geographic region, for the operational and administrative control of naval bases and shore commands in the Unit ...

. ''Texan'' was decommissioned on 22 August 1919 and returned to the United States Shipping Board for return to the American Hawaiian Steamship Company. ''Texan'' returned to commercial service as SS ''Texan''. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she was on a commercial voyage when

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

U-126

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

ed, shelled and sank her off Cape San Antonio,

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, on 11 March 1942. Nine men were lost, and 38 survived.

References

*
Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: U.S. Navy Ships: USS ''Texan'' (ID # 1354), 1918-1919
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Texan (Id-1354) World War I cargo ships of the United States Ships built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation World War II shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea Ships sunk by German submarines in World War II 1902 ships Cargo ships of the United States Navy Unique transports of the United States Navy Maritime incidents in March 1942