# USS Westpool > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/USS_Westpool > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/USS_Westpool.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Westpool > Source revision: 1327304277 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **USS *Westpool* (ID-3675)** – sometimes written as ***West Pool*** – was a [cargo ship](/source/Cargo_ship) of the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) that served during [World War I](/source/World_War_I) and its immediate aftermath. As **SS *Westpool***, she was sunk in less than a minute during [World War II](/source/World_War_II) following an attack by U-73 after being sold to the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) for use as a [merchant ship](/source/Merchant_ship). 8 out of her 35 crew survived the sinking. ## Construction and acquisition *Westpool* was laid down as the steel-hulled, single-[screw](/source/Propeller) [Design 1013](/source/Design_1013_ship) commercial cargo ship SS *Westpool* by [J. F. Duthie and Company](/source/J._F._Duthie_and_Company) in [Seattle](/source/Seattle), Washington, for the [United States Shipping Board](/source/United_States_Shipping_Board). Completed in 1918, she was inspected by the U.S. Navy for possible World War I service and given the naval registry identification number 3675. The Shipping Board transferred her to the Navy on 2 November 1918, and the Navy [commissioned](/source/Ship_commissioning) her at Seattle the same day as USS *Westpool* (ID-3675).[1][2] ## Navy career Departing Seattle on 8 November 1918 – three days before the [armistice with Germany](/source/Armistice_with_Germany) that brought World War I to an end – *Westpool* steamed to the [Panama Canal Zone](/source/Panama_Canal_Zone), where she loaded a cargo for the [Panama Railroad Company](/source/Panama_Railroad_Company). She departed the Canal Zone on 9 December 1918 and proceeded to [New York City](/source/New_York_City), where she arrived on 20 December 1918 and discharged her cargo. She then loaded 5,002 tons of [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army) cargo and departed New York on 1 February 1919, bound for [Antwerp](/source/Antwerp), Belgium.[1] Arriving at Antwerp on 18 February 1919, *Westpool* unloaded part of her cargo before moving to [Swansea](/source/Swansea), Wales, late in February 1919. She discharged the rest of her cargo there between 1 and 5 March 1919, then got underway on 5 March 1919 for New York City, where she made port on 23 March 1919.[1] ## Decommissioning and disposal *Westpool* was [decommissioned](/source/Ship_decommissioning) at New York on 31 March 1919. She was simultaneously struck from the [Navy list](/source/Navy_list) and transferred back to the U.S. Shipping Board that day.[1][2] ## Later career Once again SS *Westpool*, the ship remained under Shipping Board control and was in and out of service at various times until the late 1930s. Early in [World War II](/source/World_War_II), the British government purchased *Westpool* to help to alleviate the shipping shortage the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) faced due to losses to [German](/source/Nazi_Germany) [submarines](/source/Submarine). After a brief career in British service, *Westpool* was on a voyage from [Halifax](/source/Halifax_(former_city)), [Nova Scotia](/source/Nova_Scotia), [Canada](/source/Canada), to [Liverpool](/source/Liverpool), [England](/source/England), carrying 7,144 tons of scrap iron as a part of [Convoy SC 26](/source/Convoy_SC_26) when she was sunk on 3 April 1941 by the German submarine with the loss of 35 members of her crew.[1][2] ## Notes 1. ["Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: S.S. *Westpool* (American Freighter, 1918). Served as USS *Westpool* (ID # 3675) in 1918-1919"](https://web.archive.org/web/20121221204039/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-civil/civsh-w/westpool.htm). Archived from [the original](http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-civil/civsh-w/westpool.htm) on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012. 1. [NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive Westpool (ID 3675)](http://www.navsource.net/archives/12/173675.htm) ## References - [Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: S.S. *Westpool* (American Freighter, 1918). Served as USS *Westpool* (ID # 3675) in 1918-1919](http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-civil/civsh-w/westpool.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20121221204039/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-civil/civsh-w/westpool.htm) 21 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [USS Westpool](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Westpool) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Westpool?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.