| USS Maui (ID-1514) | |
|---|---|
 USS Maui in 1919. | |
| Career (United States) |  |
| Name: | USS Maui |
| Namesake: | The island of Maui in Hawaii (previous name retained) |
| Builder: | Union Iron Works, San Francisco, California |
| Completed: | 1917 |
| Acquired: | 6 March 1918 |
| Commissioned: | 6 March 1918 |
| Decommissioned: | September 1919 |
| Fate: | Returned to owner September 1919 |
| Notes: |
Served as commercial passenger ship SS Maui 1917-1918 and 1919-1933, as cargo ship SS Maui 1934-1941, and as United States Army Transport USAT Maui 1941-1946 Scrapped 1948 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Transport |
| Tonnage: | 9,730 gross tons |
| Length: | 501 ft (153 m) |
| Beam: | 58 ft (18 m) |
| Draft: | 30 ft 2 in (9.19 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam engine |
| Speed: | 18 knots |
| Armament: |
4 x 6-inch (152-millimeter) guns 2 x 1-pounder guns 2 x machine guns |
The first USS Maui (ID-1514) was a troop transport that served in the United States Navy from 1918 to 1919.
Construction, acquisition, and commissioning[]
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SS Maui in commercial service in 1917 or 1918.
Maui was built as the commercial passenger ship SS Maui in 1917 by Union Iron Works at San Francisco, California, for the Matson Navigation Company of San Francisco. Matson placed her in service between the United States West Coast and Hawaii. The U.S. Navy acquired Maui from Matson on 6 March 1918 for World War I service as a troop transport, assigned her the naval registry Identification Number (Id. No.) 1514, and commissioned her the same day as USS Maui.
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Assigned to the Cruiser and Transport Force, Maui made transatlantic voyages carrying United States Army troops to Europe on her outbound voyages and bringing passengers and sick and wounded military personnel back to the United States on her return voyages until the end of the war in November 1918. After the war, she conducted voyages to bring American troops back to the United States for demobilization.
In September 1919, Maui was decommissioned and returned to Matson.
Later career as SS Maui[]
The ship reentered commercial service as SS Maui and resumed passenger service between the United States West Coast and Hawaii. Due to the difficult economic circumstances prevailing during the Great Depression, she was laid up at San Francisco in 1933. In 1934, Maui was converted into a cargo ship and returned to commercial operations. In November 1941 she was involved in a collision in San Francisco Bay.
Career as a United States Army Transport[]
In December 1941, the United States Army purchased Maui for World War II service, converted her into a troop transport, and placed her in service as the United States Army Transport USAT Maui. Her first voyage in Army service was from the United States West Coast to Honolulu, Hawaii, in late 1941. She operated in the Pacific Ocean for the remainder of World War II, carrying personnel and cargo to Alaska, the $3, the Southwest Pacific, the Philippines, and, after the end of the war in August 1945, to Japan.
Maui completed her Army service in early 1946 and was laid up in mid-1946 at Olympia, Washington. She eventually was transferred to the Maritime Administration for disposal and was scrapped in 1948.
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: U.S. Navy Ships: USS Maui (ID # 1514), 1918-1919
- Department of the Navy: Naval Historical Center Online Library of Selected Images: Civilian Ships: Maui (Passenger Steamship, 1917). Served as USS Maui (ID # 1514) in 1918-1919 and as U.S. Army Transport Maui in 1941-1946
- NavSource Online: Section Patrol Craft Photo Archive: Maui (ID 1514)
The original article can be found at USS Maui (ID-1514) and the edit history here.