USS Floridian arriving at New York City from France in 1919 with her decks crowded with American troops returning to the United States after serving in World War I. The Statue of Liberty is in the distance at left. |
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| Career (United States) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Floridian |
| Namesake: | Previous name retained |
| Builder: | Maryland Steel Company, Baltimore, Maryland |
| Completed: | 1915 |
| Acquired: | 28 January 1919 |
| Commissioned: | 28 January 1919 |
| Decommissioned: | 4 August 1919 |
| Fate: | Returned to owners 4 August 1919 |
| Notes: | In commercial service as SS Floridian 1915-1919 and from 1919 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Troop transport |
| Tonnage: | 6,930 gross tons |
| Displacement: | 14,500 tons |
| Length: | 429 ft 2 in (130.81 m) |
| Beam: | 53 ft 8 in (16.36 m) |
| Draft: | 29 ft 6 in (8.99 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam engine |
| Speed: | 14 knots |
| Armament: | 1 x 6-inch (152-millimeter) gun 1 x 3-inch (76.2-millimeter) gun |
USS Floridian (ID-3875) was a United States Navy troop transport in commission in 1919.
SS Floridian was built as a commercial cargo ship in 1915 at Baltimore, Maryland, by the Maryland Steel Company for the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company of New York City. After the United States entered World War I in 1917, Floridian came under the control of the United States Shipping Board. Converted to a troop transport, she spent the rest of the war operating under a United States Army charter. The U.S. Navy acquired Floridian from the Shipping Board on 28 January 1919, assigned her the naval registry Identification Number (Id. No.) 3875, and commissioned her on the same day as USS Floridian with Lieutenant Commander J. F. Nichols, USNRF, in command.
Floridian was assigned to the Cruiser and Transport Force and designated to carry U.S. Army passengers and cargo. She departed New York City on 16 March 1919 for St. Nazaire, France, where she arrived on 28 March 1919 with supplies for the Army of Occupation. On her return trip, she carried U.S. troops returning to the United States from war service in Europe to Hoboken, New Jersey, arriving there on 17 May 1919.
After two more similar voyages, Floridian was assigned to the 3rd Naval District on 16 July 1919. She was decommissioned and returned to the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company on 4 August 1919. She then resumed service as the commercial cargo ship SS Floridian.