SS Amerika (1905)

Common card · No. 409099

SS Amerika was a transatlantic ocean liner and a troop transport for the United States during both world wars. She was launched in 1905 as Amerika by Harland & Wolff in Belfast for the Hamburg America Line of Germany. As a passenger liner, she sailed primarily between Hamburg and New York. At the outset of the war, Amerika was docked at Boston; rather than risk seizure by the British Royal Navy, she remained in port for the next three years. Hours before the American entry into World War I, Amerika was seized and placed under control of the United States Shipping Board (USSB). Later transferred to the U.S. Navy for use as a troop transport, she was initially commissioned as USS Amerika with Naval Registry Identification Number 3006 (ID-3006), but her name was soon Anglicized to America. As America she transported almost 40,000 troops to France. She sank at her mooring in Hoboken in 1918, but was soon raised and reconditioned. After the Armistice, America transported more than 51,000 troops...

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