SS Eastern Chief, possibly at the time of her inspection for possible naval service by the United States Navy's 6th Naval District at Charleston, South Carolina, on 10 September 1918. She is painted in dazzle camouflage.
History
United States
Name	USS Eastern Chief
Namesake	Previous name retained
Builder	Uraga Dock Company, Uraga, Japan
Completed	December 1917
Acquired	25 September 1918
Commissioned	27 September 1918
Decommissioned	29 May 1919
Fate	Transferred to United States Shipping Board 29 May 1919
General characteristics
Type	Cargo ship
Tonnage	4,660 Gross register tons
Displacement	9,606 tons
Length	358 ft (109 m)
Beam	51 ft (16 m)
Draft	22 ft 9 in (6.93 m)
Propulsion	One 2,500-indicated horsepower (1.864-megawatt) steam engine, one shaft
Speed	12 knots
Complement	70

USS Eastern Chief (ID-3390) was a United States Navy cargo ship in commission from 1918 to 1919.

Construction, acquisition, and commissioning

Eastern Chief was built as the commercial cargo ship SS Yoshida Maru No. 3 and completed in December 1917 by the Uraga Dock Company in Uraga, Japan. Soon after completion she was sent to the United States, where she was placed under the control of the United States Shipping Board, which renamed her SS Eastern Chief. On 10 September 1918, the U.S. Navy's 6th Naval District inspected her at Charleston, South Carolina, for possible naval service during World War I, and the Shipping Board transferred her to the Navy on 25 September 1918 at the Charleston Navy Yard in Charleston. The Navy assigned her the naval registry identification number 3390 and commissioned her on 27 September 1918 as USS Eastern Chief (ID-3390).

Operational history

Assigned to the Naval Overseas Transportation Service, Eastern Chief departed Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 9 October 1918. After stopping at Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, for repairs, she arrived at La Pallice, France, on 26 November 1918 to discharge her cargo and load ordnance and engineering stores. She departed La Pallice on 14 December 1918 and arrived at Norfolk, Virginia, on 8 January 1919.

On 9 February 1919, Eastern Chief was again underway for La Pallice. During her transatlantic crossing, she went to the aid of the disabled U.S. Navy cargo ship USS West Haven (ID-2159) on 15 February 1919, standing by West Haven until a tug came to assist. Eastern Chief helped tow West Haven to Bermuda, then resumed course for La Pallice, which she finally reached on 23 February 1919. She then steamed to Antwerp, Belgium, where she finished offloading her cargo. She departed Antwerp on 3 May 1919 bound for Norfolk, where she arrived on 23 May 1919.

Decommissioning and disposal

Eastern Chief was decommissioned on 29 May 1919. The Navy transferred her back to the U.S. Shipping Board the same day.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
• Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: S.S. Eastern Chief (Japanese-American Freighter, 1917). Originally named Yoshida Maru # 3. Was USS Eastern Chief (ID # 3390) in 1918–1919
• NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: Eastern Chief (ID 3390)