USS Westover

USS Westover (ID-2867) was a cargo ship of the United States Navy that served during World War I and was sunk during her maiden voyage.

War Sun fitting out at the J. F. Duthie and Company shipyard in Seattle, Washington, on 28 March 1918.
History
United States
Name	USS Westover
Builder	J. F. Duthie and Company, Seattle, Washington
Launched	17 February 1918
Completed	18 April 1918
Acquired	May 1918
Commissioned	22 May 1918
Fate	Sunk 11 July 1918
General characteristics
Type	Cargo ship
Tonnage	5,700 Gross register tons
Displacement	12,205 tons
Length	423 ft 9 in (129.16 m)
Beam	54 ft 0 in (16.46 m)
Draft	24 ft 1 in (7.34 m) (mean)
Depth	29 ft 9 in (9.07 m)
Propulsion	Steam engine, one shaft
Speed	10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph)
Complement	92
Armament	1 × 5-inch (127-mm) gun 1 × 6-pounder (2.7-kg) gun

Construction and acquisition

Westover was laid down as the Design 1013 commercial cargo ship SS War Sun by J. F. Duthie and Company in Seattle, Washington, for the Cunard Line. During construction, she was taken over by the United States Emergency Fleet Corporation and renamed SS Westover. She was launched on 17 February 1918.

On 9 April 1918, while Westover was still fitting out, the U.S. Navy inspected her for possible use during World War I. After her completion on 18 April 1918, she steamed to the United States East Coast and was transferred to the U.S. Navy in May 1918. Assigned the naval registry identification number 2867, she was commissioned as USS Westover (ID-2867) at Newport News, Virginia, on 22 May 1918.

Navy career

Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, Westover steamed to New York City, where she took on a capacity cargo of general United States Army supplies and got underway in convoy on 27 May 1918 bound for St. Nazaire, France. She developed engine trouble during the voyage and fell astern of the convoy. She continued toward France alone and at low speed until 0730 on 11 July 1918, when the submerged German submarine U-92 torpedoed her and sent her to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean at 46°36′N 12°21′W with the loss of 11 members of her crew.

References

•  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Online Library of Selected Images: Westover (American Freighter, 1918). Served as USS Westover (ID # 2867) in 1918
• NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Westover (ID 2867)