USS Edith (ID-3459)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Edith.

USS Edith (No. 3459) was a supply ship in the United States Navy.

History
United States
Name	USS Edith
Namesake	Previous name retained
Launched	16 June 1915
Acquired	1918
Commissioned	1 October 1918
Decommissioned	18 May 1919
Fate	Returned to owner 1919 Sunk 7 June 1942
General characteristics
Type	Cargo ship
Displacement	7,160 long tons (7,275 t)
Length	338 ft (103 m)
Beam	46 ft 2 in (14.07 m)
Draft	21 ft 6 in (6.55 m)
Speed	9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Armament	1 × 5 in (130 mm) gun 1 × 3 in (76 mm) gun
Service record
Operations:	World War I

The U.S. Navy acquired SS Edith from the United States Shipping Board for service during World War I and commissioned her as USS Edith on 1 October 1918.

Operational history

On 1 November 1918, Edith sailed for Nantes, France, with a cargo of ammunition and trucks. Returning to New York City on 12 December 1918, she loaded cargo destined for South America, discharging a portion at Bahia, Brazil, and the remainder at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At Santos, Brazil, she took on sugar cane for delivery to New Orleans, Louisiana; however, engine trouble caused her to complete the trip under tow by the U.S. Navy tug USS Potomac.

Decommissioning

Edith was decommissioned on 18 May 1919 and returned to her owner.

Later career

The ship returned to commercial service as SS Edith. During World War II, she was torpedoed and sunk in the Caribbean Sea 200 nautical miles (370 km) southeast of Jamaica (14°33′N 74°35′W) on 7 June 1942 by the German submarine U-159 with the loss of two of her 31 crew members.^[1]