View source for USS Astoria (AK-8)

{{short description|Cargo ship of the United States Navy}}
{{other ships|USS Astoria}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= USS Astoria (ID - 2005, later AK-8)).jpg
|Ship caption=USS ''Astoria'' (ID # 2005, later AK-8) In the [[Panama Canal]], circa January 1920 or November 1921.
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=[[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}}
|Ship name=''Burbo Bank''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship owner= Fenwick Shipping Co., Ltd.
|Ship builder=John Blumer and Co., [[Sunderland, England]]
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=9 April 1902
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=1914
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=[[German Empire]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|German Empire}}
|Ship name=''Frieda Leonhardt''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship owner=Leonhardt & Blumberg of [[Hamburg]], [[Empire of Germany]]
|Ship acquired=1914
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
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|Ship fate=Seized by United States Customs at [[Jacksonville, Florida]], acquired by the Navy 22 May 1917
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=[[United States]]
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1921}}
|Ship name=USS ''Astoria''
|Ship namesake=[[Astoria, Oregon]]
|Ship acquired=22 May 1917
|Ship commissioned=15 November 1917, as USS ''Astoria'' (ID 2005)
|Ship decommissioned=20 April 1921
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=17 July 1920, USS ''Astoria'' (AK-8)
|Ship homeport=
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|Ship identification=*[[Hull classification symbol#Support type|Hull symbol]]:ID-2005
*Hull symbol:AK-8
|Ship nickname=
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|Ship fate=*sold 20 December 1921
*ran aground 5 May 1943 on Bantam Rock, Sheepscot Bar, ME and foundered
|Ship notes=
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Header caption=<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/13/130007.htm | title=USS Astoria (AK-7) | publisher=Navsource.org | access-date=27 May 2015}}</ref>
|Ship type= [[Cargo ship]]
|Ship displacement= {{convert|7150|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} 
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|Ship beam= {{convert|46|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft= {{convert|20|ft|1|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship propulsion=*1 × triple expansion steam engine
*1 × shaft
|Ship speed= {{convert|9.5|kn|lk=in}} 
|Ship capacity=
|Ship troops=
|Ship complement=131 officers and enlisted
|Ship armament=*4 × {{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on}} guns
*2 × [[machine gun]]s
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The '''USS ''Astoria'' (SP-2005/AK-8)''' was a steel-hulled, coal-burning steam cargo ship of the [[United States Navy]].

==Service history==
===In commercial service, 1902&ndash;1917===
The ship was constructed in 1902 by J. Blumer & Co., [[Sunderland, Tyne and Wear|Sunderland]], [[England]], as SS ''Burbo Bank'' for the Fenwick Shipping Co., Ltd., was acquired by Leonhardt & Blumberg of [[Hamburg]], [[Germany]] shortly before the beginning of [[World War I]], and was renamed SS ''Frieda Leonhardt''. After the outbreak of hostilities, she took refuge in [[Jacksonville, Florida]], and remained there until the [[United States]] entered the war against [[Germany]] in the spring of 1917.

===Seized by the United States, 1917===
She was then seized by [[United States Customs Service|United States Customs]] officials and was turned over to the [[United States Shipping Board]] (USSB). Transferred to the Navy by an executive order dated 22 May 1917, the freighter was moved to [[Charleston, South Carolina]], to be prepared in the navy yard there for naval service. Renamed '''''Astoria'' (SP-2005)''', she completed conversion late in 1917 and was [[ship commissioning|commissioned]] on 15 November 1917.

===US Navy service, 1917&ndash;1921===
Assigned to the [[Naval Overseas Transportation Service]], ''Astoria'' departed Charleston on 23 November for a voyage to [[Gulfport, Mississippi]], and back; reentered Charleston on 19 December; and remained until the last day of the year when she got underway for [[Hampton Roads, Virginia]]. The ship loaded a cargo of [[United States Army|Army]] supplies, put to sea on 26 January 1918, and reached the French coast early in February. On 15 February — while anchored in port at [[Brest, France|Brest]], [[France]] — ''Astoria'' was rammed by the French ship SS ''La Drome'' and suffered damage which required several weeks of repairs before she could resume action.

On 10 May, the ship was assigned duty as a coal carrier for the Army. In that capacity, she shuttled between [[Cardiff, Wales]], and the French ports of Brest, [[Saint-Nazaire]], and [[La Pallice]] for the remainder of the war and into 1919. After a stop at [[Cobh|Queenstown]], [[Ireland]], between 2 and 22 February, she got underway for the United States and operated along the east coast until April 1919 when she began one more round-trip voyage to France. Upon her return, she resumed cargo-carrying operations out of [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]] and continued that role through the end of 1919. She stood out of Norfolk, on 5 January 1920, and steamed through the Panama Canal to the west coast. During her ten months of operations with the [[United States Pacific Fleet|Pacific Fleet]], she was classified '''AK-8''' on 17 July 1920. On 11 November, the ship headed back toward the east coast.

===Decommissioning, sale, and later career===
''Astoria'' was decommissioned at [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], on 20 April 1921; and she was sold on 20 December 1921 to Mr. Richard T. Green of [[Chelsea, Massachusetts]]. Thereafter, the ship remained active in merchant service — under the names ''Astoria'' and, later, ''Hartwelson'' — for more than two decades. As ''Astoria'', she ran aground in [[Grays Harbor]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]], on 2 May 1927 and was abandoned by her crew,<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Casualty reports |date=3 May 1927 |page=25 |issue=44571 |column=C }}</ref> but she later was refloated, repaired, and returned to service. On 5 May 1943, as ''Hartwelson'', she ran aground on Bantam Rock, [[Sheepscot Bar]], [[Maine]], and foundered.

==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/astoria-screw-steamer-i.html}}

==External links==
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-a/id2005.htm Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: USS ''Astoria'']
* {{navsource|12/172005|USS Astoria (SP-2005)}}

{{1927 shipwrecks}}
{{May 1943 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Astoria (AK-8)}}
[[Category:Ships built on the River Wear]]
[[Category:1902 ships]]
[[Category:Cargo ships of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:World War I cargo ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1927]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in May 1943]]