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UNITED STATES NAVY
TEMPORARY AUXILIARY SHIPS
WORLD WAR I
TEMPORARY AUXILIARY SHIPS
WORLD WAR I
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --
USS Quinnebaug (ID # 1687), 1918-1919.
Originally the Civilian Steamship Jefferson.
SS Jefferson, a 5150-ton passenger steamer, was built in 1899 at Chester, Pennsylvania, for commercial employment. She was chartered by the Navy in December 1917, converted to a minelayer and commissioned in late March 1918 as USS Quinnebaug (ID # 1687). In May 1918 the ship was sent to Scotland to participate in the establishment of an extensive mine barrier across the North Sea that was intended to greatly restrict the activities of German submarines. Quinnebaug took part in this vital effort from mid-July until late October, planting over 6000 mines in ten missions. She returned to the United States after completion of this work. Placed out of commission in early February 1919, USS Quinnebaug was returned to her owner in March of that year.
This page features all available views concerning USS Quinnebaug (ID # 1687) and the steamship Jefferson.
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
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Photo #: NH 42456 SS Jefferson (American Steamship, 1899) Photographed prior to World War I. Chartered by the Navy on 3 December 1917, this ship was converted to a mine planter and commissioned on 28 March 1918 as USS Quinnebaug (ID # 1687). Following service laying the North Sea Mine Barrage, she was returned to her owner on 19 March 1919. Her sister ship, SS Hamilton, had an almost identical career as USS Saranac (ID-1702). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 49KB; 740 x 230 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 105603 S.S. Jefferson (American coastal passenger ship, 1899) Photographed circa 1917. This ship was in commission as the minelayer USS Quinnebaug (ID # 1687) from March 1918 to March 1919. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 57KB; 740 x 455 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 67875 USS Quinnebaug (ID # 1687) Painted in "dazzle" camouflage, 1918. Courtesy of Donald M. McPherson, 1969. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 64KB; 740 x 450 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 98371 USS Quinnebaug (ID # 1687) Photographed circa early 1919 by O.W. Waterman, Hampton, Virginia. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 57KB; 740 x 435 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 2805 Laying the North Sea Mine Barrage, 1918 U.S. Navy minelayers steaming in column in the North Sea, September 1918. At left, British destroyers are covering the formation's flank with a smoke screen. Ships in the minelayer column are (from front to rear): Roanoke, Housatonic, Quinnebaug and Baltimore. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 76KB; 740 x 560 pixels |
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Photo #: 111-SC-43563 Laying the North Sea Mine Barrage, 1918 U.S. Navy minelayers proceeding to sea in two columns, in Area Number 2 of the North Sea, September 1918. Ships in the column at left are (from front to rear): Roanoke, Housatonic, Quinnebaug and Baltimore. Ships in column at right are (from front to rear): Canonicus (out of picture, to right), Canandaigua, Aroostook and Saranac. Note disruptive "dazzle" camouflage worn by these ships. Photograph from the Army Signal Corps Collection in the U.S. National Archives. Online Image: 59KB; 740 x 460 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 42071 USS Quinnebaug (ID # 1687) Ship's officers and crew pose on her foredeck, at Invergordan, Scotland, October 1918. Quinnebaug was then engaged in laying a barrage of anti-submarine mines across the North Sea. Note the "T.N.T." banner at the left end of the bridge, alluding to the mines' explosive charge material. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 118KB; 740 x 510 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 52819 Mine Squadron One, U.S. Atlantic Fleet Senior officers of the squadron, photographed on board ship in the North Sea area, September 1918. Those present are identified in Photo # NH 52819 (complete caption). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 96KB; 740 x 430 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 52995 Mine Squadron One, U.S. Atlantic Fleet Senior officers of the squadron, photographed on board ship in the North Sea area, September 1918. Those present are identified in Photo # NH 52995 (complete caption). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 88KB; 740 x 495 pixels |
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USS Quinnebaug and her sister ship, USS Saranac (ID # 1702), are visible in the background of the following photographs:
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Photo #: NH 61101 U.S. Navy Mine Layers Steaming in line abreast during the laying of the North Sea mine barrage, September 1918. Analysis of camouflage patterns indicates that these ships are (from front to rear): USS Roanoke (ID # 1695); USS Housatonic (ID # 1697); USS Shawmut (ID # 1255); USS Canandaigua (ID # 1694); USS Canonicus (ID # 1696); with USS Quinnebaug (ID # 1687) and USS Saranac (ID # 1702) in the left and right center distance. A four-stack British cruiser is in the left distance. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 86KB; 740 x 610 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 51142 USS L-4 (Submarine # 43), USS L-1 (Submarine # 40), and USS L-10 (Submarine # 50) (listed from left to right) At the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, soon after their 1 February 1919 return to the U.S. from European waters. Ship in the immediate background is either USS Quinnebaug (ID # 1687) or USS Saranac (ID # 1702), with the other of the two beyond her. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 83KB; 740 x 595 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 51143 USS L-4 (Submarine # 43), USS L-1 (Submarine # 40), and USS L-10 (Submarine # 50) (listed from left to right) At the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania, soon after their 1 February 1919 return to the U.S. from European waters. Ship in the immediate background is either USS Quinnebaug (ID # 1687) or USS Saranac (ID # 1702), with the other of the two beyond her. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 104KB; 740 x 535 pixels |
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One of the ships seen in the following photograph MAY be USS Quinnebaug:
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Photo #: NH 89508 U.S. Navy mine layers and British warships in a Scottish harbor, 1918 Photographed from on board either USS Shawmut (ID # 1255) or USS Aroostook (1256), with a British light cruiser at left. Two U.S. mine layers are at right. That nearest the camera is either USS Quinnebaug (ID # 1687) or USS Saranac (ID # 1702). Immediately ahead of her is either USS Housatonic (ID # 1697), USS Canonicus (ID # 1696), USS Roanoke (ID # 1695) or USS Canandaigua (ID # 1694). Collection of Lieutenant (Junior Grade) A. Alvin Booth, USNRF. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 89KB; 740 x 455 pixels |
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Return to WWI Auxiliaries.Page made 7 March 2003
New images added 9 April 2008