USS Siboney (ID-2999)

USS Siboney was a ship transport for the United States Navy during World War I. During World War II she served the U.S. Army as transport USAT Siboney and as hospital ship USAHS Charles A. Stafford. The ship was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in February 1948, and sold for scrapping in 1957. She is now owned by the New York & Cuba Mail Steamship Co. and is listed as a museum ship in New York City, New York.

About USS Siboney (ID-2999) in brief

Summary USS Siboney (ID-2999)USS Siboney was a ship transport for the United States Navy during World War I. During World War II she served the U.S. Army as transport USAT Siboney and as hospital ship USAHS Charles A. Stafford. The ship was laid up in the National Defense Reserve Fleet in February 1948, and sold for scrapping in 1957. SS Oriente was a combination cargo and passenger vessel built by William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, for the Ward Line. She was the sister ship of USS Orizaba  but neither was part of a ship class. The liner ran aground at Vigo, Spain in September 1920, but was repaired and placed back in service. In late 1940, she was chartered to American Export Lines to return Americans fleeing Europe at the outset of World War Two. She made several transatlantic trips and called at ports in Africa, the Middle East, Canada, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom. After the end of her army service, the ship was laying up in. the National defense Reserve Fleet and was sold for scrap in 1957, after being decommissioned in 1948. She is now owned by the New York & Cuba Mail Steamship Co. and is listed as a museum ship in New York City, New York, with a listing value of $1.2 million. She has been named after Sibony, Cuba, a landing site of United States forces during the Spanish–American War. She had the shortest average in-port turnaround time of all navy transports.

During her maiden voyage, her steering gear malfunctioned which resulted in a collision between two other troopships in the convoy. She sailed from Philadelphia on 16 April as a unit of the Cruiser and Transport Force, and arrived at Newport News two days later to embark her first contingent of troops. She departed Hampton Roads on 23 April and joined her first convoy the following day. On 25 April, her rudder jammed; and, in the ensuing confusion, transports Aeolus and Huron collided and had to return to New York. On 15 June, the convoy passed six empty lifeboats from the torpedoed transport USS President Lincoln. After delivering her troops at Brest, she sailed again on 25 July, and rescued survivors of the British vessel, SS Dwinsk, which had been torpedoed three days previously. She arrived at New York on 22 June and anchored in the North River on July 31. She left Brest the next day and remained in the French war zone until 13 June. The transport arrived in the American war zone again on July 30; after delivering her passengers, she returned to Brest on July 25, and sailed again. On July 31, the transport entered the Americanwar zone again and sailed on July 28, and returned to New. York on July 29, and she sailed on 31 July and arrived on July 30, and July 31, again.