USS Kittery (AK-2)
{{short description|Cargo ship of the United States Navy}}
{{Redirect|AK-2|the highway in Alaska numbered 2|Alaska Route 2}}
{{other ships|USS Kittery}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=USS Kittery (AK-2).jpg |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=German Empire |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|German Empire}} |Ship name=Präsident (1905–18) |Ship namesake= |Ship owner= Hamburg America Line (1905–18) |Ship builder=Schichau Werft, Bremerhaven |Ship laid down= date unknown |Ship launched=30 November 1905 |Ship acquired= |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= interned at San Juan, 1915 |Ship registry= |Ship commissioned= |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship struck= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honors= |Ship captured= |Ship fate=Acquired by US Navy, 14 May 1917 |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header=title |Ship country=United States |Ship flag={{USN flag|1933}} |Ship name=Kittery |Ship namesake=Kittery, Maine |Ship owner=*US Navy (1918–33)
|Ship acquired=14 May 1917 |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship registry= |Ship commissioned= 6 July 1918 |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned=5 April 1933 |Ship struck=11 April 1933 |Ship identification=Hull symbol AK-2 |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honors= |Ship captured= |Ship fate=Scrapped 1937 |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Ship class= |Ship tonnage={{GRT|1839}} |Ship displacement={{convert|3300|t|LT|abbr=on}} |Ship length={{convert|293|ft|8|in|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|40|ft|6|in|abbr=on}} |Ship draft={{convert|13|ft|3|in|abbr=on}} |Ship power={{convert|1400|shp|kW|lk=in|abbr=on}} |Ship propulsion= triple expansion steam engine |Ship speed= {{convert|15.5|kn|mph km/h|lk=in|abbr=on}} |Ship complement=87 |Ship crew= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament=none |Ship armor= |Ship notes= }} |
USS Kittery (AK-2) was a German passenger liner of the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG) that was built in 1905 as Präsident. The United States Navy took her over in 1918, renamed and commissioned her as a troopship and military cargo transport in World War I. She was transferred to the United States Shipping Board in 1933 and scrapped in 1937.
Acquiring a captured German freighter
Schichau Seebeckwerft of Bremerhaven built Präsident, launching her on 30 November 1905. Hamburg America Line operated her in the West Indies and Caribbean.
After the outbreak of World War I, she was suspected of supplying German cruisers in the Leeward Islands. After several cruises, in which she narrowly avoided capture by British and French ships, she entered the port of San Juan, Puerto Rico, early in 1915 and was interned with the HAPAG ship Odenwald and the captured collier KD-III. After the United States entered the war in April 1917, the US Navy took her over on the authority of President Woodrow Wilson's {{Executive Order|2619-A}} of 14 May 1917. Präsident sailed to the United States escorted by {{USS|Hancock|AP-3|6}} and was refitted for naval service. She was commissioned as USS Kittery 6 July at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
World War I North Atlantic service
Assigned to cargo and troop transport service between the United States and the West Indies, Kittery left Philadelphia on 18 July. Operating out of Charleston, South Carolina, she made monthly trips during the remainder of the war to supply US forces.
Post-war operations
After the war she continued cargo service from Charleston and Norfolk, Virginia, for more than 15 years, making scores of runs to West Indian ports. After a final trip to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Port-au-Prince, and Cap-Haïtien, she arrived Norfolk 21 December 1932. She left on 28 January 1933 and reached Philadelphia two days later.
Decommissioning
Kittery decommissioned on 5 April, and her name was struck from the Navy List 11 April 1933. She was transferred to the United States Shipping Board 26 June 1933 and scrapped in 1937.
Military awards and honors
Kittery's crew members were authorized the following medals:
- World War I Victory Medal (with Transport Clasp)
References
{{reflist}}
- {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/k/kittery-i.html}}
External links
- [http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/13/130002.htm NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive - AK-2 Kittery]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20100411061153/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-k/ak2.htm Photo gallery] at Naval Historical Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kittery (Ak-2)}}
Category:Cargo ships of the United States Navy
Category:Passenger ships of Germany
Category:Ships built in Bremen (state)
Category:Ships of the Hamburg America Line
Category:Steamships of Germany
Category:Steamships of the United States